The Manner of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah
– When facing the Black Stone squarely, there are two reported views; our Shaykh holds that doing so is the established Sunnah. ⦗al-Furūʿ 6/34; Ikhtiyārāt al-Baʿlī p. 175; al-Inṣāf 4/6⦘.

– If, at the start of a circuit, the pilgrim brings his whole body in line with the entire Black Stone, that circuit counts without dispute. If his whole body aligns with only part of the Stone, it likewise counts according to one report. Asbāb al-Hidāyah, however, states that he must pass the Stone with his entire body; should he align the Stone—or part of it—with only part of his body, the sound view of the school is that the circuit is invalid. A second opinion—adopted by several scholars, among them Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn—holds that it is nonetheless valid. ⦗al-Inṣāf 4/5⦘.

– Qur’anic recitation is recommended during tawāf, provided it is not done aloud. If a loud recitation would confuse worshippers engaged in prayer, it becomes impermissible. In the hierarchy of acts of worship, the very act of Qur’anic recitation is superior to that of tawāf. ⦗al-Furūʿ 6/36; Ikhtiyārāt al-Baʿlī p. 175⦘.

– Whoever is uncertain about the number of rakʿahs already performed should act on what he deems most probable. This is one narration from Aḥmad and the position of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Ibn Masʿūd, and others. Most legal matters operate on this principle, and the same rule applies to tawāf, saʿy, the stoning of the jamarāt, and similar rites (1). ⦗Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 23/15; al-Furūʿ 2/326⦘.