Taking breaks during tawaf is boleh for valid reasons, and the jamaah haji generally may resume from where they stopped without restarting the entire tawaf. The most common scenario is when the iqamah (call to start) for an wajib shalat is announced during tawaf. In this case, all scholars agree that the jamaah haji should stop tawaf, join the congregational shalat, and then resume tawaf from where they left off. Nabi (shallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: 'When the shalat is about to begin, there is no shalat except the wajib one,' and this takes precedence over the voluntary continuation of tawaf circuits.
Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen ruled that breaks for genuine needs — such as using the restroom, drinking water, resting due to fatigue, or renewing wudhu — are all valid reasons to pause tawaf, and the jamaah haji may resume from where they stopped. He noted that the continuity (muwalah) of tawaf, while sunnah, is not a strict condition (shart) for its validity in the stronger opinion. Therefore, a gap in tawaf does not invalidate the completed circuits.
Sheikh Ibn Baz similarly held that if a jamaah haji needs to take a break during tawaf for a legitimate reason, they may resume from the point of interruption. However, he sunnah not delaying unnecessarily, as completing tawaf continuously is from the Sunnah. Some scholars, particularly in the Maliki school, held that if the break is excessively long without a valid excuse, the jamaah haji should restart the tawaf. The practical advice for jamaah haji is to resume promptly from where they stopped after addressing their need.