Is it permissible to perform sa'i before tavaf during Hac or Umre?

The question of performing sa'i before tavaf is one of the issues where scholars have significant differences of opinion. The majority of scholars — the Maliki, Shafi'i, and the well-known Hanbali position — hold that tavaf must precede sa'i, and sa'i performed before tavaf is invalid and must be repeated after performing tavaf. Their evidence is that Hz. Peygamber (sallallahu aleyhi ve sellem) performed tavaf before sa'i in all his hac ibadetis, and he said: 'Take your rites from me,' establishing that his order is to be followed.

The Hanafi school takes a different position, holding that while performing tavaf before sa'i is the Sunnah and preferred order, sa'i performed before tavaf is valid, though it is contrary to the sunnet practice. This is based on the hadith narrated on the Day of Sacrifice when a man came to Hz. Peygamber and said: 'I performed sa'i before tavaf,' and Hz. Peygamber replied: 'No harm' (la haraja), indicating that the order is not a strict condition.

Sheikh Ibn Taymiyyah supported the view that the order between tavaf and sa'i is sunnet but not farz, citing the hadith about Hz. Peygamber's response on the Day of Sacrifice. Ibn Uthaymeen, while generally following the majority position, acknowledged that the hadith provides evidence for flexibility. He sunnet following the established order (tavaf then sa'i) as the safe and clear practice, while acknowledging that some scholars validate the reversed order based on the explicit hadith.