The mas’aa (place of saa’i) is not part of al-Masjid al-Haraam

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

 “It seems that the Mas’aa is not part of the Mosque, hence they built a wall to separate the two, but it is a low wall. Undoubtedly this is better for people, because if it were to be incorporated into the Mosque and made a part of it, a woman whose period began between tawaaf and saa’i would not be able to do saa’i.

 What I say is that if a woman’s period begins after tawaaf and before saa’i, she should still do saa’i, because the Mas’aa is not considered to be part of the Mosque.

 With regard to tahiyyat al-masjid (greeting the mosque), it may be said that if a person does saa’i after tawaaf and then goes back to the Mosque, then he should pray tahiyyat al-masjid, but if he does not do it there is no blame on him. It is better to make the most of this opportunity and pray these two rak’ahs, because of the virtue of praying in this place.