and circumambulation likewise has no concluding salutation, though it begins with proclaiming Allah’s greatness, just as the prostration of recitation does. Merely beginning an act with this proclamation does not make it a prayer. It is established in the Sahīh collection:
“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, circumambulated on a camel. Whenever he reached the Corner, he pointed towards it with something in his hand and proclaimed Allah’s greatness.”
It is likewise established that he proclaimed Allah’s greatness on al-Safā and al-Marwah and when stoning the pillars. This is also because circumambulation resembles prayer in some respects.
(As for a menstruating woman, it has been said that she is prohibited from circumambulating only because of the mosque, just as she is prohibited from observing a devotional retreat because of the mosque. The Sacred Mosque is the most excellent of all mosques. Allah Most High said to Abraham:
“And purify My House for those who circumambulate it, and those who stand, bow, and prostrate.”
He thus commanded that it be purified. A menstruating woman is therefore barred from it, whether for circumambulation or otherwise. Herein lies part of the rationale behind the position of those who consider ritual purity obligatory for circumambulation and say that, if she circumambulates while menstruating, she sins by entering the mosque in that state. They do not, however, regard her ritual purity for circumambulation as equivalent to her ritual purity for prayer. Rather, they place this prohibition in the same category as the prohibition against her observing a devotional retreat in the mosque while menstruating.
For this reason, a menstruating woman is not prohibited from performing the other pilgrimage rites, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“A menstruating woman performs all the pilgrimage rites except circumambulation of the House.”
He also said to ‘Ā’ishah:
“Do everything the pilgrim does, except circumambulate the House.”
When he was told that Safiyyah was menstruating, he asked, “Will she hold us back?” He was told, “She has already performed the Hajj circumambulation.” He said, “Then no.” Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.