Masalat al-Taifin

Masalat al-Taifin (The Issue Concerning Circumambulators), also subtitled as Mas'alat al-jahr bi-l-Qur'an fi al-tawaf, is a short jurisprudential and devotional treatise by the Hadith scholar Abu Bakr al-Ajurri (d. 360 AH / 970 CE) addressing the proper conduct of circumambulation (Tawaf) around the Kaaba in Mecca Diwan al-Sunna - Qism al-…+1.

Context and Transmission

The treatise was read and confirmed before al-Ajurri in Mecca in Shawwal 353 AH Masalat al-Taifin. It was transmitted through the hadith transmitter Abu al-Qasim Ibn Bishran, from whom Abu al-Hasan Ibn al-Allaf and subsequently Abu Abd Allah al-Mubarak ibn Ali al-Baghdadi received the text Masalat al-Taifin. A reading of the treatise was recorded by Mubarak ibn Ali on 22 Rabi al-Thani 556 AH Masalat al-Taifin. Chains of transmission for the work were documented in biographical and bibliographic compilations, including those of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and al-Suyuti Anshab al-Kuthub fi Ansab…+1.

Structure and Content

The treatise is arranged as responses to inquiries regarding specific behaviors observed during tawaf:

• Reciting the Quran aloud during circumambulation: In response to a query concerning individuals who recite the Quran aloud while performing tawaf—thereby confusing others engaged in quiet recitation or remembrance of God (Dhikr)—al-Ajurri rules that anyone witnessing this practice is obligated to admonish them Masalat al-Taifin. He instructs reciters to lower their voices so that they only hear themselves and can reflect upon the text Masalat al-Taifin. To substantiate this, he cites prophetic traditions prohibiting worshipers from raising their voices over one another during prayer, arguing that tawaf is equivalent to prayer as an act of worship and demands analogous mindfulness Masalat al-Taifin+1. He also notes that those reciting outside the tawaf path in the Sacred Mosque must not disturb circumambulators or nearby prayer congregants Masalat al-Taifin.
• Conversing and socializing during circumambulation: Addressing people who socialize or engage in worldly conversation while circumambulating—including scholars, reciters, and ascetics—al-Ajurri denounces the practice as heedlessness and a trial (fitnah) that misleads ordinary Muslims Masalat al-Taifin. He explains that although speech is permissible during tawaf based on the prophetic hadith ( الطواف بالبيت صلاة إلا أن الله أباح فيه الكلام فمن نطق فلا ينطق إلا بخير , "Circumambulation around the House is prayer, except that God has permitted speech in it; so whoever speaks must only speak good"), permissible speech is restricted to greetings, brief inquiries, enjoining good, forbidding wrong, or instructing someone ignorant of proper ritual practice Masalat al-Taifin+1. He narrates reports illustrating the reverence of early figures like Tawus ibn Kaysan and Abdullah ibn Umar during tawaf Masalat al-Taifin+1.
• Supplication between the Corners: Under the heading Bab dhikr ma yaquluhu al-ta'if bayna al-rukn al-yamani wa-l-rukn al-aswad, al-Ajurri collects narrations recommending the Quranic supplication رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ ("Our Lord, give us in this world good and in the Hereafter good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire" [Al-Baqarah 2:201]) between the Yamani Corner and the Black Stone, alongside narrations describing the spiritual rewards and virtues of tawaf Masalat al-Taifin+1.

Editions

The work has been edited and published in modern times, including an edition edited by Mas'ad Abd al-Hamid al-Sa'dani (Dar al-Sahaba, Egypt, 1412 AH / 1992 CE) and another edited by Amr Ali Umar (Dar al-Kutubi, Egypt, 1412 AH) Diwan al-Sunna - Qism al-…+1.