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Fatwa CenterSitting in outer courtyard of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam while menstruating
Question
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. Shaykh, there is an outer courtyard of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam where worshippers pray, and at times guards stop people from entering the Masjid, so then more worshippers pray there. I am aware that during her menstrual cycle, a woman must not enter the masjid. I want to know: what about this outer courtyard where people pray? Is it also not allowed to enter there, or is it not considered part of the Masjid in that way that I must keep away during that period? They make temporary arrangements (by placing plastic barriers or by putting ribbons etc.) for the prayer timings, while outside the prayer timings, the barriers are not there all the time. My questions are: am I allowed to freely move around in any place in that 'outer' courtyard during that period or not? And if I should keep away, should it be only during the prayer timing or throughout? And should I stay away only from the places where barriers are usually placed or from the complete courtyard? Also, the taxi drops me of with my family at a place where I have to pass through that outer courtyard to go and sit at some place to listen to Quran recitation during those days from Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, or else I will have to remain all that time in that taxi drop area or nearby to that, which is not comfortable. Please advise, Shaykh. I also want to go and take Zamzam water from the outer courtyard. Please advise, Shaykh. It is quite urgent, as I live in Makkah, praise be to Allah, so it is a monthly concern. May Allah reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
There is no harm on the menstruating woman to sit in the outer courtyards of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, whether during the times of prayer or otherwise. These courtyards are not considered part of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam; accordingly, it is allowed for the woman in menstruation or post-childbirth bleeding to stay therein. It is also allowed to buy and sell therein, while it is impermissible to do so inside the Masjid.
Shaykh Ibn ʻUthaymeen 
said regarding the expansion in the direction of the Mas‘a (between Safa and Marwah) and the other courtyards at the King ʻAbdul-ʻAzeez Gate and King Fahd Gate, “If the rows of the worshippers inside the mosque and in the courtyards are connected, the worshippers praying in the courtyards earn the same rewards for praying in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam in terms of the multiplication of the rewards, and the same applies to the Masʻa area. Aside from the multiplication of the rewards, these areas are not considered part of the Al-Masjid Al-Haraam and, accordingly, it is permissible to buy and sell there and for the menstruating woman and the like to stay therein.”
Allah knows best.
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