Tawaf
![Crowds circling the Kaaba](/Images/godic/202502/15/Kaaba_mirror_edit_jj4558.jpg")
![Large crowds of pilgrims sometimes make it difficult to perform the rituals](/Images/godic/202502/15/Supplicating_Pilgrim_at_Masjid_Al_Haram._Mecca,_Saudi_Arabia4558.jpg")
![Gate of the Kaaba](/Images/godic/202502/15/Gate_of_Ka-bah4558.JPG")
![](/Images/godic/202502/15/La_mecque_pelerinage4558.png")
Tawaf (Arabic:طواف, Ṭawāf; literally circling) is one of the Islamic rituals of pilgrimage. During the Hajj and Umrah, Muslims are to circumambulate the Kaaba (most sacred site in Islam) seven times, in a counterclockwise direction. The circling is believed to demonstrate the unity of the believers in the worship of the One God, as they move in harmony together around the Khana Kaaba, while supplicating to God.