Sa'i between Safa and Marwah
Al-Sa'y bayna al-Safa wa al-Marwah
Overview
The Sa'i is walking seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah beside the Ka'bah, re-living Hajar's search for water for her son Isma'il (عليه السلام). It follows the tawaf and is a pillar of Hajj for most scholars.
Du'a
Approaching al-Safa (first time only)
إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ ۖ أَبْدَأُ بِمَا بَدَأَ اللَّهُ بِهِ
Inna-s-Safa wa-l-Marwata min sha'a'irillah — abda'u bima bada'a-llahu bih
Indeed, al-Safa and al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allah — I begin with what Allah began with.
Recited once as you draw near al-Safa to begin the sa'i.
Source · Qur'an 2:158; Sahih Muslim 1218
Grade · The words are Qur'an 2:158; reciting it on approaching al-Safa is in Sahih Muslim 1218 (Jabir's (RA) Hajj).
On al-Safa and al-Marwah (facing the qiblah, each ascent)
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ، أَنْجَزَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَهَزَمَ الْأَحْزَابَ وَحْدَهُ
La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamd wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir. La ilaha illa Allah wahdah, anjaza wa'dah, wa nasara 'abdah, wa hazama-l-ahzaba wahdah
There is no god but Allah alone, no partner has He; His is the dominion and His the praise, and He is able to do all things. There is no god but Allah alone; He fulfilled His promise, gave victory to His servant, and defeated the confederates alone.
Facing the qiblah on each of al-Safa and al-Marwah, raising the hands; said three times, with personal du'a in between.
Source · Sahih Muslim 1218
Grade · Sahih (Sahih Muslim).
Qur'an
إِنَّ ٱلصَّفَا وَٱلْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَآئِرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنْ حَجَّ ٱلْبَيْتَ أَوِ ٱعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا ۚ وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ'Indeed, as-Safa and al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever makes Hajj to the House or performs 'Umrah — there is no blame upon him for walking between them. And whoever volunteers good — then indeed, Allah is appreciative and Knowing.'
إِنَّ ٱلصَّفَا وَٱلْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَآئِرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنْ حَجَّ ٱلْبَيْتَ أَوِ ٱعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا ۚ وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌReference · Qur'an 2:158
Hadith
- •اسْعَوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ عَلَيْكُمُ السَّعْيَShe saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performing sa'i between Safa and Marwah, and he was saying: 'Perform sa'i, for Allah has prescribed sa'i upon you.'Reference · Musnad Ahmad 6/421Grade · Sahih li-ghayrihi — the Habibah bint Abi Tijrah (RA) hadith; graded sahih by al-Albani (Irwa' al-Ghalil 1072, Sahih al-Jami'). Its chain (via 'Abdullah ibn al-Mu'ammal (RH)) is weakened by some, so it stands on corroborating routes.
- •لِتَأْخُذُوا مَنَاسِكَكُمْ'Take your rites (of Hajj) from me' — spoken during the Farewell Hajj, in which the Prophet (ﷺ) himself performed sa'i between Safa and Marwah, establishing it as part of the prescribed rites to be followed.Reference · Sahih Muslim 1297Grade · Sahih (Sahih Muslim) — the 'Take your rites from me' hadith of Jabir (RA).
The Sa'i route
7 trips · Safa → Marwah → Safa …
Face the Qiblah and make du'a on each hill.
Safa to Marwah is one trip, Marwah to Safa the next — so the seven trips end at al-Marwah, not back at al-Safa.
For Umrah
In 'Umrah the sa'i is performed once, immediately after tawaf al-'Umrah, and it is a pillar on the same majority reasoning as in Hajj (Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali; wajib for the Hanafis). It is the last of the 'Umrah's acts before the hair is cut, so completing it brings the pilgrim to the threshold of the tahallul. Note the count contrast that Q 2:158 itself draws by naming Hajj and 'Umrah together: a Tamattu' pilgrim performs sa'i twice across his trip precisely because his 'Umrah and his Hajj are two separate pilgrimages under two separate ihrams.
Applies to
Applies to all three types of Hajj (tamattu', qiran, ifrad) and to Umrah. Count difference: a pilgrim performing Tamattu' does sa'i twice (once after tawaf al-'umrah, once after tawaf al-ifadah for Hajj) because there are two separate ihrams. Qiran and Ifrad pilgrims do sa'i once (after tawaf al-qudum, which then need not be repeated after tawaf al-ifadah).
If missed
Majority (Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali): Hajj/Umrah is not valid or complete without sa'i; it cannot be replaced by a dam. The pilgrim remains in ihram until it is performed. Hanafi: Hajj remains valid, but omitting sa'i (or omitting four or more of its seven circuits) obligates a dam (sacrifice); omitting three or fewer circuits requires sadaqah.
Related conditions & rulings
Timing & place
Not clock-bound. Sa'i is valid only after a preceding valid tawaf, and once performed it does not expire. For Umrah: performed after tawaf al-'umrah. For the Hajj sa'i: performed after tawaf al-ifadah (tawaf al-ziyarah), or it may be brought forward to after tawaf al-qudum for those doing qiran or ifrad. Unlike wuquf at Arafah, there is no fixed start/end time of day.
The mas'a — the enclosed gallery between the two hills of al-Safa and al-Marwah, now incorporated within Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. The pilgrim begins each odd circuit at al-Safa and each even circuit at al-Marwah.
Raml vs Sa'i jogging
Raml and the sa'i jog are two different sunnahs in two different rites, and pilgrims often mix them up. Raml is in the tawaf, around the Ka'bah: men take short, quick, brisk steps — chest out, shoulders moving — in the first three of the seven circuits only, walking normally for the last four. The sa'i jog (harwalah) is in the sa'i, between al-Safa and al-Marwah: men break into a light jog only within the green-lit stretch, on each of the seven trips, walking normally before and after it. Both are for men only; women keep a calm, normal pace throughout both rites.
Common mistakes
- •Miscounting circuits by treating a full round-trip (Safa to Marwah and back) as one circuit, thereby ending the seventh at al-Safa instead of al-Marwah.
- •Beginning at al-Marwah instead of al-Safa.
- •Believing wudu/purity is required and needlessly repeating or delaying sa'i.
- •Women performing the men-only brisk jog between the green lights.
- •Performing raml (which belongs to tawaf, not sa'i).
- •Not covering the full distance to the base of each hill.
Across the madhabs
Genuine four-madhab divergence: three schools treat sa'i as a pillar, the Hanafis as wajib. A historical minority (attributed to Ibn 'Abbas (RA), Ibn al-Zubayr (RA), Anas (RA), Ibn Sirin (RH), and one report from Ahmad) held it merely sunnah/tatawwu' based on the 'no blame' wording of Q2:158.
- •Hanafi: Wajib (obligatory duty), not a rukn. Omission does not invalidate Hajj but obligates a dam (sacrifice).
- •Maliki: Rukn (pillar). Hajj/Umrah is invalid without it and it cannot be compensated by a dam.
- •Shafi'i: Rukn (pillar). Indispensable; cannot be made up by a sacrifice.
- •Hanbali: Rukn (pillar) in the relied-upon (mu'tamad) view; a secondary narration from Imam Ahmad classes it as wajib (dam for omission).
Notes
Only seven circuits are prescribed; adding extra circuits is not a sunnah. Some du'a and dhikr at Safa and Marwah (facing the Ka'bah, raising hands, reciting 'Inna al-Safa wa al-Marwah...' on first ascent) are recommended but not obligatory. The strongest position, held by the majority, is that sa'i is a pillar; the Hanafi school rules it wajib, and a historical minority held it merely sunnah.