The Ruling on Doubt in Matters of Worship
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His Eminence the Shaykh: What is the ruling for one who performed Hajj with his companions while ignorant of the rituals of Hajj and 'Umrah, and after he completed his Hajj and a period of time had passed, he learned the rituals of Hajj and 'Umrah, and he is in doubt about the sa'y (walking between al-Safa and al-Marwah)? What is the ruling?
What we see is that if a person is in doubt whether he performed tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka'bah), sa'y, or ramy al-jamarat (stoning the pillars) after a long period of time, he should not pay attention to this doubt; this is because forgetfulness frequently befalls a person. So let him discard the doubt and keep it away from his heart; because if doubts arise for a person and multiply, he becomes unstable in his life and weary, and waswas (whispers of Satan) will befall him in his ritual purity and his prayer, and even in his household. So what I see is that he should turn away from this doubt and distract himself from it.
Unless he is certain, in which case he is given a ruling based on what the situation requires,And as for if it is merely doubt: whether he performed sa'y or not. The original state is that he performed sa'y, and that these companions will perform sa'y and he will perform it with them. So I see that he should distract himself from it and not let it cross his mind, and the original state is safety (from sin).
For this reason, the scholars stated a principle that we should understand, which is: that doubt after the completion of an act of worship has no effect unless one is certain.
For example: If you completed the prayer and then after the taslim (closing salam) you are in doubt: did you pray three or four rak'ahs? Then do not pay attention to this doubt, unless you are certain that you prayed three, in which case you do what is required of you in this matter.
What we see is that if a person is in doubt whether he performed tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka'bah), sa'y, or ramy al-jamarat (stoning the pillars) after a long period of time, he should not pay attention to this doubt; this is because forgetfulness frequently befalls a person. So let him discard the doubt and keep it away from his heart; because if doubts arise for a person and multiply, he becomes unstable in his life and weary, and waswas (whispers of Satan) will befall him in his ritual purity and his prayer, and even in his household. So what I see is that he should turn away from this doubt and distract himself from it.
Unless he is certain, in which case he is given a ruling based on what the situation requires,And as for if it is merely doubt: whether he performed sa'y or not. The original state is that he performed sa'y, and that these companions will perform sa'y and he will perform it with them. So I see that he should distract himself from it and not let it cross his mind, and the original state is safety (from sin).
For this reason, the scholars stated a principle that we should understand, which is: that doubt after the completion of an act of worship has no effect unless one is certain.
For example: If you completed the prayer and then after the taslim (closing salam) you are in doubt: did you pray three or four rak'ahs? Then do not pay attention to this doubt, unless you are certain that you prayed three, in which case you do what is required of you in this matter.