Tawaf al-Ifadah (the tawaf of pouring-forth; also Tawaf az-Ziyarah)
Ṭawāf al-Ifāḍah (also Ṭawāf az-Ziyārah)
Overview
Tawaf al-Ifadah is the essential circling of the Ka'bah seven times after returning from 'Arafah and Muzdalifah. It is a pillar of Hajj without which the pilgrimage is not complete, and it seals a pilgrim's full release from ihram.
Du'a
At the Black Stone (start of each circuit)
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allahu akbar
Allah is the greatest.
Facing or pointing to the Black Stone at the start of each of the seven circuits (touch or kiss it only if you can without harming others).
Source · Sahih al-Bukhari 1613
Grade · Sahih (Sahih al-Bukhari).
Between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Rabbana atina fi-d-dunya hasanah wa fi-l-akhirati hasanah wa qina 'adhab an-nar
Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Recited in the stretch between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone on each circuit. No other fixed per-circuit du'a is established — otherwise supplicate freely with any du'a.
Source · Qur'an 2:201; Sunan Abi Dawud 1892
Grade · The words are Qur'an 2:201; the report that the Prophet (ﷺ) recited them between the two corners (Sunan Abi Dawud 1892) is graded Hasan by al-Albani.
Qur'an
Surah al-Hajj —'ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا۟ تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا۟ نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا۟ بِٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْعَتِيقِ'.Sahih International: 'Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows and perform Tawaf around the ancient House.' The command'وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا۟ بِٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْعَتِيقِ'(let them perform tawaf around the Ancient House), coming after the mention of the sacrifice, is the direct Qur'anic basis for Tawaf al-Ifadah.
'ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا۟ تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا۟ نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا۟ بِٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْعَتِيقِ'.Reference · Qur'an 22:29
Hadith
narrated by 'Aisha (RA) — 'We performed Hajj with the Prophet (ﷺ) and performed Tawaf al-Ifadah on the Day of Nahr; Safiyyah then menstruated... The Prophet (ﷺ) said'حَابِسَتُنَا هِيَ'(Is she going to detain us?). We told him she had already performed Tawaf al-Ifadah on the Day of Nahr, so he said 'ٱخْرُجُوا' (Then depart).' This establishes Tawaf al-Ifadah as the indispensable rite: a menstruating woman is not excused from it (only from the Farewell Tawaf), and its omission would have detained the whole party.
References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1733 · Sahih Muslim 1211
Grade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon)
How to perform the tawaf
7 circuits · counter-clockwise
Ka'bah on your left. Hijr Isma'il — circle outside it.
Between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone, say 'Rabbana atina fi-d-dunya hasanah...'. The brisk pace (raml) of the first three circuits is for men, in the tawaf that is followed by sa'i.
Applies to
All three types (Ifrad, Qiran, Tamattu') — one Tawaf al-Ifadah each; no count difference in the tawaf itself. Any accompanying sa'i differs by type — a Mutamatti', and others who did not perform sa'i after an earlier tawaf, perform sa'i after this tawaf — but that count difference belongs to the Sa'i, not to Tawaf al-Ifadah.
If missed
The Hajj is not complete without it, and it cannot be compensated by any sacrifice — it must eventually be performed, even years later. Until it is done the pilgrim remains under the ihram restriction on marital/sexual relations (the second, complete tahallul being tied to it); a woman who has left Makkah must return to perform it. Contrast Tawaf al-Wada' (Farewell Tawaf), which is only wajib and is waived for the menstruating woman, with a dam if omitted.
Related conditions & rulings
Timing & place
Begins after the Wuquf at 'Arafah and the stay at Muzdalifah, on the Day of Nahr (10 Dhul-Hijjah) — it must be preceded by the standing at 'Arafah. The sunnah time is the forenoon of the 10th, after the ramy of Jamrat al-'Aqabah, the sacrifice, and the halq/taqsir.
Al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah — seven circuits (tawaf) around the Ka'bah (valid anywhere within the mosque, however far from the Ka'bah).
Common mistakes
- •Assuming the Farewell Tawaf (Tawaf al-Wada') counts for, or replaces, Tawaf al-Ifadah — they are distinct rites, and the pillar is not discharged by a wada'-only intention.
- •A menstruating woman leaving Makkah without performing it, wrongly thinking it is waived like the Farewell Tawaf — she must return (or delay departure) to perform it.
- •Performing the tawaf without wudu, or continuing after wudu breaks mid-tawaf — invalid for the majority.
- •Passing between the Hijr of Isma'il (the Hatim) and the Ka'bah instead of circling outside the Hijr — this cuts the circuit short and invalidates it, since the Hijr is part of the House.
- •Mis-counting the seven circuits, or starting/ending other than at the line of the Black Stone.
- •Putting the two white ihram sheets back on for it. A pilgrim who has stoned Jamrat al-'Aqabah and had his hair shaved or trimmed has left ihram and performs Tawaf al-Ifadah in ordinary clothes, whatever his Hajj type; there is no idtiba' (baring the right shoulder) in it, because there is no rida' to bare.
- •Performing raml, the brisk pace of the first three circuits, in it. The Prophet (ﷺ) did not perform raml in the tawaf he made on returning from Mina (Sunan Abi Dawud 2001, graded sahih by al-Albani). A Mutamatti' has already performed raml in the tawaf of his 'Umrah, and a Mufrid or Qarin in Tawaf al-Qudum, so neither repeats it here; only a pilgrim who has not yet performed his sa'i carries raml and idtiba' into this tawaf, and he is still in ihram when he does.
Across the madhabs
No divergence on classification or count: all four madhabs count Tawaf al-Ifadah as a rukn/pillar of Hajj, for every Hajj type, and all require it to be preceded by the standing at 'Arafah. The divergence is over when its valid window opens and when, if ever, it closes — not over its status as a pillar.
- •Hanafi: It may be performed from dawn (Fajr) of the 10th, and should be completed within the days of Nahr — by sunset of the 12th; delaying beyond that incurs a dam.
- •Maliki: From dawn (Fajr) of the 10th; delaying it past the end of Dhul-Hijjah requires a dam/hady.
- •Shafi'i: From the middle of the night (midnight) of the 10th, with no final limit — it may be performed any time later, even after Dhul-Hijjah, without penalty, though delay is disliked.
- •Hanbali: From the middle of the night (midnight) of the 10th, with no final limit either, though delay is likewise disliked.
Notes
Also called Tawaf az-Ziyarah (the visiting tawaf) and Tawaf al-Fard / ar-Rukn. It is the tawaf upon which the second (complete) tahallul — the lifting of the intercourse restriction — depends, which is why a woman's purity and timing matter so much. It is distinct from Tawaf al-Qudum (arrival, sunnah) and Tawaf al-Wada' (farewell, wajib). The sunnah sequence on the Day of Nahr is: ramy of Jamrat al-'Aqabah, then hady, then halq/taqsir, then Tawaf al-Ifadah.