The Ruling on the Farewell Tawaf for 'Umrah

This is a message received by the program from our brother Awadh ibn Sarur al-Mutayri from Mahad al-Dhahab. Our brother says: I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and I live in a place close to between Makkah and al-Madinah. I performed 'Umrah in the past month of Ramadan, and the time was around midday. After I went to visit one of my friends in Makkah and stayed until I broke my fast, then I returned to my residence. After my return, a group of my brothers informed me that I was supposed to return once more to bid farewell to the Sacred House. What is the opinion of the scholars in that? And what is the ruling?
Answer: There is scholarly disagreement among the people of knowledge regarding the obligation of the farewell tawaf for the one performing 'Umrah. The position of the majority of the scholars is that the farewell tawaf is not obligatory in 'Umrah; rather, it is only in Hajj. The correct view is that it is not obligatory. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr reported the consensus of the scholars that the farewell tawaf is not obligatory for the one performing 'Umrah, and this is the stronger and more correct position. If he bids farewell, that is good, but it is not obligatory upon him, and there is no blame on him for leaving the farewell tawaf in the case of 'Umrah. Yes.