Step 7 of 10
The Two Rak'ahs and Zamzam
After the seventh circuit, go to the Maqam Ibrahim, the Station of Ibrahim, reciting ﴿وَٱتَّخِذُوا۟ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ مُصَلًّى﴾ (“And take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer”). Then pray two rak'ahs with the Maqam between you and the Ka'bah, as the Prophet ﷺ did when he performed 'Umrah.
In these two rak'ahs he recited Surat al-Kafirun and Surat al-Ikhlas, as Jabir described. The schools differ on whether the two rak'ahs are obligatory, as set out below.
Then, Jabir says, the Prophet ﷺ went back to the Black Stone and touched it before going out to al-Safa. It is also good to drink Zamzam water: the Prophet ﷺ drank it, and he said of it: "It is blessed, and it is a food that nourishes."
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
Are the two rak'ahs after tawaf obligatory?
2 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Hanafi, Maliki.
Show each school
- Obligatory (wajib)Hanafi
- Two views in the schoolMaliki
- SunnahShafi'i · Hanbali
- Hanafi
- The two rak'ahs are obligatory (wajib) after every tawaf, following the Prophet's ﷺ practice and the command in the verse to take the Station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer.
- Maliki
- Mukhtasar Khalil records hesitation (taraddud) within the school between their being a sunnah and their being obligatory.
- Shafi'i
- In the more correct view the two rak'ahs are a sunnah, and the tawaf is complete without them.
- Hanbali
- The two rak'ahs are a stressed sunnah, and the tawaf is complete without them.
- Qur'an 2:125
- Sahih Muslim 1218Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1600 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1627 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1637 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 2473Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
Create a free account to keep your place as you go. Create a free account · Sign in