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.

Check out our FREE Umrah course for more details about the rulings related to umrah, as well as practical advice.

Read our Step-By-Step Umrah Guide.

References:

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Naielah Ackbarali

Naielah Ackbarali is the founder and CEO of Muslima Coaching. Naielah is a qualified CBT therapist, an experienced Muslim marriage counselor of over 10 years, and an Islamic studies teacher for over 15 years. She obtained a Master of Arts (Level 7) in Counseling & Psychotherapy Practice at Bath Spa University, earning a Distinction. She also received a Postgraduate Certificate (Level 7) in Psychological Therapies at Queen Mary University of London. She has a Master Practitioner Diploma in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). She has also completed training in the Gottman Method for Couples Therapy and gained a Diploma in Counseling Skills. Naielah is a trained strategic relationship coach, certified life coach, and a certified NLP Master Practitioner. Combined with her knowledge from Islamic studies, coaching experience, and personal marriage of almost 20 years, she offers faith-based marriage coaching to couples, wives, and singles. She has helped hundreds of women and couples with almost a decade of coaching experience with clients from all over the world (USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, Africa, & the Middle East). She is an author of several marriage books and has been featured on the Islam Channel and British Muslim TV. She was also selected to do an exclusive interview with BRAINZ Magazine.