Does a woman run during tawaf and sa'y, or not?
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The questioner : You mentioned, may Allah guide you and grant you success, regarding tawaf and sa'y, specifically concerning the running of the man. But if a man is with a woman, or women, do they run with him or not?
The Shaykh : Some scholars mentioned that the scholars, the scholars of the Muslims, agreed that a woman does not run, neither in tawaf nor in sa'y. Initially, it appeared to me that a woman in sa'y runs between the two hills, meaning she runs, because the origin of sa'y is for the sake of Hajar, the mother of Isma'il. When Ibrahim left her and her son in Makkah and left with them a sack of dates and a vessel of water, when the dates and water ran out, her milk dried up for her son, and the son began to hunger because the mother had no milk. So he would cry out, and the earth became narrow for her in all its breadth; the earth became narrow for his mother in all its breadth. She looked for the nearest mountain to her, because the child was at the location of the Ka'bah. What is the nearest mountain to her? al-Safa. So she went and climbed it, listening to see if Allah would send someone, because at that time there was no one. She did not hear anything, so she descended heading toward al-Marwah, because it is also the nearest mountain. And during her journey, she passed by the valley. The valley is the course of the wadi, which is usually low. When she descended into the valley, she hurried so that her son would not be hidden from her. When she ascended, she usually walked until she reached al-Marwah. When she completed seven times, relief came from the Lord of the earth and the heavens. Allah is the Greatest. Jibril descended and struck the place of Zamzam with his foot or his wing until the water gushed forth. So, out of her compassion for him, she gathered it in a basin so that it would not flow away into the ground. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 2368 And she used to drink from this water. And the water of Zamzam is for what it is drunk for, so it sufficed her from food and drink. So her milk flowed for her son and she was comforted. Then a caravan from the Jurhum tribe passed by and saw the birds descending on this side to drink from the water. They were amazed and said, "There is no water in this place, so how can there be?" So they went toward where the birds were gathering, and there they found the mother of Isma'il and her son. They settled with her, and it became a village, a city, glory be to Allah, after there had been nothing in it but wild beasts and Isma'il and his mother.
It appeared to me that a woman runs between the two hills, sa'y, because its origin is from the sa'y of the mother of Isma'il. But when I saw some scholars transmit the consensus of the scholars that a woman walks and does not run, I saw that the correct view is that she walks without running. What remains for us is the mahram who is with her: does he run and leave her, or does he walk with her according to her pace? We say that if the woman can guide herself, and is an experienced woman, and there is no fear for her, then there is no harm in his running in the three circuits, and he tells her at the end of the tawaf, "We will meet at the Maqam Ibrahim." And if she cannot manage on her own, and there is fear for her, then his walking with her is better than running, and better than the intense sa'y, meaning between the two hills. And we limit ourselves to this amount, because I think we have exceeded the usual length tonight, so please excuse us.
The Shaykh : Some scholars mentioned that the scholars, the scholars of the Muslims, agreed that a woman does not run, neither in tawaf nor in sa'y. Initially, it appeared to me that a woman in sa'y runs between the two hills, meaning she runs, because the origin of sa'y is for the sake of Hajar, the mother of Isma'il. When Ibrahim left her and her son in Makkah and left with them a sack of dates and a vessel of water, when the dates and water ran out, her milk dried up for her son, and the son began to hunger because the mother had no milk. So he would cry out, and the earth became narrow for her in all its breadth; the earth became narrow for his mother in all its breadth. She looked for the nearest mountain to her, because the child was at the location of the Ka'bah. What is the nearest mountain to her? al-Safa. So she went and climbed it, listening to see if Allah would send someone, because at that time there was no one. She did not hear anything, so she descended heading toward al-Marwah, because it is also the nearest mountain. And during her journey, she passed by the valley. The valley is the course of the wadi, which is usually low. When she descended into the valley, she hurried so that her son would not be hidden from her. When she ascended, she usually walked until she reached al-Marwah. When she completed seven times, relief came from the Lord of the earth and the heavens. Allah is the Greatest. Jibril descended and struck the place of Zamzam with his foot or his wing until the water gushed forth. So, out of her compassion for him, she gathered it in a basin so that it would not flow away into the ground. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
May Allah be merciful to the mother of Ishmael! If she had left the water of Zamzam (fountain) as it was, (without constructing a basin for keeping the water), (or said, "If she had not taken handfuls of its water"), it would have been a flowing stream.
يرحم الله أم إسماعيل لو تركت زمزم لكانت عينا معيناIt appeared to me that a woman runs between the two hills, sa'y, because its origin is from the sa'y of the mother of Isma'il. But when I saw some scholars transmit the consensus of the scholars that a woman walks and does not run, I saw that the correct view is that she walks without running. What remains for us is the mahram who is with her: does he run and leave her, or does he walk with her according to her pace? We say that if the woman can guide herself, and is an experienced woman, and there is no fear for her, then there is no harm in his running in the three circuits, and he tells her at the end of the tawaf, "We will meet at the Maqam Ibrahim." And if she cannot manage on her own, and there is fear for her, then his walking with her is better than running, and better than the intense sa'y, meaning between the two hills. And we limit ourselves to this amount, because I think we have exceeded the usual length tonight, so please excuse us.