How to Perform Sa'i: Steps, Duas and Mistakes

Every ritual in Umrah carries a story, but few land in the chest the way Sa'i does. Walking between the two hills inside Masjid al-Haram, you retrace the desperate footsteps of a mother searching for water, and that story becomes yours for seven laps. Here is how to perform Sa'i correctly and avoid the mistakes that catch even experienced pilgrims.

The Story Behind the Ritual

Sa'i comes from the Arabic sa'a, to walk, to strive, to pursue: seven laps between the hills of Safa and Marwa, commemorating Hajar, wife of Prophet Ibrahim. Left alone in the desert with her infant son Ismail, she ran between the hills seven times searching for water while her son cried from thirst. After the seventh lap, returning to check on him, she found water springing where the angel Jibril had struck the ground: the well known as Zamzam. Her trust and perseverance are what every pilgrim re-enacts.

Sa'i and Tawaf feel similar but carry different meanings. Tawaf fixes your mind entirely on Allah; Sa'i symbolises life's ongoing struggle, where you bring your burdens and hopes exactly as Hajar did. The practical rules differ too: wudhu is sunnah rather than required, so Sa'i stays valid even in states of ritual impurity, meaning women in menstruation can perform it, and no fixed dua is prescribed during the walking itself. Mothers in the gallery often weep during Sa'i; the walk is her footsteps, retraced.

The Steps, One by One

• Begin at Safa, never Marwa: a lap started from the wrong hill does not count, and the signs inside the mosque mark the way
• At Safa, recite the opening: Inna as-Safa wal-Marwata min sha'a'irillah, then Abda'u bima bada' Allahu bih, I begin with what Allah began with. Said once at the start only
• Face the Kaaba, raise your hands, and recite the takbir and talbiyah dhikr three times, weaving your own duas between repetitions
• Walk toward Marwa. Two sets of green fluorescent lights roughly 50 metres apart mark Milayn al-Akhdharayn, the stretch where Hajar ran for higher ground; men jog at a medium pace here while women continue walking normally
• At Marwa, face the Kaaba and repeat the same supplications. That completes lap one; the walk back to Safa is lap two
• Finish seven laps ending at Marwa: Safa to Marwa and back, with the seventh arrival at Marwa closing the ritual
• Make a final dua, pray two rak'ahs of nafl if space allows, then proceed to Halq or Taqsir, the haircut that completes your Umrah

Counting is where pilgrims slip most. Seven laps means seven one-way crossings ending at Marwa, not seven returns to Safa; counting only Safa-to-Safa circuits would give you fourteen laps of walking. If you lose track midway, take the lowest number you are confident about and continue from there, because doubt does not outrank certainty.

Practical Notes for the Walk

• Quietest windows in the Masaa: 10 PM to 4 AM and 9 AM to 4 PM; 5 PM to 9 PM is the heaviest congestion
• Distance: one lap is about 450 metres, so seven laps total roughly 3.15 kilometres. Combined with Tawaf, pace yourself
• Wheelchairs: rental stations with attendants sit at the entrances, dedicated lanes run the corridor, and Sa'i in a wheelchair is fully valid when walking is difficult
• Rest is permitted: pause or split the ritual, resting in the pavilion areas until ready
• Zamzam stations line both sides of the route; drink before you start rather than after you fade
• Footwear matters: comfortable, easily removable shoes earn their space in your bag
• If you are traveling with family, agree on a meeting point at Marwah beforehand, because the exit areas get busy

Mistakes to Sidestep

• Starting from Marwa, which voids that lap as a counted crossing
• Counting fourteen laps by expecting to return to Safa at the end
• Gesturing toward the Kaaba the way Tawaf's ihram salute works; at Safa and Marwa simply face the Kaaba and raise your hands normally in dua
• Assuming wudhu is mandatory; it is sunnah here, and menstruating women may perform Sa'i
• Cutting the span short: the full distance between the hills must be covered for validity

Walk it with presence, and save your biggest duas for the laps, because the walk is long enough to pour your whole heart out. The dua has no script because Hajar's story had none: she ran with what she had, and the water arrived from where no one expected. Sa'i ends at Marwa, but the lesson, that striving and trust travel together, stays long after the Ihram comes off.

Indeed, Safa and Marwa are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever performs Hajj or Umrah, there is no blame on him for walking between them. Quran 2:158

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