Ruling on separating tawaf and sa'y by a long period of time

Question: I performed the arrival tawaf and the tawaf of ifadah without performing sa'y. Is it permissible to separate tawaf and sa'y by a long period of time?

Answer: There is no blame on separating sa'y and tawaf according to the scholars. So if one performs sa'y after tawaf with a time gap or on another day, there is nothing wrong with that and no blame in it. However, it is better for sa'y to follow tawaf consecutively. So if one performs tawaf for his 'Umrah, he should perform sa'y after that without separation, and likewise in his Hajj. If he separates them, there is no blame in that; because sa'y is an independent act of worship, so if something separates them, it does not harm. For this reason, if the pilgrim performing tamattu' or qiran performs only tawaf and delays sa'y until after he descends from 'Arafah, there is no blame in that. And if he performs it before, there is no blame in that.