Have a doubt.

Build on certainty, not doubt.

If the doubt arose during the tawaaf, take the lower number you're certain of, and complete the remaining circuits from there. Your tawaaf is valid.

If the doubt arose after you've finished the tawaaf and moved away from the Mataf, ignore it. Assume your tawaaf was valid. Doubts after the fact do not undo a completed act of worship.

Across the four schools

Sources: Hisar Travel SG (Shāfiʿī); IslamQA 171308 (Ḥanbalī); Fiqh-us-Sunnah on tawaaf.

Same principle as tawaaf.

If you're still in the corridor between Safa and Marwah and unsure how many trips you've made, take the lower count and continue from there. Your sa'i is valid.

If you've left the masʿā and are unsure, assume it was complete. Don't restart.

Remember: one trip from Safa to Marwah counts as one. Marwah to Safa is the second. The seventh trip ends at Marwah.

Source: standard fiqh principle applied across the four schools — sa'i takes the same "build on certainty" rule as tawaaf.

Niyyah is in the heart.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Actions are by intentions, and every person will have what they intended" (Bukhari 1, Muslim 1907).

If you came on Hajj intending to perform Hajj, your niyyah is valid — even if you did not articulate it in Arabic, did not say the exact words from a manual, or whispered something slightly different.

The verbal talbiyah and the specific Arabic phrasing are recommended (Sunnah), not required (Wajib). Some scholars (Mālikī) hold the verbal niyyah is required; the majority hold the heart's intention is what matters.

Sources: Bukhari 1, Muslim 1907; majority fiqh position (Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī).

It depends which school you follow.

Majority (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī): wuḍū' is a condition of tawaaf. If you're certain it broke (e.g. you felt yourself pass wind clearly), leave the Mataf, make wuḍū' again, and resume from the beginning of the circuit you were in. If you're only uncertain, your tawaaf is valid and you continue.

Ḥanafī: wuḍū' is wajib (strongly recommended) for tawaaf but not a strict condition. If it breaks and you continue, the tawaaf is valid but you owe a sadaqah (charitable amount).

Sources: Mālikī (al-Mudawwana), Shāfiʿī (al-Umm), Ḥanbalī (al-Mughnī), Ḥanafī (al-Hidāya); see also IslamQA 38020.

The window is wide.

Wuquf at Arafat is valid any moment from Dhuhr on 9 Dhul-Ḥijjah until Fajr of the 10th. Even a brief presence within Arafat in this window fulfils the Rukn.

Wajib: remaining in Arafat until sunset. If you left before sunset and did not return, you owe a sacrifice (dam) but your Hajj is still valid.

If you never entered Arafat at all in the window — including up to dawn of the 10th — the Hajj is invalid. This is extremely rare; almost any group transport will pass through Arafat in time.

Sources: Muslim 1218 (Jabir); consensus of the four schools on the window boundaries.

Talbiyah stops at the first pebble.

For Hajj: the talbiyah continues from your ihram intention until the moment your first pebble strikes Jamrah al-Aqabah on 10 Dhul-Ḥijjah. Not before, not after.

For Umrah: talbiyah stops when you begin tawaaf — specifically, when you touch (or point to) the Black Stone for the first circuit.

If you continued reciting it past that moment, there's no penalty — the talbiyah is itself a virtuous dhikr. Just stop now. If you stopped too early, you missed some Sunnah but nothing more. Your rite is unaffected.

Sources: Bukhari 1685, Muslim 1281; Fiqh-us-Sunnah on talbiyah.

Replace missed throws if you can.

If a pebble missed the wall ('outside the basin'), it does NOT count. Throw a replacement.

If you stoned the wrong pillar (e.g. Wusta before Sughra on a Tashreeq day), the out-of-order throws must be redone in order. Your existing throws at the wrong pillar don't transfer.

If you discover later you fell short on a day, you can make up the missed pebbles before sunset of the 13th. After that, you owe a sacrifice (dam) for what was missed but the Hajj remains valid.

If you're certain you stoned 7 but doubt creeps in afterwards — assume valid and don't restart.

Sources: classical manāsik (Ibn ʿUthaymīn, ash-Shaybānī); IslamQA on missed jamarāt.

Accidental violations are forgiven.

The Qur'an (5:95) and the four schools agree: violations done by mistake, in forgetfulness, or under compulsion carry no penalty. Your ihram and your rite remain valid.

Deliberate violations (cutting hair/nails, wearing perfume, hunting, sewn clothing for men) typically require a fidya — a small expiation of three days fast, feeding six poor, or sacrificing a sheep. The act does not invalidate the rite; it is a separable atonement.

The exception is sexual relations: deliberate intercourse before the first tahallul on 10 Dhul-Ḥijjah invalidates the Hajj entirely (and requires a Badana — camel sacrifice). After the first tahallul but before tawaaf al-ifadah, requires a sheep sacrifice but does not invalidate.

Sources: Qur'an 5:95; Bukhari 1844 (Jabir on accidental violation); the four schools' standard manāsik literature.