Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed
Translated by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
I have learned that the farewell tawaf must be the last action that is performed on Hajj. This can be quite problematic because of the following scenarios.
(1) I went to Hajj with a Hajj group and the group leader organized all matters related to our travel. I performed the farewell tawaf and then returned to the hotel, whereupon the group leader announced that we would travel after a couple of hours in order to wait for a some members of our group (or for some other travel-related matter). Was it incumbent on me to repeat my tawaf because of this long wait in Mecca afterwards?
(2) Someone else I know went on Hajj and performed the farewell tawaf, only to return and find that his bus had been delayed for an unpredictable number of hours. He simply waited at the hotel for a number of hours afterwards but did not repeat his tawaf. Was he, in fact, obliged to repeat his tawaf?
The relied-upon position in our school is that the farewell tawaf is obligatory for anyone who leaves Mecca to return to his country or to travel 81 km. or more from the city limits of Mecca. This farewell tawaf may only be performed after one has completed all of the rites of pilgrimage, and it only counts on condition that one not remain afterwards in Mecca for any reason other than something related to travel.
If, however, someone performs the farewell tawaf and then remains in Mecca because of a travel-related purpose, such as packing one’s bags, waiting for those one is traveling with [h: e.g., the other members of the Hajj-group, as you mention in your question], waiting for ones means of transportation [h: e.g., the bus that you mention in your question], or in order to buy something that one needs for one’s journey, then this does not affect the validity of the farewell tawaf even if it lasts a long time [e.g., for several hours as you mention in your question].
But if one remains in Mecca after the farewell tawaf for a reason that is not related to travel, then one is obligated to repeat one’s tawaf, otherwise one will be sinful for leaving it and one must perform the appropriate expiation. This is what the relied-upon position in our school is.
There is also another strong position in our school [h: that is permissible for one to follow for one’s own personal practice] that holds that the farewell tawaf is merely recommended but not obligatory. According to this position, the one who leaves it is neither sinful, nor is he obliged to perform an expiation.
There is ease and facilitation for people in this last position, especially in our times when Mecca and the sacred mosque are overcrowded with pilgrims, and organizational issues such as transportation make it difficult for people to perform the farewell tawaf properly.
السؤال: سافرت مع جماعة في الحج وتولى مديرُ الجماعة ترتيب السفر، وقد طُفتُ طوافَ الوداع ثم رجعت وقرَّر المديرُ أننا سنسافر بعد ساعات لأجل انتظار بعض الحجاج أو لغرض آخرَ يتعلق بالسفر، فهل كان عليَّ أن أعيد الطواف؟ ثم إن الباصَ قد تأخر في الصورة السابقة تأخراً لا يُعلم حدُّه فطفتُ وانتظرت ساعات كثيرة للباص؛ لأنني لم أكن أعرفْ متى يصل إلى الفندق، هل أجزأني الطواف الذي طفتُ؟