Sa’y Violations & Penalties

Bismi Llahir Rahmanir Rahim

by Naielah Ackbarali

Performing the sa’y is a mandatory (wājib) rite of the umrah.

If the sa’y is omitted, the umrah will be valid but one will owe a penalty of slaughtering a sheep. If it is omitted without an excuse, one is also sinful.

The details of the sa’y were discussed at length in our FREE course: Umra For Women.

How To Perform the Sa’y

The sa’y entails walking between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa for a total of seven circuits. Walking from Safa to Marwa counts as one circuit, and walking from Marwa to Safa counts as a second circuit.

In order for the sa’y to be complete, free of sin, and without any incurred penalty, it is necessary (wājib) to:

perform the sa’y after the umrah ṭawāf or else the sa’y will not count towards the umrah;
be in a state of iḥrām for umrah;
complete all seven circuits;
start the first circuit at Safa;
end the last circuit at Marwa;
and walk during the sa’y, unless one possesses an excuse to not walk.

As for ablution (wudu), it is an emphasized sunna to be in a state of ritual purity while one performs the sa’y. It is disliked to leave the sunna. For more details about the other sunna acts during the sa’y, listen to Lesson 5a.

Incurring Penalties

If one omits the sa’y or does not abide by its mandatory rulings, then if one is still in Makkah, one must offer the sa’y in its correct manner.

If one does not offer the sa’y correctly before leaving Makkah, then depending on the violation committed, the penalty will either be to offer a sheep slaughtering or to give in charity.

The sheep slaughtering must be carried out within the haram (sacred precinct) in Makkah. It is not permissible to eat the meat from this slaughtering because it is a punishment for the violation committed.

Giving charity can be given anywhere. The amount due for charity is the same amount as sadaqat al-fitr, namely half ṣā’ of wheat, which is about 2.2 kilos of wheat or its monetary value.

The violations and their penalties are briefly summarized in the chart below. Children who have not reached puberty do not owe penalties for any violations that were committed. Make sure to consult a scholar for further details inshaAllah.