First: the Prophet ﷺ performed the sa‘i consecutively, and he ﷺ said: “Take your rites from me.” (1)(2)

Second: sa‘i is a single act of worship; therefore, continuity is required in it, just as it is required in prayer and circumambulation.

Third: if a person were to separate the stages of sa‘i in the manner mentioned above, no one would say that he had performed seven circuits, due to his having broken up the sa‘i.

However, if it is supposed that the crowd becomes overwhelming for a person, so he leaves to catch his breath; or if he needs to urinate or defecate, so he leaves to relieve himself and then returns, then we say: there is no harm in this, due to the generality of Allah’s saying, “He has not placed upon you in the religion any hardship”; because reports from the early generations have been narrated concerning this; and because continuity was interrupted here out of necessity. While he is away, his heart remains attached to the sa‘i. In this case, the view that continuity is waived would have some basis.

Question: What if the obligatory prayer is commenced during circumambulation? We say: the scholars differed regarding this.

Some of them said: if the circumambulation is voluntary, he should interrupt it and pray, due to the Prophet’s saying: “When the prayer is commenced, there is no prayer except the prescribed prayer.” (3) At most, circumambulation may be likened to a voluntary prayer. Thus, when the obligatory prayer is commenced, he interrupts it, performs the obligatory prayer, and then resumes his circumambulation. But if the circumambulation is obligatory, he continues his circumambulation even if he misses the obligatory prayer.