Sa'y

Saʿy (السَعْي) means coveting the distance of Safa and Marwa seven times starting from Safa. It is one of the obligation of 'umra and hajj. In 'umra, after performing tawaf and its prayer, it is obligatory to perform sa'y.

Conditions

One should make intention before performing sa'y. Like intention of ihram, one should specify the type of sa'y and perform it intending solely nearness to Allah.

For performing Sa'y, it is not obligatory for a person to be in a state of wudu', purity from janaba and menstruation.

Time

Sa'y should be performed after the tawaf and its prayer. It is incorrect to perform it prior to them. After the tawaf and its prayer, it is not permissible for a person to delay the act of sa'y to the next day. However, there is no objection to delaying it to the night of the day in which tawaf and its prayer were carried out.

Method

The full distance between Safa and Marwa should be covered in each round. Mounting on the height of Safa and Marwa is not obligatory. It is obligatory for a person to face towards the mountain he/she is heading towards i.e. one should face Marwa if he/she is going from Safa to Marwa and while walking towards Safa, one should face it. While going toward Safa or Marwa, if a person turns his back towards them and goes backward, his/her sa'y is invalid. However, turning one's face towards left or right or to back is no problem. Sa'y should be performed on the traditional path.

Performing sa'y on the upper floors is incorrect unless it becomes clear for a person that the floor is located between the two mountains and not above them. A person who cannot perform the rite of sa'y on the ground floor should hire a representative for it, as performing sa'y on the second floor is not valid.

It is permissible even without any excuse to sit, sleep or take rest while performing sa'y between Safa and Marwa.

A person should perform sa'y himself if possible. Performing sa'y is permissible in form of walking or riding but walking is better. If walking is not possible for him, he must seek support from others so that they may help him in performing sa'y. If this is not possible either, he should hire a representative.

Sa'y like tawaf forms one of the fundamental rites of hajj. Neglecting it, deliberately or inattentively is like neglecting tawaf the ruling of which is that he cannot exit the state of ihram and he should perform it and then continues the other rites to the end. If a person forgets the rite of sa'y, takes off the dress of ihram of 'umra and has intercourse with one's spouse, they have to perform sa'y again and slaughter a cow as a kaffara by obligatory caution.

If a person adds one or more rounds to the seven round of sa'y inattentively, his sa'y would be valid and he would not have to pay kaffara. A person who does not know the ruling is like a person who forgets it. The person who adds seven rounds while performing sa'y, as he considered both going from Safa to Marwa and Marwa to Safa as one round, his/her sa'y is valid and there is no need to repeat it. Likewise, if he/she notices during the sa'y that he/she has performed more than seven rounds, his/her sa'y is valid. However, one must discontinue at the time of remembrance and should not continue the remaining of the additional round.

If a person performed incomplete sa'y inattentively, he should complete it whenever he becomes aware. If he remembers this after return to his native country, he must go back to the holy city of Mecca in order to complete it. However, if there is difficulty in going back, he must appoint a representative to fulfill this act.

References

• The Rites of Hajj, In Accord with Fatwās of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Hajj and Ziarah Research Center