And if a scholar were asked about someone running between two mountains, “Is he permitted to do that?” he would answer, “Yes.” But if he were told, “He does so as an act of worship, like making the passage between al-Safā and al-Marwah,” he would say, “Doing this as worship is forbidden and reprehensible. The person doing it must be called upon to repent; if he does not repent, he is to be put to death.”

Likewise, if he were asked about leaving the head uncovered and wearing a waist-wrapper and an upper-body wrap, he would rule that this is permissible. But if he were told, “He does so as a form of ihrām (ritual consecration), as a pilgrim does,” he would say, “This is forbidden and reprehensible.”

If he were asked about someone standing in the sun, he would say, “This is permissible.” But if he were told, “He does so as an act of worship,” he would say, “This is reprehensible,” as al-Bukhārī narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both:

“Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, saw a man standing in the sun and asked, ‘Who is this?’ They said, ‘This is Abū Isrā’īl. He intends to stand in the sun without sitting down, seeking shade, or speaking.’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Tell him to speak, sit down, seek shade, and complete his fast.’”

Had he done this for his own comfort or some permissible purpose, he would not have been forbidden to do it. But because he did it as an act of worship, he was forbidden to do so. Similarly, if a man entered his house from the back, that would not be forbidden to him. But if he did so as an act of worship, as people used to do in the pre-Islamic period: