Ka‘bah is kept to the left, and seven rounds are made in all. The first three rounds are made at a fast pace (raml), and the remaining four at an ordinary pace (Bu. 25:62). But, if necessary, the ṭawāf may be performed while one is riding on the back of an animal. The Holy Prophet performed the ṭawāf in his Farewell Pilgrimage on the back of a camel, and allowed Umm Salma to do the same on account of her illness (Bu. 25:73). The doing of an act or speaking, if there is necessity for it, is not forbidden in ṭawāf (Bu. 25:64,65). Prayers or supplications may be addressed to God in the course of ṭawāf. The Holy Prophet is reported to have prayed thus: “Our Lord! grant us good in this life and good in the Hereafter and save us from the punishment of the fire”13 (AD.11:49). Menstruating women should postpone the ṭawāf, and the sa‘y between Ṣafā and Marwah, for the duration of the menses. For those who enter upon iḥrām for both ḥajj and ‘umrah’ at the same time (ḥajj qārin), the first ṭawāf (ṭawāf al-qudūm) is sufficient (Bu. 64:79; AD.11:51). But in the case of tamattu‘, a second ṭawāf must be performed when the iḥrām for ḥajj is entered upon.

The Black Stone

Reference has already been made to the Ḥajar al-Aswad (lit., black stone), in the history of Ka‘bah, where its description is given, and under the heading “Ṭawāf,” where it is stated that it is kissed by the pilgrims as they pass by it in their circumambulations. There is not the least indication to show where this stone came from and when it was placed there, but as it was there before the advent of Islām and was even kissed, it must have been there at least from the time of Abraham, as the main features of the ḥajj are traceable to that patriarch. Yet it is remarkable that though the Ka‘bah had 360 idols within its walls before the coming of Islām, the Black Stone was never regarded as an idol by the pre-Islāmic Arabs, nor was it ever worshipped by them like the idols of the Ka‘bah. The fact that the practice of kissing it in the course of circumambulations has been retained, has been turned by Western critics of Islām into an argument that Islām retains remnants of pre-Islāmic idolatry. There are even critics who are of opinion that the ṭawāf of the Ka‘bah itself is an idolatrous practice. But a cursory glance at facts is enough to show the absurdity of this view. Among the innumerable objects