طواف
Ṭawāf
The rite of circling the Kaaba seven times, anticlockwise, performed in the Hajj and the Umrah
What it means
Ṭawāf is the rite of walking around the Kaaba with the building on the left, seven times, anticlockwise. It begins and ends at the line of the Black Stone. The Quran refers to it when it says “and let them circle the Ancient House” (22:29). It forms part of the Hajj and the Umrah. There are several kinds, including the ṭawāf of arrival, the essential ṭawāf al-ifāḍah of the Hajj, and the farewell ṭawāf. Pilgrims remember Allah and pray as they walk. The rite is addressed to Allah alone, and the Kaaba is the focus of direction.
Often misunderstood as
That pilgrims worship the Kaaba or the Black Stone, when the rite is directed to Allah alone.
What the sources say
Umar ibn al-Khattab is reported in the Sahih collections to have said, as he kissed the Black Stone, that he knew it was only a stone that neither harms nor benefits, and that he kissed it only because he had seen the Prophet (peace be upon him) do so.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 38, listed as ṬAWĀF. The definition is restated here.