طواف al-Qudum, also known as طواف al-Tahiyyah (greeting طواف), is the first طواف a حاجی performs upon arriving in مکہ مکرمہ. The majority of scholars — Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Hanbali — consider it a Sunnah mu'akkadah (emphasized مستحب act), meaning it is highly مستحب but not واجب, and no penalty is due for omitting it. The Maliki school, however, considers it wajib (واجب) and holds that a dam (sacrificing a sheep) is required for deliberately skipping it without a valid excuse.
Sheikh Ibn Baz explained that طواف al-Qudum applies specifically to حجاج performing حج al-Ifrad (حج alone) or حج al-Qiran (combined حج and عمرہ). Pilgrims performing حج al-Tamattu do not need a separate طواف al-Qudum because their عمرہ طواف upon arrival serves this purpose. Additionally, those who arrive in مکہ مکرمہ after the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah (after عرفات) are exempt from طواف al-Qudum according to all scholars, as the time for it has passed.
Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen noted that menstruating women who arrive in مکہ مکرمہ for حج and cannot perform طواف before going to عرفات are excused from طواف al-Qudum without any penalty, even according to those who consider it واجب. He emphasized that طواف al-Qudum, whether Sunnah or wajib, is waived for anyone with a valid excuse, and the obligation of طواف al-Ifadah (the essential حج طواف) remains unaffected.