1. Some people think that sa‘i begins at Safa and that one circuit is completed only after going to Marwah and returning to Safa. This is clearly wrong. The correct view is that going from Safa to Marwah constitutes one circuit, and returning from Marwah to Safa completes two circuits.
2. Climbing Mount Safa, raising both hands, and gesturing toward the Ka‘bah with both hands raised as in the takbir of salah.
3. Reciting the verse إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ [1] every time one ascends or descends Safa and Marwah. This is because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited this verse only the first time he ascended Safa.
4. Assigning a specific du‘a for each circuit of sa‘i. No hadith of this kind has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Therefore, it is better not to recite anything specifically assigned, but rather to make any du‘a narrated in the Qur’an and Hadith, or to ask in one’s own language for whatever good one desires in this world and the Hereafter. This is more likely to be accepted and is an act in accordance with the Sunnah.
5. Performing idtiba‘ during sa‘i. The correct view is that idtiba‘ is prescribed only during tawaf al-qudum and nowhere else, as stated previously.
6. Considering it a condition for completing sa‘i to ascend to the summits of Safa and Marwah. However, this is not a condition. It is sufficient to proceed to the place between the two hills of Safa and Marwah where the wheelchairs of the weak are turned around.
7. Considering purity and wudu to be conditions for sa‘i, just as they are for tawaf. Purity and wudu are not conditions for sa‘i, though they are preferable.
8. Thinking that the continuity of sa‘i may not be interrupted even when necessary—for example, that one may not pause to rest due to fatigue, drink water, relieve oneself, or participate in salah or the funeral prayer. This is incorrect; in fact, there is no harm in doing these things.
9. Thinking that sa‘i is not valid unless it is performed immediately after tawaf. Sa‘i must indeed be performed after tawaf, but it is not necessary to perform it immediately. Nevertheless, following the example of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, it is preferable to perform sa‘i after tawaf without delay, as far as possible.
10. Performing voluntary sa‘i as one performs voluntary tawaf. Sa‘i is an act of worship specifically connected to Hajj. There is no provision for performing sa‘i independently as a voluntary act. Therefore, there is no reward for voluntary sa‘i.
[1]. Al-Baqarah: 158.