- Some of them cite as evidence the saying of Allah, Exalted is He:
“And We commanded Abraham and Ishmael: ‘Purify My House for those who circumambulate it, those who remain there in devotion, and those who bow and prostrate.’” [al-Baqarah 2:125]
The point of inference is that if purifying the place of the one who circumambulates is obligatory, then purifying his body is even more so. This is the view of the majority of scholars (1).
Some scholars, however, hold that ritual purity is not a condition for circumambulation, and that it is not prohibited for one in a state of ritual impurity to circumambulate; rather, ritual purity makes it more complete (2).
They cite as evidence that the basic principle is freedom from liability unless proof establishes that this act is prohibited without this condition; yet there is no such proof. At no time did the Prophet ﷺ say, “Allah does not accept circumambulation without ritual purity,” or, “Do not circumambulate until you have purified yourselves.” Since this is the case, we should not bind people to something for which we have no clear evidence requiring it of them—especially in difficult circumstances, such as when one’s ablution is invalidated amid severe crowding during the days of the Hajj season. According to this view, he would then have to repeat his ablution and begin the circumambulation anew.
They answered the proofs of the majority as follows:
The Prophet’s ﷺ action, when considered on its own, does not indicate obligation; rather, it indicates that it is preferable. There is no dispute that circumambulation in a state of ritual purity is better; the point of dispute is whether ritual purity is a condition for the validity of circumambulation.
As for the hadith of Aishah, “Do what the pilgrim does …,” to the end of the hadith, and his ﷺ statement concerning Safiyyah, “Will she detain us?”—the menstruating woman was only prevented from