DOUBT AS TO THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS

DOUBT AS TO THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS

If after the completion of the Tawaaf a doubt arises as to the number of rounds performed or the propriety of the Tawaaf, it may be ignored. If it arises in the course of the prayers (salaat) recited after the Tawaaf, the doubt may also be ignored.

If the pilgrim is sure of having performed seven rounds but entertains a doubt as to whether there was any addition, for example doubting if the last round is the eighth, the doubt should be ignored and the Tawaaf is valid. If the doubt, however, arises before the last round is completed, it is clear that the Tawaaf is invalid and, as a matter of caution, the last round be completed and the Tawaaf repeated.

If a doubt arises as to the number of rounds performed, for example, whether six or seven or whether five or six or lesser, the Tawaaf is invalidated and so is the case if the doubt is in respect of greater number of rounds or lesser, like whether the last round is the sixth or the eighth.

If the doubt is whether it is the sixth or the seventh round and owing to ignorance of the rule the pilgrim proceeds on the basis that it is the sixth round and completes the Tawaaf, he is obliged to perform the entire Tawaaf again but if he remains ignorant of the rule until the period for correction passes, the Tawaaf would be valid.

It is permissible for a pilgrim to place reliance on the count of rounds by his companion if the latter is certain of his count.

If a doubt arises in an optional Tawaaf, one can proceed on the basis of the lower figure and the Tawaaf is valid.

If a pilgrim omits to perform the Tawaaf in Umrat-ul-Tamatoo deliberately and knowingly or out of ignorance and it is not possible to perform it before the time of stay at Arafaat, the Umrah is invalid and he is obliged to repeat the Hajj the following year and, as already been discussed, it is clear that his ihram will also be invalidated but, as a matter of caution, he should change to Hajj-ul-Ifraad and complete it with the intention of performing Hajj and Umrat-ul-Mufradah. If a pilgrim deliberately omits to perform the Tawaaf of Hajj, and it is not possible to rectify the omission, the Hajj is invalid and he is obliged to repeat the pilgrimage in the following year. If he did so out of ignorance, the penalty is the sacrifice of a camel.

If a pilgrim forgets to perform a Tawaaf it is obligatory on him to perform it when he remembers and if by then the period for it has passed, he should perform it by way of qadha and his Hajj will be valid. As a matter of caution, after the qadha Tawaaf, he should repeat the Saee. If he remembers at a time when it is no longer possible to perform its qadha, for example if he has forgotten the Tawaaf of Umrah-ul-Tamatoo till his stay at Arafaat or forgot his Tawaaf of Hajj till the end of Dhil Hijjah he must perform the qadha and repeat the Saee as a matter of caution. If he has already reached his home country, he is obliged to appoint an agent.

If a pilgrim forgets to perform Tawaaf, returns home and has sexual intercourse with his wife and later remembers the omission, then if the Tawaaf was for Hajj, he is obliged to have a sheep sacrificed in Mina and if it was for Umrah in Makkah.

If a pilgrim forgets to perform a Tawaaf and remembers it when there is still opportunity to perform its qadha, he should undertake it in his former ihram and there is no need to renew it. However, if he has departed from Makkah, it is necessary to wear a new ihram in order to enter Makkah.

All that becomes lawful for a pilgrim after Tawaaf does not become lawful for the one who forgets to perform it until after he has performed its qadha or his agent has done so on his behalf.

If by reason of illness, fracture of bones or old age, a pilgrim is unable to perform Tawaaf by himself, it is permissible for him to take assistance from another person even by way of sitting on the shoulders of the other or pushed on a wheelchair but, as a matter of caution, should be carried in such a way that his feet touch the ground. If even that is not possible, he is obliged to appoint an agent to perform the Tawaaf on his behalf. If even that is not possible, for example, because he is unconscious, his guardian should appoint an agent. The same is the rule in respect of the prayers (salaat) after the Tawaaf. If he can recite them himself, he should do so, else he should appoint an agent to recite them on his behalf.