Answer: Yes. As we have already said, if someone were to do that, it would not be valid, because for saʿy to be sound it must come after a prescribed tawāf. Therefore, if he reverses the order—starting with saʿy and then performing tawāf—only the tawāf is valid.

Question: Does that mean he has to repeat an entire, correctly performed ʿUmrah?

Answer: If he did this and then released himself from his ʿUmrah, that in fact means he has not performed the ʿUmrah at all; he is still in the state of ihrām, because one of the pillars of ʿUmrah remains unfulfilled. He must therefore put his ihrām garments back on, remove any stitched clothing, avoid the prohibitions of ihrām, and go on to complete the very ʿUmrah for which he first assumed ihrām, for it is still incumbent upon him.

Question: Is he required to slaughter an expiatory animal?

Answer: That depends on which prohibited act, if any, he committed. If he had sexual intercourse during that period, a fidyah is due: he must offer a sheep. His ʿUmrah is rendered invalid if intercourse occurred before the saʿy. In that case he should still complete the rites as described, then enter into ihrām again for a make-up ʿUmrah, performing it along with the slaughter of a sheep—or, according to another view among the scholars, a camel—this ruling pertains to intercourse committed before saʿy.

Question: While we were in the saʿy area, one of my children needed to relieve himself, so I had to take him outside the corridor and then returned to finish the saʿy. What is the ruling on that?

Answer: Continuity between the circuits is a condition for a valid saʿy. If he broke off the saʿy, left for the restroom, and then came back, he must start the saʿy anew, beginning from the first circuit, because the circuits completed before the interruption were nullified by the loss of the required continuity.