What is the ruling on one who performed one lap of the sa'y from the lower level and then completed the sa'y on the second lap due to the crowd?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on one who performed one lap of the sa'y from the lower level and then completed the sa'y from the second lap due to the crowd?
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with that; it is permissible for a person to begin the sa'y from the lower level. If it becomes difficult for him to complete it and he goes up to the upper level, there is nothing wrong with that. However, there is a point of concern if he went up from the middle of the lap: does he complete the lap from above, or does he start the lap anew? He completes the lap from the place where he intended to turn back to the upper level. If, for example, he intended to turn back from the lap at the green marker, he starts from above at the green marker, because the lap he performed contains nothing that invalidates it. The analogy for this in the tawaf is if you are in the tawaf and during the lap the iqamah is called, and you enter with the imam and finish the prayer, do you start the lap anew or complete it from the place where you left off? The correct view is that you complete it from the place where you left off, and there is no need to start the lap anew. The evidence for this, or the reasoning behind it, is that the part of the lap that preceded occurred validly and in accordance with the Shari'ah, and what occurs validly and in accordance with the Shari'ah cannot be invalidated or annulled except by evidence from the Shari'ah. This is a useful rule for the student of knowledge: everything that occurs in accordance with the Shari'ah cannot be annulled except by evidence from the Shari'ah.
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with that; it is permissible for a person to begin the sa'y from the lower level. If it becomes difficult for him to complete it and he goes up to the upper level, there is nothing wrong with that. However, there is a point of concern if he went up from the middle of the lap: does he complete the lap from above, or does he start the lap anew? He completes the lap from the place where he intended to turn back to the upper level. If, for example, he intended to turn back from the lap at the green marker, he starts from above at the green marker, because the lap he performed contains nothing that invalidates it. The analogy for this in the tawaf is if you are in the tawaf and during the lap the iqamah is called, and you enter with the imam and finish the prayer, do you start the lap anew or complete it from the place where you left off? The correct view is that you complete it from the place where you left off, and there is no need to start the lap anew. The evidence for this, or the reasoning behind it, is that the part of the lap that preceded occurred validly and in accordance with the Shari'ah, and what occurs validly and in accordance with the Shari'ah cannot be invalidated or annulled except by evidence from the Shari'ah. This is a useful rule for the student of knowledge: everything that occurs in accordance with the Shari'ah cannot be annulled except by evidence from the Shari'ah.