Question about Hajj

11-8-2002 | IslamWeb

Question:

I performed hajj first in 1994, I was not sure if I did Tawaf al-Ifada or not. This year I went to Makkah again, there I asked a scholar and he said just do it and you will be fine. That is what I did. The following day he said that I have to sacrifice a camel. I am not sure which one is right. Please advise me. Was my Tawaf good enough or i have to sacrifice a camel?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

As long as you are not sure of your Tawaaf al-Ifaadah (compulsory circumambulation around the Ka’bah after completing Hajj before leaving Makkah), then you have to make the Tawaaf; i.e., seven rounds around the Ka'bah with the intention of Tawaaf al-Ifaadah. If you had sex with your wife during this period, then you have to slaughter a sheep, according to Imams Malik and Ahmad, or a camel according to Abu Haneefah and Ash-Shafi'i. Imam Ahmad says that one should also enter Ihram outside the boundaries of al-Haram (al-Tan’eem) and then make the Tawaaf.

In a conclusion, if you make the Tawaaf and slaughter a sheep or camel and distribute it among the needy people of al-Haram, then your Hajj is correct.

Allah knows best.