“O Allah, I do this out of faith in You, belief in Your Book, faithfulness to Your covenant, and adherence to the Sunnah of Your Prophet Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”

He keeps the House on his left and makes seven circuits. He must not cut through the Hijr enclosure during his circumambulation, since most of it forms part of the House, and Allah has commanded circumambulation around the House, not within it.

He touches only the two Yemeni corners, not the two Syrian corners. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—touched only those two because they stand on Abraham’s foundations, whereas the other two lie within the House. Thus, the corner containing the Black Stone is touched and kissed; the Yemeni Corner is touched but not kissed; and the other two are neither touched nor kissed. Touching here means passing one’s hand over it.

As for the remaining sides of the House, the Station of Abraham, and all the mosques on earth and their walls, the graves of the prophets and the righteous—such as the chamber of our Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and Abraham’s cave—and the place where our Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used to pray, as well as other graves of the prophets and the righteous and the Rock in Jerusalem: none of these is to be touched or kissed, by agreement of the imams. Circumambulating them is among the gravest forbidden religious innovations. Whoever adopts this as a religious practice must be called upon to repent; if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is put to death.

If he places his hand on the shādharwān, the ledge to which the Kaaba’s coverings are fastened, this does not invalidate his circumambulation according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. The shādharwān is not part of the House; rather, it was built to support it.

During his first circumambulation, it is recommended that he jog from the Black Stone back to the Black Stone