What is the ruling on doing sa‘i in the new Mas‘aa? Because the scholars have differed a great deal concerning that: some of them have said that there is nothing wrong with it, and others have said that it is not permissible to do sa‘i in it for Hajj and ‘Umrah, and the one who does that has not exited from his ‘ihram, and he has to go back and repeat his ‘umrah or Hajj. Some say that he may compensate for his sa‘i by offering a sacrifice, and others refrain from saying anything. What advice can you offer?
Praise
be to Allah.
The topic of sa‘i in the new Mas‘aa was
put to the Council of Senior Scholars, and they issued a statement as
follows:
Statement no. 227, dated 22/2/1427 AH
Praise be to Allah, and blessings and
peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and companions,
and upon those who follow his guidance. To proceed:
The Council of Senior Scholars, in its
sixty-fourth session, which was held in the city of Riyadh, starting from
18/2/1427 AH, has studied the matter of the expansion of the Mas‘aa from a
shar‘i point of view…
The Council examined what it had
previously issued in statement no 21, dated 12/11/1393 AH, which stated that
it is permissible to do sa‘i on the roof of the Mas‘aa when necessary. It
also examined the research done on the topic of the ritual aspects of the
Mas‘aa from a shar‘i and historical point of view.
It also examined the fatwa issued by
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal ash-Shaykh, the former mufti of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (may Allah have mercy on him) about what has been
incorporated into the new renovation of the Mas‘aa and around as-Safa and
al-Marwah, based on statements issued by various committees from a number of
scholars whom he assigned to study the issue. These scholars were:
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Ibraaheem Aal
ash-Shaykh, as-Sayyid ‘Alawi ‘Abbaas al-Maaliki, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn
Duhaysh, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Jaasir, Shaykh Yahya Amaan, Shaykh Muhammad
al-Harakaan (may Allah have mercy on them all).
Their task was to follow up on the issue
of incorporating what is part of the Mas‘aa and excluding what is not part
of it, on the basis of what is stated in the books of scholars of hadith and
fiqh, and historians. End quote.
The scholars stated the width of the
Mas‘aa in cubits and part-cubits. What was stated formed the limit for its
width as mentioned in the books of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on
them).
The length of the Mas‘aa is limited by the
hills of as-Safa and al-Marwah , and its width is to be controlled by the
way it was decided generation after generation, from the time of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) until the present day.
After studying, discussing and debating,
the committee determined, on a majority basis that the current space
allocated to the Mas‘aa covers all of its land. Therefore it is not
permissible to widen it, but in case of necessity it is possible to solve
the problem vertically, by adding storeys to the Mas‘aa. And Allah is the
source of strength. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet
Muhammad and his family and companions. End quote.
Based on these two issues:
-1-
The one who wants to do ‘Umrah or Hajj
should stipulate a condition when entering ihram: “If something prevents me
(from continuing), I will exit ihram from the point where You have prevented
me (from continuing).” Then if he can do his sa‘i in the old Mas‘aa,
without causing harm to himself or anyone else, then his ritual will be
complete, praise be to Allah. If he is not able to do sa‘i, or he is not
able to stay long enough to complete his rituals, he may be regarded as
having been prevented from completing his rituals, so he may exit ihram of
‘Umrah or Hajj without any penalty, because he stipulated a condition, and
there will be no blame on him. This is indicated by the hadith of Dubaa‘ah
bint az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with her). Al-Bukhaari (5089) and
Muslim (1207) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) entered
upon Dubaa‘ah bint al-Zubayr and said to her: “Perhaps you want to do Hajj?”
She said: By Allah, I am often in pain. He said to her: “Go for Hajj but
stipulate a condition and say: O Allah, I will exit ihram from the point
where You prevent me (from continuing).”
But if he did not stipulate such a
condition, then he must offer a compensatory sacrifice for being prevented
from completing his rituals, which must be slaughtered before he exits
ihram, and the meat distributed to the poor of the Haram. Then he should
shave his head or cut his hair.
All of this is based on the well-known
view, which is the view of the majority, that sa‘i is a pillar or essential
part of Hajj and ‘Umrah.
With regard to the view that sa‘i is
obligatory (only, and not a pillar or essential part of the rituals) – which
is the view of some of the scholars – it is waived if one is unable to do
it, or he may compensate for not doing it by offering a sacrifice.
-2-
If the one who does sa‘i in the new Mas‘aa,
was given a fatwa allowing that, then his action is valid and the one who
issued that fatwa is responsible for his fatwa.
If he did sa‘i and was unaware of the
ruling and followed the sa‘i of the majority of people around him, then he
is also excused.
But if he was aware of the ruling, he must
repeat sa‘i in the old Mas‘aa, but if he is not able to do so, then he is
regarded as having been prevented from completing the rituals and must offer
the compensatory sacrifice in Makkah, then exit ihram.
See: the statement of Shaykh ‘Alawi as-Saqqaaf
concerning that; it was read to Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Barraak and he
approved of it and added to it.
And Allah knows best.
