Question:
What do the scholars and experts of shari’ah say regarding my situation? After performing Wuquf at Arafat and Ṭawāf al-Ziyārah, I started menstruating and was unable to perform Ṭawāf al-Wadāʿ. Some fellow pilgrims told me that bidding farewell to the Kaʿbah is necessary and that skipping the farewell circumambulation requires offering a dam (sacrificial penalty). Is this correct?
Answer:
Praise be to Allah ﷻ, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a woman gets her period after standing at Arafat and after performing the Tawaf al-Ziyarah, and she is unable to perform the Tawaf al-Wada‘ (Farewell Tawaf) before leaving Makkah, then she is not held accountable for missing it. She does not have to offer any penalty (dam), because Tawaf al-Wada‘ is not obligatory for a menstruating woman, whether she becomes pure (i.e., her period ends) before leaving or not.
What is Tawaf al-Wada‘?
Tawaf al-Wada‘ is the farewell circumambulation of the Ka‘bah. It is performed after completing all the Hajj rituals and just before leaving Makkah, so that the last act of the pilgrim is to visit the Ka‘bah.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “No one should leave (Makkah) until his last act is to circumambulate the Ka‘bah.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
Is Tawaf al-Wada‘ Obligatory?
According to Hanafi, Hanbali, and Shafi‘i scholars (majority opinion), Tawaf al-Wada‘ is wājib (necessary). If someone misses it without a valid excuse, they must offer a sacrificial animal (dam). According to Maliki scholars, it is sunnah (recommended) and not obligatory.
However, in all schools of thought, scholars agree on one exception:
Ruling for a Menstruating Woman:
If a woman is menstruating, she is excused from Tawaf al-Wada‘ and does not have to offer a dam. This ruling is based on authentic hadiths:
- Ibn Abbas (RA) reported: “People were ordered to make their last act at the Ka‘bah (i.e., Farewell Tawaf), except for menstruating women, who were excused.”
— (Bukhari & Muslim)
- A’ishah (RA) reported that Safiyyah bint Huyayy (RA), one of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, got her period after completing Tawaf al-Ziyarah. A‘ishah informed the Prophet ﷺ, who asked: “Is she going to delay us?” She replied: “She already performed Tawaf al-Ziyarah.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Then let her depart with us.”
From this, the scholars conclude that a woman who menstruates after completing the major Hajj rites is not required to do Tawaf al-Wada‘.
Summary:
- A menstruating woman is not required to perform Tawaf al-Wada‘, whether her period ends before departure or not.
- No dam (sacrificial penalty) is required for her.
- Her Hajj remains valid and complete.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
This fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al Azhari