Is Wuḍūʾ a Condition for Ṭawāf

The disagreement

• It is established that (tawaf) is valid when accompanied by ritual purity according to consensus
• Scholars also agreed that ablution is mandatory (wajib) for circumambulation.
• They disagreed on whether it is a strict condition for its validity This disagreement consists of two opinions.

The opinions

• Ablution is a condition for the validity of circumambulation:
• Held by: Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad.
• Ablution is not (la) a condition for the validity of circumambulation, but it remains mandatory (wajib):
• Held by: Abū Ḥanīfah.

Reason for the disagreement

• The hesitation over whether circumambulation should be legally categorized under the same ruling as prayer or not.

Evidence

For the first opinion:

• The Prophet ﷺ prohibited a menstruating woman from performing circumambulation, just as she is prohibited from prayer. This is based on the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها when she menstruated while in a state of ritual consecration (iḥrām). The Prophet ﷺ told her: "Do what the pilgrim does, except do not circumambulate the House until you become pure." (Agreed upon). A similar instruction was given to Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays رضي الله عنها.
• When Ṣafiyyah رضي الله عنها menstruated, the Prophet ﷺ asked: "Is she holding us back?" (Agreed upon). This proves that circumambulation closely resembles prayer, making ritual purity a condition for its validity.
• Circumambulation is explicitly named a "prayer" in the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Circumambulation around the House is a prayer." [[Reported by: Ahmad, al-Nasāʾī, al-Ḥākim; more than one scholar graded it as authentic

For the second opinion:

• Not everything that a menstruating woman is prohibited from doing due to her menstruation makes ritual purity a strict condition for its validity when performed. For instance, fasting is invalid during menstruation, but once menstruation ends, fasting becomes valid and must be made up (qada).
• The general implication of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ﴿وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا۟ بِٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْعَتِيقِ﴾ "and circumambulate the Ancient House" [Al-Ḥajj: 29].
• The texts that mention conditioning ritual purity are solitary narrations (الأخبار الآحاد), which cannot restrict or qualify the general absolute command found in the Book of Allah.

The Preponderant View (al-Rajih)

• The first opinion: (Ablution is a condition for circumambulation
• Reasoning: The evidences for this view explicitly address the specific point of dispute

References

(Maraji' al-Mas'alah)

Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa Nihāyat al-Muqtaṣid (1/86), (1/638), al-Hidāyah (3/50), Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ (1/265), al-Mudawwanah (1/315), Mawāhib al-Jalīl (3/67), al-Umm (2/178), al-Bayān (1/199), al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (2/71), al-Mughnī (5/222), Sharḥ Ibn Zāḥim (1/275).