The ruling on praying in the area behind the Sa'y

Question : May Allah reward you. He says: What is the ruling on praying in the area behind the Sa'y, where the rows are broken by the passage between the area and the Sa'y?

Answer : If the rows are connected, as on the days of Hajj, for example, when the Sacred Mosque and its surroundings are filled, then there is no harm in praying there. However, if they are not connected, one should not pray there, but rather go and pray in the mosque. Let him know that the area is not part of the mosque; therefore, a menstruating woman may wait for her family in the Sa'y, but she must not enter the mosque. It is not permissible for a person in i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) in the Sacred Mosque to go out to the Sa'y, because the Sa'y is not part of the mosque.