What is the ruling on one who performs tawaf outside the Sacred Mosque without any crowding?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. A man performed tawaf on the roof of the Haram. During the tawaf, he descended to the Sa'i area. This was not due to severe crowding; there was crowding, but he was able to bear it. However, he descended and performed several rounds of tawaf in the Sa'i area. What is the ruling on this tawaf, which was the farewell tawaf of Hajj?

The Shaykh : Yes, the ruling on this tawaf is that it is not valid because he performed tawaf outside the mosque. If one performs tawaf outside the mosque, it cannot be said that he performed tawaf around the House. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: If one performs tawaf outside the mosque, he is performing tawaf around what? Around the mosque, not around the House, because the wall of the mosque stands between him and the House. Therefore, this tawaf of his is not valid. And since it was the farewell tawaf, he has left behind an obligatory act. The well-known view among scholars is that one who leaves behind an obligatory act must offer a fidyah (ransom payment) by slaughtering an animal in Makkah and distributing it to the poor.