His statement, “and covering,” means that covering the awrah is recommended during sa‘i. It is well known that a person cannot perform sa‘i completely naked. Yet it may happen that, while performing sa‘i for Hajj after the first stage of release from ihram, his lower garment or shirt is so thin that the skin can be seen through it, or that it has a tear through which the awrah is visible. In this case, his sa‘i is valid, because covering is recommended in it.

His statement, “and continuity,” means that it is recommended for the circuits to be consecutive, but this is not a condition. Thus, if he performs the first circuit at the beginning of the day and completes the rest at its end, his sa‘i is valid, though contrary to the sunnah. Likewise, if he performs the first circuit in the first hour, the second in the second hour, the third in the third hour, the fourth in the fourth hour, the fifth in the fifth hour, the sixth in the sixth hour, and the seventh in the seventh hour, his sa‘i is valid, because continuity is recommended.

However, the established position of the school is that continuity in sa‘i is a condition, just as it is in circumambulation. Accordingly, the commentator in al-Rawḍ interpreted the author’s wording in this sense, saying: “It is recommended to maintain continuity between sa‘i and circumambulation.” This departs from the apparent meaning of the wording. The commentator interpreted it away from its apparent meaning so that it would conform to the school, because the author of the text stipulated in the book’s introduction that it follows a single view: the preponderant view in Ahmad’s school. The preponderant view in Ahmad’s school is that continuity in sa‘i is a condition, just as continuity in circumambulation is a condition. This view is more correct, and the evidence for it is: