Ruling on one who leaves the farewell circumambulation due to the crowd

Question:
To His Eminence and Excellence, the honorable Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz.
Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings. After that:
Please issue a ruling, may Allah magnify your reward, on the following questions:
1- Five people entered the Haram for the farewell circumambulation. When they had completed one or two circuits, a severe crowd formed, and they feared for their lives. So they prayed two rak'ahs, made supplication, and left without completing the farewell circumambulation, believing that the circumambulation was not obligatory upon them. What is obligatory upon them? And if a sacrificial animal is obligatory upon them, is it permissible to slaughter it and eat it in their hometown, or must it be slaughtered in Makkah? And if a sacrificial animal becomes obligatory upon someone, is it due immediately or with some delay?
2- A man performed the obligatory Hajj. When he reached the miqat, he entered the state of ihram for 'Umrah as a mutamatti'. When he arrived in Makkah, he performed sa'y and shortened his hair before the arrival circumambulation, then he performed the circumambulation and put on his clothes. On the eighth day, he entered the state of ihram for Hajj with the people, and no defect occurred in his ritual, as he understood from the actions of the people that the circumambulation comes first and sa'y after it. As for his action regarding the 'Umrah, it was due to his ignorance of the ruling. He mentions that his wife was with him and this was her obligatory Hajj. This mentioned Hajj was several years ago, and the man has performed Hajj once since then without his wife. I hope you will clarify the ruling, may Allah magnify your reward.

Answer:
From Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz to the honorable brother, Shaykh M. A. A., may Allah preserve him and take care of him. Amen.
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. After that:
Your noble letter, dated 9/1/1388 AH, has reached you, may Allah guide you, and the two questions it contained were known:
The first question: About a group who started the farewell circumambulation, but when they had completed one or two circuits, the crowd became intense, so they stopped the circumambulation, then prayed two rak'ahs, and then left, believing that it was not obligatory.
The answer: According to the evidence of the Shari'ah, each of these people owes a fidyah, which is one-seventh of a camel, one-seventh of a cow, a one-year-old sheep, or a two-year-old goat. This is because the stronger position regarding the farewell tawaf is that it is obligatory; for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it and forbade departing before it. It is authentically reported from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: This sacrificial animal is slaughtered in Makkah and distributed among the poor of the Haram, as the scholars have stated, citing the words of the Exalted: "Therein are benefits for you for a specified period, then their place of return is to the Ancient House" [Al-Hajj: 32-33], and His words regarding the compensation for hunting: [Al-Ma'idah: 95]. It is obligatory to do this immediately, because the evidence of the Shari'ah indicates that commands are to be carried out immediately, except where the Shari'ah has explicitly allowed delay. This is more effective in obedience and further from the risk of neglect or forgetting.
The second question: A person who performed 'Umrah as a mutamatti' for Hajj. When he entered Makkah, he performed sa'y and shortened his hair before the circumambulation, then he performed the circumambulation, then exited the state of ihram, and then performed Hajj.
The answer: There is scholarly disagreement on this issue, and the closest view, if Allah wills, is that his 'Umrah is valid. This is because it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he was asked during the Farewell Pilgrimage about one who performed sa'y before tawaf, and he said: Abu Dawud narrated it in his Sunan with a good chain. As for the fact that he shortened his hair before completing the 'Umrah and did not shorten it afterwards, this is rectified with a sacrifice, because shortening the hair is an obligatory act of worship in 'Umrah after tawaf and sa'y, and he left it. He should therefore offer a fidyah for it, like the sacrificial animal mentioned in the answer to the first question, to be slaughtered in Makkah and distributed among its poor. He should also offer a fidyah for shortening his hair at the wrong time due to his ignorance, by one of three things: either fasting for three days, or feeding six poor people, giving each poor person half a sa' of dates, wheat, rice, or barley, or slaughtering a sheep, as in the hadith of Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah. This is because he did what contradicts the Shari'ah, and it was possible for him to ask the scholars before undertaking this action. The place for feeding and sacrifice is Makkah, whereas fasting is valid in any place. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) knows best, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon His servant and messenger Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.