He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about circumambulation by a menstruating woman, a person in a state of major ritual impurity, and a person in a state of minor ritual impurity.

He replied:

It is established that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“A menstruating woman performs all the pilgrimage rites except circumambulation of the House.”

He also said to ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with her:

“Do everything the pilgrims do, except circumambulate the House.”

When he was told that Safiyyah had begun menstruating, he asked, “Will she hold us back?” He was told, “She has already performed the circumambulation of ifāḍah.” He replied, “Then she will not.”

It is also authentically reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Abū Bakr in the year 9 AH, when he appointed him to lead the pilgrimage, to proclaim: “No one is to circumambulate the House naked.” Yet no one has reported that he instructed those performing circumambulation to perform ablution or to keep themselves free of physical impurities, as he instructed those offering prayer to perform ablution.

His prohibition on a menstruating woman circumambulating the House may therefore relate to the mosque: either because she is forbidden to remain there, and circumambulation involves remaining there, or because she is forbidden to enter it at all, whether to pass through or to remain. Alternatively, it may be because circumambulation itself is forbidden during menstruation, just as prayer and fasting are forbidden to a menstruating woman by explicit scriptural texts and scholarly consensus; touching a copy of the Quran is likewise forbidden according to the great majority of scholars, as is reciting the Quran according to one of