What is the greeting for entering the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram)? I intend to perform hajj this year by the will of Allah. I understand that the first thing I should do upon entering the Sacred Mosque is to perform tawaf (circumambulation) around the Kaʿbah. However, one of my relatives told me that I should begin by praying two rak’as instead. Which should I start with?

It is recommended for one who enters the Sacred mosque in Mecca to begin with tawaf, as it constitutes the greeting of the Sacred Mosque. This is the opinion of jurists across various schools of jurisprudence. Imam al-Kamal Ibn al-Humam, a Hanafi scholar, noted in Fath al-Qadir (2:448), “They said: The first thing one must do upon entering the [Sacred] Mosque, regardless of one’s state of ihram, is tawaf rather than prayer. This is the [ruling] except if one enters the [Sacred] Mosque at a time when tawaf is not allowed, one has a missed obligatory prayer to make up; fears missing an obligatory prayer; the witr prayer; a Sunnah prayer associated with an obligatory prayer; or a congregational prayer, then these obligations take priority over tawaf. [Once these prayers have been performed], one may proceed to perform tawaf.”

Imam al-Hattab, the Maliki scholar, wrote in Mawahib Al-Jalil (2:69), “The greeting of the Mosque of Mecca is tawaf, i.e., whoever enters the Mosque of Mecca — the Sacred Mosque — its greeting is tawaf around the Kaʿbah.”

Imam al-Nawawi, the Shafiʿi scholar, noted in Al-Majmuʿ (8:11), “Our companions said that it is recommended for anyone who enters the [Sacred] Mosque, regardless of their ihram status, to proceed with tawaf, except if they are concerned about missing an obligatory prayer, a Sunnah prayer associated with an obligatory prayer, a congregational prayer — even if the time of the prayer itself is broad — or if they have a missed obligatory prayer to make up, then they should give priority to all of these over tawaf, and perform tawaf afterward.”

The Hanbali scholar, Imam Ibn Qudamah, stated in Al-Mughni (3:338), “Tawaf is the greeting of the Sacred Mosque, so it is recommended to begin with it, just as it is recommended for one who enters other mosques to pray two units of prayer.”

 

Evidence that tawaf is the greeting of the Sacred Mosque

Al-Bukhari recorded a hadith where ‘Urwa Ibn al-Zubayr narrated that ʿAisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed hajj, the first thing he did upon arriving was to perform ablution followed by tawaf around the Kaʿbah; it was not a ‘umrah. ‘Abu Bakr, ʿUmar, ‘Uthman, Muʿawiyah, and ʿAbdullah Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them all) did likewise.
‘Aisha also said that she performed hajj with al-Zubayr Ibn al-ʿAwwam, and they acted similarly.
She added that the Muhajirun and the Ansar followed the same pattern.

Imam al-Badr al-ʿAyni wrote in ʿUmdat Al-Qari (9:284), “They did not perform the prayer of greeting the mosque, nor did they occupy themselves with anything other than tawaf.”

The ruling

Based on the above, the first act upon entering the Sacred Mosque is to perform tawaf around the Kaʿbah seven times, as this is the Sacred Mosque’s greeting. This is applicable unless one fears missing an obligatory prayer, a Sunnah prayer associated with a prescribed prayer, a confirmed Sunnah prayer, a congregational prayer — even if the time of the prayer itself is extended — or if one has a missed obligatory prayer to make up. In such cases, those prayers take precedence and tawaf should follow thereafter.

And Allah the Almighty knows best