If one performs the sa'y (walking between al-Safa and al-Marwah) before the tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka'bah) out of forgetfulness, is his sa'y valid?

Question : If a person performs the sa'y before the tawaf out of forgetfulness, for example, if someone arrives in Makkah for 'Umrah and sees the people performing sa'y before he does, he says, "I will sit and perform sa'y now on my way, then I will perform tawaf after the sa'y," while being ignorant of the ruling. Does his tawaf count or not?

Answer : The majority of scholars hold that it does not count; the majority hold that he does not catch up with the valid performance. They say this is because one of the conditions is that the sa'y must be after the tawaf. Based on this, he must perform the sa'y again if he wishes to complete his 'Umrah, because the first sa'y was not valid. Some scholars from the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) and those after them said that it is permissible if he was ignorant and his ignorance is accepted. They rely on this, as will be mentioned, God willing, in the book of...