Ṭawāf

The word ṭawāf is derived from ṭāfa (he went around a thing), and in the technical language of Islām it means making circumambulation of the Ka‘bah. The command to perform the ṭawāf of the house is contained in the Holy Qur’ān in a Makkah revelation: “And let them fulfil their vows and go round the Ancient House” (22:29). In the devotional acts of ḥajj, ṭawāf occupies the most important place, being the first act of the pilgrim on his arrival at Makkah and his last act when he leaves the holy place. Bukhārī heads one of his chapters as follows: “He who makes circumambulations of the House on his arrival in Makkah before he goes to his abode, then offers two rak‘ahs of prayer, then goes out to Ṣafa” (Bu. 25:62). Under this heading he reports the ḥadīth of Ibn ‘Umar, which says “that the Holy Prophet made circumambulations on his first arrival in ḥajj and ‘umrah, then offered two rak‘ahs, then went to and fro (ṭāfa) between Ṣafā and Marwah.” The pavement on which the ṭawāf is made is called the maṭāf. The ṭawāf is performed by going round the Ka‘bah, as near the walls of the sacred building as possible, but on the north-western side, keeping close to the small semicircular wall, as the Ḥijr is included in the maṭāf. Before the ṭawāf, it is necessary to make ablutions (Bu. 25:77), if possible to take a bath. Men and women perform ṭawāf, together, the women keeping apart from the men, but women are not allowed to go inside the Ka‘bah until it is emptied of men (Bu. 25:63). Before Islām, some people used to make ṭawāf naked; but Islām forbade it (Bu. 25:66). The ṭawāf made on arrival is called ṭawāf al-qudūm (the ṭawāf of arrival), the ṭawāf made on departure is called ṭawāf al-wadā‘ (the ṭawāf of departure), and the ṭawāf on the day of sacrifices (yaum al-naḥr, or the tenth of Dhi-l-Ḥijjah) is called ṭawāf al-ziyārah (the ṭawāf of visit), this last being one of the necessary devotional acts of ḥajj (Bu. 25:129), while the first two are not obligatory though they are generally resorted to.

The ṭawāf begins at the Ḥajar al-Aswad (the Black Stone) which is kissed (Bu. 25 :55), but even the making of a sign over it is sufficient (Bu. 25 :59,60). The Holy Prophet used to kiss both the rukn al-yamānī and the Ḥajar al-Aswad, but many Companions are reported as kissing all the four corners of the Ka‘bah (Bu. 25:58). In going round, the