Q: I performed Hajj with a group of men and women. We performed Wudu' (ablution) in `Arafah then we moved to Muzdalifah (a place outside Makkah) and we do not know whether we slept there or not. Then, we went to throw the pebbles and perform Tawaf-ul-Ifadah (final obligatory circumambulation of the Ka`bah in Hajj) but we did not perform ablution upon entering the Sacred Mosque. We circumambulated without performing ablution but we were still pure from our first ablution and we do not know whether we slept and our ablution was nullified or not? The question is: What is the ruling on (Part No. 11; Page No. 245) the circumambulation we performed without performing a new ablution even though we do not know whether we were pure or not? Could you kindly advise?

A: Your Tawaf is valid because the origin is the certainty of purity which can not be altered by mere doubt as long as you are not sure that you have nullified your first ablution by falling into a deep sleep or something else because of what has been related in the Two Sahih (authentic) Books of Hadith (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) on the authority of `Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn `Asim Al-Maziny (may Allah be pleased with him) that he complained to the Prophet (peace be upon him) that a person imagines to have passed wind during the Salah (prayer). Thereupon, he (the Prophet) said: He should not leave his Salah unless he hears (the) sound (of breaking wind) or smells something (of it). It is related in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If any one of you feels something in his abdomen and is doubtful whether or not anything has passed from him, he should not leave the mosque unless he hears a sound or smells something. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.