There are four requisites of Sai. The pilgrim must pass over all the space between Safa and Marwah; he must begin with Safa, and end with Marwah; he must traverse the distance seven times; and he must perform the rite after some important Tawaf, as that of arrival, or that of return from Arafat.
The practices of Sai are, briefly, to walk, if possible, to
[p.289] be in a state of ceremonial purity, to quote lengthily from the Koran, and to be abundant in praise of Allah.
The prayer of Sai is, O my Lord, Pardon and Pity, and pass over that (Sin) which Thou knowest. Verily Thou knowest what is not known, and verily Thou art the most Glorious, the most Generous! O, our Lord, grant us in this World Prosperity, and in the Future Prosperity, and save us from the Punishment of Fire!
When Sai is concluded, the pilgrim, if performing only Umrah, shaves his head, or clips his hair, and becomes Muhill, returning to the Moslems normal state. If he purpose Hajj, or pilgrimage after Umrah, he re-assumes the Ihram. And if he be engaged in pilgrimage, he continues Muhrim, i.e., in Ihram, as before.
Section IV.Of Wukuf, or standing upon Mount Arafat.
The days of pilgrimage are three in number: namely, the 8th, the 9th, and the 10th of the month Zul Hijjah.[FN#30]
On the first day (8th), called Yaum al-Tarwiyah, the pilgrim should start from Meccah after the dawn-prayer and sunrise, perform his noontide, afternoon, and evening devotions at Muna, where it is a Sunnat that he should sleep.[FN#31]
[p.290]On the second day (9th), the Yaum Arafat, after performing the early prayer at Ghalas (i.e. when a man cannot see his neighbours face) on Mount Sabir, near Muna, the pilgrim should start when the sun is risen, proceed to the Mountain of Mercy, encamp there, and after performing the noontide and afternoon devotions at Masjid Ibrahim,[FN#32] joining and shortening them,[FN#33] he should take his station upon the mountain, which is all standing ground. But the best position is that preferred by the Prophet, near the great rocks lying at the lower slope of Arafat. He must be present at the sermon,[FN#34] and be abundant in Talbiyat (supplication), Tahlil (recitations of the chapter Say he is the one God![FN#35]), and weeping, for that is the place for the outpouring of tears. There he should stay till sunset, and then decamp and return hastily to Muzdalifah, where he should pass a portion of the night.[FN#36] After a visit to the Mosque Mashr al-Harim, he should collect seven pebbles and proceed to Muna.[FN#37]
Yaum al-Nahr, the third day of the pilgrimage (10th Zul Hijjah), is the great festival of the Moslem year. Amongst