Farewell Tawaf (Tawaf al-Wada')
Tawaf al-Wada'
Overview
The Farewell Tawaf is a final seven circuits of the Ka'bah performed as the last act before leaving Makkah, so a pilgrim's parting is with the House of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Most scholars make it obligatory, with menstruating women excused.
Qur'an
No ayah addresses the farewell tawaf specifically. The general Qur'anic command to circumambulate the Ka'bah is Surah Al-Hajj —'ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ'('Then let them end their untidiness, fulfil their vows, and circumambulate the Ancient House'). The specific obligation of the farewell tawaf rests on the Sunnah, not a direct ayah.
'ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا نُذُورَهُمْ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ'Reference · Qur'an 22:29
Hadith
- •'The people were commanded to make the last thing (they do) the circumambulation of the House (Tawaf al-Wada'), but an exception was made for the menstruating women.'References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1755 · Sahih Muslim 1328Grade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon)
- •'None of you should depart until the last thing he does is (tawaf) at the House.'Reference · Sahih Muslim 1327Grade · Sahih (Sahih Muslim).
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...'. There is no brisk pace (raml) in this tawaf: raml belongs to the tawaf that is followed by sa'i, and no sa'i follows the Farewell Tawaf — nor is there idtiba', since the pilgrim has left ihram and wears ordinary clothes.
For Umrah
Not required for 'Umrah. The majority hold the farewell tawaf obligatory only on one leaving Makkah after Hajj; a pilgrim leaving after an 'Umrah who does not perform it owes no dam. Performing a farewell tawaf anyway is meritorious and widely encouraged, but it is not one of the 'Umrah's obligations, which is why it does not appear in the 'Umrah list.
Applies to
All three Hajj types (tamattu', qiran, ifrad) for pilgrims leaving Makkah after Hajj. The act itself is wajib on the majority; what the majority do not extend it to is a stand-alone 'Umrah — an 'Umrah is one tawaf and one sa'i, and the farewell tawaf is tied to departure after Hajj, not to departure after 'Umrah. Count is one tawaf of seven circuits regardless of Hajj type.
If missed
Does not invalidate the Hajj. Per Hanafi/Shafi'i/Hanbali, leaving it without a valid excuse requires a dam (a sheep/goat slaughtered within the Haram and given to the poor). Per Maliki, no penalty. Menstruating and postpartum (nifas) women are exempt entirely and owe no dam.
Dam / Fidyah if omitted
Related conditions & rulings
Timing & place
Performed after all other Hajj rites are completed, as the very last act immediately before departing Makkah. It must be the pilgrim's final act in the city; if a pilgrim conducts significant business/travel or is substantially delayed after it, several jurists hold it should be repeated so the farewell tawaf remains the last act.
Masjid al-Haram — seven circuits around the Ka'bah. It is performed only by those departing Makkah; Makkah residents are not required to do it.
Common mistakes
- •Shopping, prolonged staying, or conducting business after the farewell tawaf instead of departing.
- •Performing it before completing the stoning of the Jamarat on the final day.
- •Menstruating women wrongly delaying their departure or believing they must pay a dam.
- •Treating it as a pillar whose omission voids the Hajj.
- •Assuming 'Umrah pilgrims must perform it.
- •Putting the two white ihram sheets back on for it. By this point the pilgrim has left ihram completely and performs the farewell tawaf in ordinary clothes; there is likewise 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. Raml belongs to the tawaf that is followed by sa'i, and no sa'i follows the farewell tawaf — it is seven circuits at an ordinary walk. 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), and al-Nawawi's rule is that idtiba' is prescribed only where raml is.
Across the madhabs
Note: The four schools diverge on whether it is obligatory and whether a penalty is due.
- •Hanafi: Wajib; deliberate omission without excuse requires a dam (sacrifice).
- •Maliki: Mustahabb / Sunnah only; no penalty (dam) for omitting it. (Outlier view.)
- •Shafi'i: Wajib in the relied-upon (adhhar) view, with dam if omitted; a second reported opinion within the school treats it as sunnah (inferred from its waiver for the menstruating woman).
- •Hanbali: Wajib; deliberate omission without excuse requires a dam.
Notes
The compensatory dam is slaughtered in the Haram and distributed to its poor. Some scholars permit tawaf al-ifada (the pillar tawaf) to double as the farewell tawaf if the pilgrim performs it as the final act just before leaving. The Maliki designation as merely mustahabb is the principal point of divergence from the majority.