The ruling on having sexual relations with one’s wife for the one who has performed the tawaf but delayed the sa’y

Question:
The second question is from the brothers Ali Muhammad Faris al-Yamani, Ali Hasan Abd al-‘Ala, and Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Ali Salih. They ask: Is it permissible for a pilgrim who has performed the tawaf of ifadah and still has the sa’y of Hajj remaining to have sexual relations before the sa’y if the sa’y is delayed to another time? And what is the duration for which it is permissible to delay the sa’y? Please inform us; may Allah reward you.

Answer:
It is not permissible for the pilgrim to have sexual intercourse with his wife or engage in its preliminaries before he completes his Hajj with the tawaf and the sa’y. If he performs the tawaf but does not perform the sa’y, the prohibition regarding his wife remains until he performs the sa’y. Even if he delays the sa’y after the tawaf by one day, two days, or more, he must be patient and avoid any contact with his wife until he performs the sa’y. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, when he had stoned the pillars, shaved his head, and applied perfume, that he moved to Makkah and performed the tawaf of ifadah (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he exited the state of ihram completely. It was narrated from him (peace be upon him) that he said: “When you have stoned the pillars and shaved your heads, then perfume and everything is lawful for you except women.” The scholars mentioned that exiting the state of ihram has two stages: the first and the second. The first exit makes lawful for him what is lawful for a non-pilgrim, such as perfume and sewn clothing for a man, and everything else that was prohibited by the state of ihram, except for women. As for the second exit, it is achieved by the tawaf and the sa’y after the stoning and the shaving. With this, the complete exit from the state of ihram is achieved for both the man and the woman. So if he stoned and shaved or shortened his hair, and she stoned and shortened her hair, and each of them performed the tawaf and the sa’y, then the complete exit from the state of ihram is achieved for each of them from everything that was prohibited by the state of ihram. There is no ruling of exit or prohibition related to the final stoning on the days of Tashriq. Therefore, the pilgrim must refrain from his wife until he performs the tawaf and the sa’y. There is no fixed limit for the tawaf and no fixed limit for the sa’y. So if he delays them from the days of stoning, or delays both of them, or delays the sa’y to the end of the month or after that for reasons, there is no harm in that and no blame. May Allah reward you