Allah as much as you are able.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“When I command you to do something, do as much of it as you can.”

This woman can do no more than this. She has feared Allah as much as she can, so nothing further is required of her.

It is well known that someone who deliberately circumambulates without ritual purity is sinful. Ahmad mentioned both opinions: must he offer a sacrifice, or must he return and circumambulate? His discussion of this disagreement makes clear that his hesitation concerning someone who circumambulates without ritual purity includes a menstruating woman and someone in a state of janābah who do so deliberately. It also shows that the case of someone who forgets is far less serious. Someone unable to purify himself has a stronger excuse than someone who forgets.

Abū Bakr ‘Abd al-‘Azīz said in al-Shāfī:

(Chapter on Circumambulating the House without Ritual Purity. Abū ‘Abd Allāh said, as reported by Abū Tālib: “No one should circumambulate the House except in a state of ritual purity. There is greater leniency regarding voluntary circumambulation. Nor should anyone attend the pilgrimage rites except in a state of ritual purity.”

As reported by Muhammad ibn al-Hakam, he said: “If someone performs the visitation circumambulation, having forgotten to purify himself, and has already returned, nothing is required of him.” He preferred that the person circumambulate in a state of ritual purity. “If he has had intercourse, his Hajj remains valid, and nothing is required of him.”

This explicit statement from Ahmad clearly establishes that ritual purity is not a condition of validity, and that someone who circumambulates having forgotten to purify himself owes nothing—neither a sacrifice nor anything else. It also establishes that if he subsequently has intercourse, his Hajj remains valid and nothing is required of him. Likewise, when he distinguished between voluntary circumambulation