Shadharwan (the ledge at the foot of the Kaaba wall)

The shadharwan, a Persian word, is the part of the wall of the Sacred House that was left out from the width of the foundation so that it projects; it is called ta'zir because it is like a waist-wrap for the house. ¹ The jurists describe it as a smooth projecting ledge about two-thirds of a cubit beyond the width of the wall; they say one can walk on it, and they examined whether circling over it is valid. Ibn Rushayd called the word non-Arabic. ¹

The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold it part of the Kaaba, reasoning that Quraysh left it when they rebuilt the house, as they left the Hijr. The Hanafis hold it not part of the house but a foundation built beneath the wall as a precaution against floods. ¹ Some later Malikis and Shafi'is agreed with the Hanafis, among them Ibn Rushayd, whom al-Hattab followed. Ibn Rushayd argued that the name is not found in any hadith or in the early scholars, that the house stood on Ibrahim's foundations at the two Yemeni corners, that Ibn al-Zubayr added only on the Hijr side, and that Hajjaj demolished only the Hijr side. ²

The majority require that the whole body of the one circling be outside the shadharwan, that is, that the ledge be inside the circuit; this is the view of the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis. The Hanafis do not require it and hold circling over it valid, saying it is better to circle behind it to leave the dispute. ² The Shafi'is derive that one who walks on the shadharwan, even for one step, has not circled validly, and that one who circles outside it while touching the wall has two views on validity, the sounder being that it is not valid. Ibn Qudama holds that one who circles over the Hijr wall and the shadharwan has not performed the circuit, since it is part of the house. ²