A man whose ablution is broken during tawaf: Is it obligatory for him to repeat the tawaf from the beginning, or does he start from the lap in which his ablution was broken? And does this ruling apply to sa'y between al-Safa and al-Marwah?

The questioner : A man whose ablution is broken during tawaf: Is it obligatory for him to repeat the tawaf from the beginning, or does he start from the lap in which his ablution was broken? And does this ruling apply to sa'y between al-Safa and al-Marwah?

The Shaykh : If a person breaks his state of ritual purity during tawaf, those scholars who say that wudu' is a condition for the validity of tawaf say that he must leave, perform wudu', and repeat the tawaf from the beginning, because the tawaf is invalidated by the state of impurity. And those who say that wudu' is not a condition, which is the choice of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), say that he should continue and complete the rest of the tawaf, even if he is in a state of impurity, because there is no clear, authentic evidence for making wudu' a condition for tawaf. And if there is no clear, authentic evidence, we should not invalidate a worship for which a person has been legislated to perform it except with a legal evidence. Furthermore, in these later times, if we obligated this person who broke his state of purity during tawaf in the days of the seasons to go, perform wudu', and return, and then he goes, performs wudu', returns, and starts from the beginning, and his wudu' is broken again, we say: do it. The hardship is what a person imagines, except for the one who actually experiences it. When does he leave the courtyard of tawaf? And when does he find a little water to take? All the bathrooms are full. And when he returns, when does he arrive? Obliging people with this severe hardship without clear, authentic evidence with which a person will meet his Lord on the Day of Resurrection is not good. Therefore, we see that if a person breaks his state of purity during his tawaf, especially in these tight times, he should continue in his tawaf, and his tawaf is valid. A person does not have evidence with which he will meet his Lord that he has made things difficult for His servants in a matter where there is nothing clear. The most that is there is: This is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); it is only a report stopping at Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). And it is known that tawaf differs from prayer, not only in that Allah has permitted speech in it, but in many things. There is no takbir at its beginning, no taslim at its end, no obligatory recitation of the Qur'an in it, and eating and drinking are permissible in it, along with many other things in which it differs from prayer. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.