What is the ruling on one who performed the farewell tawaf in Hajj without wudu' (ablution) while forgetting?

Question:
A questioner says: My wife performed Hajj, and during the farewell tawaf, she circumambulated without being in a state of wudu' (ablution) out of ignorance. I did not know about it until some time later. What is the ruling?

Answer:
She owes a fidyah (ransom payment), because the tawaf of one who is not in a state of wudu' (ablution) is not valid. Purity is a condition for the validity of tawaf, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform wudu' (ablution) when he intended to perform tawaf. It was reported in a hadith of Ibn Abbas that "tawaf around the House is a prayer" and its chain of narration is authentic up to Ibn Abbas, but it is mawquf (stopping at a Companion). This mawquf report has the ruling of a marfu' (traced to the Prophet) report, because such a statement is not made based on personal opinion. Therefore, the conclusion is that purity is a condition for tawaf, just as it is for prayer.
If she performed the farewell tawaf while not in a state of wudu' (ablution), then she has not performed the farewell tawaf. She owes a fidyah (ransom payment): she must slaughter a sheep in Makkah and distribute it to the poor, or she may appoint someone to slaughter it and distribute it to the poor. Yes.