Manasek Hajj

The Obligation in Tawaf

There are eight obligations to be fulfilled in tawaaf:

First: It must be commenced at Hajar-ul-Aswad (The Black Stone) and as a matter of recommended caution the entire body of the pilgrim must pass in front of the entire Stone. It is recommended to stop a little distance from the Stone so that one is certain to be opposite to it 'and the extra distance will provide assurance of a proper start.

Second: Each round is completed at the Hajar-ul-Aswad and in the last round it is recommended to proceed a little further from the Stone so that the extra distance covered may provide assurance of its proper completion.

Third: At all times during the tawaaf, the Holy Kaaba must be to the left of the pilgrim. If, in order to kiss a corner of the Holy Kaaba one faces it or because of great rush of the pilgrims, one becomes facing it or it is to one's back or right the distance covered in such pose will not be counted as part of tawaaf. This rule is basic common sense as is also evident from the tawaaf of the Holy Prophet (S.A.A.W.) when he did so riding. So there is no need for special effort to be made at the Hijr Ismail and at the corners.

Fourth: Hijr Ismail must be included in the tawaaf, that is to say, the pilgrim must go round the Hijr without entering it or climbing its wall. Fifth: One must circumambulate keeping clear of the Holy Kaaba and the projection from it known as Shadharwaan. Sixth: One must circumambulate seven times continuously. Less than seven rounds will invalidate the tawaaf and if more than seven rounds are made deliberately, the tawaaf will be invalid too as will be discussed below.

Seventh: The seven rounds must follow each other without considerable interruption between them.

Eighth: The tawaaf must be performed by free movement of the pilgrim. If he was made to move by being pushed by the crowd the tawaaf will not be acceptable.

Rule 301:

It is generally well known about tawaaf that it be performed between the Holy Kaaba and Maqame Ibrahim (a.s.) which is a distance of twenty six and a half arm lengths (=about 12 meters) and as one has to go round the wall of the Hijr Ismail, the distance there is reduced to six and a half arm lengths (=4.42 meters) but it is clear that if one moves outside this ambit it is acceptable particularly if one is unable to remain within the limits or it would cause him harm to do so. However, if possible, it is recommended to repeat the tawaaf if one has moved outside the limits.

DEPARTING FROM BOUNDS OF TAWAF

Rule 302:

If a person departs from the limits of tawaaf and enters the Holy Kaaba, the tawaaf is invalidated and it must be repeated. It is preferable that the tawaaf be first completed and then performed again if the departure took place after completion of half of the tawaaf.

Rule 303:

If a pilgrim departs from the tawaaf to the ' Shadharwaan', the tawaaf becomes invalid to the extent of the departure. As a matter of caution, after making good the distance, he should complete the tawaaf and then repeat it. As a matter of caution, one should not, in the course of tawaaf, extend one's arm towards the ' Shadharwaan' or the wall of the Holy Kaaba to touch a corner or whatsoever.

Rule 304:

If a pilgrim enters Hijr Ismail in the course of a tawaaf, by oversight or out of ignorance, the round in which this occurs is invalid and there is no option but to repeat it and it is better to repeat after completion of the entire tawaaf: The same rule applies, as a matter of caution, to walking on the wall of the Hijr and a pilgrim in the course of tawaaf must not touch the wall of the Hijr either.

Rule 305:

If, without good reason, a pilgrim in the course of a tawaaf departs from it to the outside before completing the fourth round, the tawaaf is invalid and has to be repeated. If it was after completing the fourth round, as a matter of caution, the tawaaf must be completed and then repeated. However, if the tawaaf was optional, he may complete the remainder provided that he does not break the sequence.

Rule 306:

If menstruation of a lady commences in the course of a tawaaf, it is obligatory on her to depart from it and the Masjid-ul-Haraam immediately. The Rule that would then apply to her has already been discussed in the Condition for tawaaf above.

Rule 307:

It is permissible for a pilgrim performing tawaaf to depart from it in order to visit a sick person or to attend to his own matter or that of a brother in faith, and if the tawaaf was obligatory and he had completed the fourth round, his tawaaf is valid. However, if he leaves before completing the fourth round, his tawaaf is invalidated. If the tawaaf was a recommended one, he can continue from where he stopped, even though he had not completed four rounds.

Rule 308:

It is permissible to sit down to rest in the course of a tawaaf but it must not be prolonged so much that the sequence as generally accepted be broken for in that event the tawaaf becomes invalid and has to be performed again.

IRREGULARITIES IN TAWAAF

Rule 309:

If a pilgrim interrupts a tawaaf in order to obtain the benefit of praying at the earliest time or join congregational prayers or perform the recommended prayers, then he must complete the tawaaf from where he interrupted it after completing his prayers. As a matter of caution, he should repeat the tawaaf after completing it if the interruption was in the course of an obligatory tawaaf and occurred before completing the fourth round.

Rule 310:

If during a tawaaf an omission is made by inadvertence and the pilgrim becomes conscious of the impropriety before the sequence of continuity is broken and he has not left the area of tawaaf, he should complete it and it will be valid.However, if he becomes conscious of it after the sequence is broken, then if he had forgotten to perform one round or two or three rounds, he should perform it or them, and the tawaaf will be valid. If he cannot perform it personally even though he remembers after returning to his home, he may appoint an agent to perform it on his behalf. If he had forgotten more than three rounds, he should return and perform the missed ones but it is better that having done so, he should perform another full tawaaf.

ADDITIONS IN TAWAAF

There are five kinds to be considered:

If there is no intention to make any additions as part of the tawaaf being performed or another tawaaf, for example that it was intended to make one more round assuming that it was recommended to do so, any addition made does not invalidate the tawaaf.
If at the commencement or in the course of a tawaaf an intention is formed to make an addition as part of the tawaaf being performed, it is undoubtedly invalid and has to be performed again.
If after completion of the tawaaf, any addition made is considered part of the tawaaf performed, then it is clear that the tawaaf becomes invalid.
If the addition is intended to be part of another tawaaf, the other tawaaf will need to be completed but it will not be valid as two tawaafs will have been joined except if both the tawaafs are not obligatory ones, but it is discouraged to join two tawaafs.
If the addition is intended to be part of another tawaaf which per chance was not completed, there is neither addition nor connection but the tawaaf is none the less invalid as it lacks the intention of attaining nearness to Allah. Similar will be the case if the pilgrim intends at the commencement or in the course of the tawaaf to make an addition knowing of the invalidity of the connection between the two tawaafs as there would be no certainty of the intention to obtain nearness, even if the connection does not materialise out of accident.

Rule 311:

If a pilgrim makes addition to his tawaaf by oversight, then if he remembers after reaching the Iraqi corner he must complete that addition as a complete tawaaf with the intention of attaining nearness to Allah, without specifying it to be obligatory or recommended. Then he must recite four rakaats, and preferably separate them by reciting two for the obligatory tawaaf before saee and the other two for the recommended tawaaf after saee. As a matter of caution, the same rule applies if he remembers before reaching the Iraqi corner.

DOUBT AS TO THE NUMBER OF ROUNDS

Rule 312:

If after the completion of the tawaaf a doubt arises as to the number of rounds performed or the propriety of the tawaaf, it may be ignored. If it arises in the course of the prayers (salaat) recited after the tawaaf, the doubt may also be ignored.

Rule 313:

If the pilgrim is sure of having performed seven rounds but entertains a doubt as to whether there was any addition, for example doubting if the last round is the eighth, the doubt should be ignored and the tawaaf is valid. If the doubt, however, arises before the last round is completed, it is clear that the tawaaf is invalid and, as a matter of caution, the last round be completed and the tawaaf repeated.

Rule 314:

If a doubt arises as to the number of rounds performed, for example, whether six or seven or whether five or six or lesser, the tawaaf is invalidated and so is the case if the doubt is in respect of greater number of rounds or lesser, like whether the last round is the sixth or the eighth.

Rule 315:

If the doubt is whether it is the sixth or the seventh round and owing to ignorance of the rule the pilgrim proceeds on the basis that it is the sixth round and completes the tawaaf, he is obliged to perform the entire tawaaf again but if he remains ignorant of the rule until the period for correction passes, the tawaaf would be valid.

Rule 316:

It is permissible for a pilgrim to place reliance on the count of rounds by his companion if the latter is certain of his count.

Rule 317:

If a doubt arises in an optional tawaaf, one can proceed on the basis of the lower figure and the tawaaf is valid.

Rule 318:

If a pilgrim omits to perform the tawaaf in Umrat-ul-Tamatoo deliberately and knowingly or out of ignorance and it is not possible to perform it before the time of stay at Arafaat, the Umrah is invalid and he is obliged to repeat the Hajj the following year and, as already been discussed, it is clear that his ihram will also be invalidated but, as a matter of caution, he should change to Hajj-ul-Ifraad and complete it with the intention of performing Hajj and Umrat-ul-Mufradah. If a pilgrim deliberately omits to perform the tawaaf of Hajj, and it is not possible to rectify the omission, the Hajj is invalid and he is obliged to repeat the pilgrimage in the following year. If he did so out of ignorance, the penalty is the sacrifice of a camel.

Rule 319:

If a pilgrim forgets to perform a tawaaf it is obligatory on him to perform it when he remembers and if by then the period for it has passed, he should perform it by way of qadha and his Hajj will be valid. As a matter of caution, after the qadha tawaaf, he should repeat the saee. If he remembers at a time when it is no longer possible to perform its qadha, for example if he has forgotten the tawaaf of Umrah-ul-Tamatoo till his stay at Arafaat or forgot his tawaaf of Hajj till the end of Dhil Hijjah he must perform the qadha and repeat the saee as a matter of caution. If he has already reached his home country, he is obliged to appoint an agent.

Rule 320:

If a pilgrim forgets to perform tawaaf, returns home and has sexual intercourse with his wife and later remembers the omission, then if the tawaaf was for Hajj, he is obliged to have a sheep sacrificed in Mina and if it was for Umrah in Makkah.

Rule 321:

If a pilgrim forgets to perform a tawaaf and remembers it when there is still opportunity to perform its qadha, he should undertake it in his former ihram and there is no need to renew it. However, if he has departed from Makkah, it is necessary to wear a new ihram in order to enter Makkah except for the cases explained in Rule 141.

Rule 322:

All that becomes lawful for a pilgrim after tawaaf does not become lawful for the one who forgets to perform it until after he has performed its qadha or his agent has done so on his behalf.

Rule 323:

If by reason of illness, fracture of bones or old age, a pilgrim is unable to perform tawaaf by himself, it is permissible for him to take assistance from another person even by way of sitting on the shoulders of the other or pushed on a wheelchair but, as a matter of caution, should be carried in such a way that his feet touch the ground. If even that is not possible, he is obliged to appoint an agent to perform the tawaaf on his behalf. If even that is not possible, for example, because he is unconscious, his guardian should appoint an agent. The same is the rule in respect of the prayers (salaat) after the tawaaf. If he can recite them himself, he should do so, else he should appoint an agent to recite them on his behalf. (Rules regarding menstruation of women have already been discussed under the conditions of tawaaf).

THE PRAYERS (SALAAT) AFTER TAWAAF

The third obligation in the Umrat-ul-Tamatoo consists of two rakaats to be recited after the tawaaf. It is recited like the Fajr prayers except that the reciter has the option to recite it aloud or silently. It is obligatory to recite it close to Maqaame Ibrahim (a.s.) and, as a matter of caution, it is clear that it must be recited at its rear. If it is not possible to do so, one may recite them on one of its both sides in addition to reciting them far from the Maqaam but at its rear. If this is not possible, any of the two is sufficient. However, if this is not possible either, then one may recite them anywhere in the Mosque, as a mater of caution, as close to the Maqaam as possible.This is the rule when the tawaaf is obligatory but when it is optional, one may pray anywhere in the Mosque.

Rule 324:

If a person deliberately omits to say the prayers after tawaaf, his Hajj is invalid.

Rule 325:

The prayers must be recited immediately after the tawaaf, that is to say, there must not be a gap of time, generally speaking, between the tawaaf and the prayers.

Rule 326:

If a pilgrim forgets to recite the prayers after tawaaf and remembers them after saee, he should recite them immediately and there is no need to repeat the saee, although one may do so as a matter of caution. If he remembers them in the course of the saee, he should interrupt it and recite the prayers at the Maqaam and then return to complete the saee from where he had interrupted it. If he remembers them after departing from Makkah, it is obligatory to return and recite them at the Maqaam, if doing so will not cause inconvenience and if it is not possible to return, he should say them wherever he remembers them. Even if it is possible to return to the boundary of the Haram, it is not necessary to do so. If one omits to recite the prayers out of ignorance, the same rule applies to him as for the one who forgets.

Rule 327:

If a person dies but has an obligation to recite the prayers, it is obligatory on his eldest son to have the qadha recited.

Rule 328:

If the recitation of the prayers by the pilgrim is not correct and he is unable to correct it, it is sufficient for him to recite whatever he knows. If it is possible to render the recitation correct, it is obligatory to do so. If, despite such possibility, he does not correct the prayers and the time becomes short, he should recite them as best he can and also join congregational prayers and also appoint an agent to recite them on his behalf.

Rule 329:

If a pilgrim is unaware that his recitation is incorrect and his ignorance is excusable, his prayers are valid and there is no need to recite them again, even if he comes to know after the prayers that there was a defect in them. If his ignorance was not excusable, then after correcting his error, he must recite the prayers after tawaaf again and the rules relating to a person who had forgotten to recite the prayers will apply to him.