Miscellaneous questions and answers about Ṭawaf

Question 1:

If the chest or back of a Ṭawāf-performing person turns towards the Ka'bah for a short duration unintentionally or due to crowd pressure, what should he do?

Answer:

He should repeat the distance for which his chest or back faced the Ka'bah during Ṭawāf. It is preferable to repeat that round.

Raising hand when performing Istilām of Ḥajar-ul-Aswad

Question 2:

What is the Sunnah of raising hands to perform the Istilām of Ḥajar-ul-Aswad to initiate Ṭawāf? Should a person raise his hands up to his ears or shoulders?

Answer:

There are different verdicts of Islamic scholars in this regard. It is stated in Fatāwā of Hajj and 'Umrah: Men have to raise their hands up to their ears as they do to initiate Ṣalāh. As for women, they are to raise their hands up to their shoulders as they do in the beginning of Ṣalāh.

(Fatāwā Hajj-o-'Umrah, vol. 1, pp. 127)

Question 3:

How is it to perform Ṭawāf with hands folded as in Ṣalāh?

Answer:

It is not Mustaḥab to do so. To avoid it is better.

What if one forgets the rounds during Ṭawāf?

Question 4:

If someone forgets the number of rounds or is in doubt about the number of rounds during Ṭawāf, what is the solution to this problem?

Answer:

If the Ṭawāf is Farḍ such as Ṭawāf-uz-Ziyārah or Wājib such as Ṭawāf-ur-Rukhṣat, he has to perform Ṭawāf again from the beginning. If an honest person informs about the number of the rounds, it is better to believe what he has said. If two honest men inform, it is strongly advisable to believe them. If the Ṭawāf is neither Farḍ nor Wājib but, for example, it is Ṭawāf-ul-Qudūm (that is Sunnah) or if it is any Nafl Ṭawāf, he should act according to his probable assumption on such an occasion.

(Rad-dul-Muḥtār, vol. 3, pp. 582)

What if the Wuḍū invalidates during Ṭawāf?

Question 5:

If someone's Wuḍū becomes invalid during the third round of Ṭawāf and he goes to make Wuḍū, how should he resume his Ṭawāf on return?

Answer:

He may restart his Ṭawāf from the beginning. He is also allowed to resume from where he discontinued. This ruling is applicable only when Wuḍū becomes invalid during any of the first three rounds. If Wuḍū becomes invalid after one had performed four or more than four rounds, one cannot restart Ṭawāf from the first round. Instead, he will have to resume from where he discontinued. It is also not necessary to resume from the direction of Ḥajar-ul-Aswad.

(Durr-e-Mukhtār, Rad-dul-Muḥtār, vol. 3, pp. 582)

Important ruling of Ṭawāf for Ma'żūr Shar'ī

Question 6:

If someone is Ma'żūr Shar'ī due to the problem of passing urine drops after urination, how long his Wuḍū for Ṭawāf will remain valid?

Answer:

His Wuḍū will remain valid for as long as the time of that Ṣalāh is valid. Ṣadr-ush-Sharī'ah رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ تَعَالٰی عَلَيْهِ has stated: If the time of Ṣalāh ends after the Ma'żūr Shar'ī has performed four rounds of Ṭawāf, he is required to make Wuḍū and perform Ṭawāf as the Wuḍū of a Ma'żūr Shar'ī person becomes invalid after the time of Ṣalāh ends. It is Ḥarām to perform Ṭawāf without Wuḍū. Therefore, he must make Wuḍū and perform the remaining rounds of Ṭawāf. If the time of Ṣalāh ends before he has performed four rounds, he is still required to make Wuḍū and perform the remaining rounds. It is preferable in the latter case to perform the Ṭawāf from beginning.

(Bahār-e-Sharī'at, vol. 1, pp. 1101; Al-Maslak-ul-Mutaqassiṭ, pp. 167)

Remember that only the discharge of urine drops after urination does not render a person Ma'żūr Shar'ī. It has great details. To know details about this issue, please study the book 'Laws of Ṣalāh' (from page 24 to 26) published by Maktaba-tul-Madīnah, the publishing department of Dawat-e-Islami.

Ruling for Ṭawāf performed by woman experiencing menses

Question 7:

If a woman has performed Ṭawāf when experiencing menses, what is the ruling for her?

Answer:

She has become a sinner, and it is Wājib for her to pay a Dam. 'Allāmah Shāmī رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ تَعَالٰی has stated: If a woman has performed a Nafl Ṭawāf in the state of menses or uncleanness [when Ghusl is Farḍ for her], she is required to pay a Dam. If she performed it without Wuḍū, she is to pay a Ṣadaqah.

Question 8:

If someone started eighth round considering it the seventh one but he recalled during the eighth round that it is eighth, what should he do now?

Answer:

He should end his Ṭawāf during the same (eighth) round. However, if someone started eighth round deliberately, it will amount to the commencement of a new Ṭawāf and, therefore, all the seven rounds of the new Ṭawāf will have to be completed.

Question 9:

If one round of the Ṭawāf for 'Umrah is missed, what will be the expiation?

Answer:

Ṭawāf for 'Umrah is Farḍ. If even one round of Ṭawāf for 'Umrah is missed, Dam will be Wājib. If Ṭawāf is not performed at all or most (i.e. four or more than four) rounds are missed, it is mandatory to perform the Ṭawāf or the remaining four rounds as the case may be. There is no expiation.

Question 10:

What is the penalty for the Qārin or the Mufrid who has missed Ṭawāf-ul-Qudūm?

Answer:

Though there is no expiation, doing so is the abandonment of Sunnat-ul-Muakkadah, which is disliked.

(Lubāb-ul-Manāsik wal-Maslak-ul-Mutaqassiṭ, pp. 352)

Ruling of performing Ṭawāf on the first or second floor of Masjid-ul-Ḥarām

Question 11:

How is it to perform Ṭawāf on the roof of Masjid-ul-Ḥarām?

Answer:

The Farḍ Ṭawāf of the Holy Ka'bah performed on the roof of Masjid-ul-Ḥarām is valid provided there is no wall in between [the Ṭawāf-performing person and the Holy Ka'bah]. However, if there is enough space in the Maṭāf of the ground floor, it is Makrūh in this case to perform Ṭawāf on the roof because climbing or walking over the roof of the Masjid unnecessarily is Makrūh. Furthermore, the person performing Ṭawāf on the roof of Masjid-ul-Ḥarām remains away from the Holy Ka'bah instead of remaining closer to it besides facing needless hardships and tiredness. It is preferable to remain close to the Holy Ka'bah during Ṭawāf and it is forbidden to inflict needless hardship on oneself. However, if there is no space on the ground floor or one cannot delay performing Ṭawāf due to some Shar'ī reason, the Ṭawāf performed on the roof is permissible without it being Makrūh, i.e. there is no harm in it in this case.