| In Islamic context, Tawaf refers
to the ritual of circumambulating the Kaabah (the holiest
building in Mecca) seven times during the pilgrimages of Hajj
and Umrah. Muslims walk around the Kaabah in an anti-clockwise
direction four times at a hurried pace, followed by three times,
more closely, at a leisurely pace, in a counter-clockwise
direction. The circling demonstrates the unity of the
believers in the worship of the One God, as they move in harmony
together around their central shine, each reciting an individual
verse of the Quraan.
At the end of the circling, Muslims go to the Station of
Ibrahim to pray two rakaahs.
The tawaf symbolises the seven times Muhammad circled the
Kaaba hundreds of years ago. |
