Is anything required of a woman who loses consciousness and regains it intermittently during Tawaf Al-Ifadah while in a wheelchair for Tawaf?
The circumambulation (tawaf) of an unconscious person is not valid according to the majority of scholars. Therefore, if she can return to Mecca without severe hardship, she must go back to repeat the tawaf and the sa'i (ritual brisk walking) afterward, if she was performing Tamattu' or if she was performing Ifrad/Qiran and had not yet performed sa'i after the Tawaf al-Qudum. By doing so, she will achieve the greater release from ihram (tahallul al-akbar). She is still in a state of ihram according to the majority of scholars. However, if she has performed the rammy (stoning) and shortened her hair, she has achieved the first release from ihram (tahallul al-awwal). If sexual intercourse occurred after these rituals and before repeating the tawaf, there is no penalty upon her due to ignorance.
If she cannot return or if it involves severe hardship, she may avail herself of the ruling of the Hanafis, who consider valid the circumambulation of an unconscious person if they are circumambulated, especially if they intended to perform tawaf and then lost consciousness during it. Thus, an unconscious person who was brought to perform tawaf is considered to be the one performing the tawaf. Some Hanafis do not require a separate intention for tawaf, as the intention for ihram suffices, and this applies to someone who was carried while being circumambulated.
Based on this, if she can return without hardship, she must repeat the tawaf, while avoiding sexual intercourse and its preliminaries before the repetition. This is the more cautious approach and the opinion of the majority. If returning is difficult, she has leeway in the opinion of the Hanafis.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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