Al-Shāfi‘ī (1), may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“As for the seven circuits (2) he performed upon his arrival, he performed them on foot, for the account transmitted (3) from Jābir concerning them (4) states that he jogged for three circuits and walked for four. Jābir cannot therefore be describing him as both walking and riding during a single set of seven circuits (5). It is established that the seven circuits (6) during which he rode (7) were those of his circumambulation on the Day of Sacrifice.”
Then al-Shāfi‘ī (8) related from Ibn ‘Uyaynah, from Ibn Tāwūs, from his father, that (9) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed his Companions to set out early for the main circumambulation of Hajj. He himself went with his wives at night, riding his mount and touching the corner with his hooked staff. I believe he also said: “And he kissed the end of the hooked staff.”
I say: Besides having an interrupted chain of transmission, this report contradicts what Jābir related about him in the Sahīh (10): that he performed the main circumambulation of Hajj during the daytime on the Day of Sacrifice. ‘Ā’ishah and Ibn ‘Umar also related this, as will follow.
As for Ibn ‘Abbās’s statement, “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Mecca while suffering from an ailment, and circumambulated on