Source: Ghair Masnoon Nafli Namazain by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
Just as it is Sunnah to offer two rakʿāt after the Ṭawāf of the Kaʿbah, some people have introduced two rakʿāt after the Saʿī, which is an innovation (bidʿah). None of the early scholars held this practice to be valid.
The first recorded mention of a prayer after Saʿī comes from the commentator of al-Hidāyah, ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Humām al-Ḥanafī (d. 861 AH). He writes:
"When a person finishes the Saʿī, it is recommended that he enters (the mosque) and offers two rakʿāt, so that the conclusion of Saʿī resembles that of Ṭawāf. Just as it is established that its beginning starts with the touching (istilām) of the Black Stone, like the Ṭawāf of the Prophet ﷺ. There is no need for analogical reasoning here, for there is a clear text in this regard.
Al-Muṭṭalib bin Abī Wadaʿah said:
I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he finished his Saʿī, came to face the corner (of the Kaʿbah) and offered two rakʿāt at the edge of the area of Ṭawāf, and there was no one between him and those making Ṭawāf.
Reported by Aḥmad, Ibn Mājah, and Ibn Ḥibbān."
(Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 2/460)
The narration attributed to al-Muṭṭalib bin Abī Wadaʿah رضي الله عنه is as follows:
رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا فرغ من سبعه جاء حتى يحاذي بالركن فصلى ركعتين في حاشية المطاف وليس بينه وبين الطواف أحد
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when He finished the seven rounds, He came and stood aligned with the corner (of the Kaʿbah), and offered two rakʿāt at the edge of the Ṭawāf area, and there was no one between Him and those performing Ṭawāf.”
(Musnad Aḥmad: 6/399, Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 2962, Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2958)
The narration is weak due to disconnection (inqiṭāʿ) in the chain.
– Kathīr bin Kathīr himself admits that he did not hear from his father.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2016 – and that chain is authentic, proving the lack of hearing)
In this weak narration, the word "سَبْعَه" (seven rounds) was altered to "سَعْيِهِ" (his Saʿī) – i.e., from Ṭawāf to Saʿī, thus misrepresenting the context.
In Musnad Aḥmad (6/399), the wording used is أُسْبُوعَهُ (his seven [rounds]), again proving it refers to Ṭawāf.
In Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān (2363), the narration appears with the following wording:
حين فرغ من طوافه أتى حاشية المطاف فصلى ركعتين
“When the Prophet ﷺ completed his Ṭawāf, He came to the edge of the Ṭawāf area and offered two rakʿāt.”
The two rakʿāt prayer after Saʿī is an innovation and not proven from the Prophet ﷺ or the early generations.
– The only authentic two rakʿāt in this context are those offered after Ṭawāf, not after Saʿī.
– The narration used to support this new practice has a weak chain, and its wording was altered to give the impression that it refers to Saʿī, when in fact, it is clearly about Ṭawāf.
✦ Offering Prayer After the Saʿī of Ṣafā and Marwah
Just as it is Sunnah to offer two rakʿāt after the Ṭawāf of the Kaʿbah, some people have introduced two rakʿāt after the Saʿī, which is an innovation (bidʿah). None of the early scholars held this practice to be valid.
❖ Origin of the Practice of Saʿī Prayer
The first recorded mention of a prayer after Saʿī comes from the commentator of al-Hidāyah, ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Humām al-Ḥanafī (d. 861 AH). He writes:
"When a person finishes the Saʿī, it is recommended that he enters (the mosque) and offers two rakʿāt, so that the conclusion of Saʿī resembles that of Ṭawāf. Just as it is established that its beginning starts with the touching (istilām) of the Black Stone, like the Ṭawāf of the Prophet ﷺ. There is no need for analogical reasoning here, for there is a clear text in this regard.
Al-Muṭṭalib bin Abī Wadaʿah said:
I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he finished his Saʿī, came to face the corner (of the Kaʿbah) and offered two rakʿāt at the edge of the area of Ṭawāf, and there was no one between him and those making Ṭawāf.
Reported by Aḥmad, Ibn Mājah, and Ibn Ḥibbān."
(Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 2/460)❖ The Actual Wording of the Ḥadīth
The narration attributed to al-Muṭṭalib bin Abī Wadaʿah رضي الله عنه is as follows:
رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا فرغ من سبعه جاء حتى يحاذي بالركن فصلى ركعتين في حاشية المطاف وليس بينه وبين الطواف أحد
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when He finished the seven rounds, He came and stood aligned with the corner (of the Kaʿbah), and offered two rakʿāt at the edge of the Ṭawāf area, and there was no one between Him and those performing Ṭawāf.”
(Musnad Aḥmad: 6/399, Sunan al-Nasā’ī: 2962, Sunan Ibn Mājah: 2958)❖ Authenticity of the Chain
The narration is weak due to disconnection (inqiṭāʿ) in the chain.
– Kathīr bin Kathīr himself admits that he did not hear from his father.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2016 – and that chain is authentic, proving the lack of hearing)In this weak narration, the word "سَبْعَه" (seven rounds) was altered to "سَعْيِهِ" (his Saʿī) – i.e., from Ṭawāf to Saʿī, thus misrepresenting the context.
In Musnad Aḥmad (6/399), the wording used is أُسْبُوعَهُ (his seven [rounds]), again proving it refers to Ṭawāf.
❖ Clarification from Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān
In Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān (2363), the narration appears with the following wording:
حين فرغ من طوافه أتى حاشية المطاف فصلى ركعتين
“When the Prophet ﷺ completed his Ṭawāf, He came to the edge of the Ṭawāf area and offered two rakʿāt.”
Conclusion:
The two rakʿāt prayer after Saʿī is an innovation and not proven from the Prophet ﷺ or the early generations.
– The only authentic two rakʿāt in this context are those offered after Ṭawāf, not after Saʿī.
– The narration used to support this new practice has a weak chain, and its wording was altered to give the impression that it refers to Saʿī, when in fact, it is clearly about Ṭawāf.
