#tawaaf

The Kaaba, the holiest site of Islam, literally means “the cube”. The Kaaba’s eastern cornerstone is known as the Black Stone, a relic traditionally dated to the life of Adam and Eve. Islamic tradition holds that Adam built the first structure on earth in the spot the Kaaba now occupies. The prophet Ibrahim (the biblical Abraham) and his son Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba on the foundations left by Adam.

As part of the hajj pilgrimage, pilgrims perform the tawaf, a ritual in which they circumambulate the Kaaba seven times. The tawaf of millions of Muslims around the the structure represents the unity of believers in worshiping God. Although these movements are done simply out of this ritual significance, the seven anti-clockwise circumambulations around the Kaaba (the Cube) also mirror the order of the universe itself. Just as the stars revolve around their galaxy center, the planets around the sun, the electrons around the nucleus, and everything around its axis - so does the heart of the pilgrim revolve around the thoughts of its Maker.

It is important to note that the Kaaba is not an object of worship, it is only considered a direction of prayer by Muslims, a mosque that links believers throughout the ages back with the Adamic times and therefore, back to our purpose here on earth. The Kaaba is therefore a point not only in space, but also in time, in sacred memory - an earthly compass that points to directions beyond directions.

The four corners of the Kaaba roughly point toward the four cardinal directions of the compass. It is also, the meeting point of the millions of imaginary axes created when Muslims anywhere in the world face its direction as a spatial reference to establish their prayers.

New: The steps in performing 'Umrah according to the Sunnah: Shaikh Al-'Uthaimeen & Shaikh Al-Albāni:

The Umrah comprises of: Ihrām, Tawāf, Sa’ee, Shaving or shortening the hair. As for Ihrām then it is the intent to enter into the rites of ‘Umrah and to dress for it. So the one who intends ‘Umrah should bathe just as he/she would from a state of sexual impurity (i.e. perform ghusl). Then a man should apply the best fragrance that is available to him such as the essence of ‘Oud (aloeswood) or…