Arafat, then remember Allah at the Sacred Monument” [al-Baqarah 2:198]. His saying, “Then, when you depart,” indicates that standing at Arafah is indispensable, that it is an established requirement, and that standing at Muzdalifah comes after standing at Arafah.
His statement, “and the visitation circumambulation”: This is the third pillar.
It is also called the circumambulation of departure, and it is the circumambulation performed on the Day of Eid or thereafter; what is meant is circumambulation of the House.
It is stipulated that it take place after standing at Arafah and Muzdalifah. Thus, it is not valid for one to circumambulate before Arafah or Muzdalifah; rather, he must circumambulate after both of them, because Allah says: “Then, when you depart from Arafat, then remember Allah at the Sacred Monument” [al-Baqarah 2:198]. Muzdalifah follows Arafah. And after mentioning the rites of sacrifice and slaughter, He says: “Then let them remove their untidiness, fulfil their vows, and circumambulate the Ancient House” [al-Hajj 22:29]. Thus, He placed the circumambulation after arriving at Mina. Accordingly, for the circumambulation of departure to be valid, it must be performed after standing at Arafah and Muzdalifah. Therefore, if a person were to set out from Arafah to perform the circumambulation of departure, then return to Muzdalifah and spend the night there, his circumambulation would not be valid and would count only as a voluntary circumambulation.
The proof for this is Allah’s saying: “Then let them remove their untidiness, fulfil their vows, and circumambulate the Ancient House” [al-Hajj 22:29]. The relevant point is His saying, “and circumambulate,” because this clause is a present-tense verb joined to the lām of command, and thus constitutes a command.
His statement, “and the sa‘i”: This is the fourth pillar, and it is the position of the school. It has also been said that it is an obligation compensated for by a sacrificial offering, and it has been said that it is a sunnah. This is the weakest