Q. When I finished my pilgrimage duties, I wanted to do the tawaf of farewell. However, someone told me that local people need not do the tawaf of farewell. As I live in Riyadh and I had young children with me, I opted for not doing this tawaf. Now I am given a different advice. Please clarify whether I have done wrong, and if so, what compensation is needed.
P.K. Hammadraza, Riyadh
A. It is true that local people need not do the tawaf of farewell, but this applies to local people, i.e. residents of Makkah and the Haram area. This is the meaning of local in the Islamic sense.
However, in our modern day, the usage is different and this is the reason for the reader’s confusion. It is important for him to realize that he could not be considered “local” in Makkah while living such a long distance away in Riyadh. He would certainly have done better if he had done the tawaf of farewell.
The tawaf of farewell is the last thing a pilgrim should do, and its timing is right at the end of one’s stay in Makkah.
It should be done shortly before departure. According to the Hanafi and Hanbali schools of Fiqh, it is a duty, which means that omitting it requires compensation by slaughtering a sheep and distributing its meat to the poor in the Haram area. On the other hand, the Maliki and Shafie schools consider the tawaf of farewell a Sunnah, or recommended. If we take this view, omitting this tawaf does not require compensation. The two views are equally valid.
Having said that, I feel that in this reader’s case, there is a clear element of a genuine mistake concerning the meaning of the word “local”. If we take this view, then there is nothing for the reader to worry about, because God overlooks what we do as a result of a genuine mistake.
Arab News Islam 17 February 2003
