And if he cannot circumambulate on foot and does so riding or being carried, his circumambulation is valid by agreement. The same applies to any obligations of circumambulation that he cannot fulfil. For example, someone who has an impurity that cannot be removed—such as a woman with irregular bleeding or someone with urinary incontinence—may circumambulate without incurring any liability, by agreement of the imams. The same applies if he can only circumambulate naked and therefore does so at night, just as when he can only pray naked.

The same applies to a menstruating woman who cannot perform the obligatory circumambulation except while menstruating because she cannot remain in Mecca. According to one of the two views held by scholars who require ritual purity for circumambulation, if a menstruating woman, a person in a state of major or minor ritual impurity, or someone bearing an impurity circumambulates, the circumambulation is valid without qualification, but a compensatory sacrifice is due: either a sheep, or else a camel in cases of menstruation or major ritual impurity and a sheep in cases of minor ritual impurity.

The prohibition on a menstruating woman circumambulating may be explained by circumambulation’s resemblance to prayer, or by her being barred from the mosque, just as she is barred from observing a devotional retreat there. As Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said to Abraham—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his son:

“Purify My House for those who circumambulate it, those who remain there in devotion, and those who bow and prostrate.”

He thus commanded him to purify it for these acts of worship, and the menstruating woman was therefore barred from entering it. Scholars agree that circumambulation does not require what prayer requires, such as the prescribed opening and closing formulas, recitation, and other things. Nor is it invalidated by things that invalidate prayer, such as eating, drinking, speaking, and so forth. Thus, the reasoning of anyone who bars a menstruating woman out of regard for the sanctity of the mosque implies that he