Short answer
Hijr Ismail, also called the Hatim, is the low semicircular wall beside the Kaaba, on the side of its waterspout. Part of it belongs to the Kaaba itself, so praying there counts as praying inside the House. In tawaf you must walk around the outside of it; going through it leaves those rounds incomplete, so you must redo them.
Tawaf must include the Hijr. Walking through it leaves part of the round undone: repeat the tawaf, or at least go round the Hijr for the rounds missed. If you return home without doing so, a dam is due. A prayer that faces only the Hijr, and not the Kaaba itself, is not valid, because the Hijr's being part of the House is known by solitary reports.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali
- A round that passes through the Hijr is not valid and must be redone; the tawaf is not complete without it, and no sacrifice replaces it.
Explanation
A'ishah asked the Prophet ﷺ whether the wall area was part of the House. He said yes, and that her people (the Quraysh) ran short of funds when they rebuilt the Kaaba, so they left it out. When she wanted to pray inside the Kaaba, he took her by the hand into the Hijr and told her to pray there, as it is part of the House.
- Praying in it: voluntary prayers there are like prayers inside the Kaaba. It is crowded; go late at night and do not push.
- Fard prayers in it: valid in the Hanafi school if you also face the Kaaba (see praying inside the Kaaba).
- Tawaf: stay outside the semicircle. If the crowd pushed you through it, redo that round.
- The name: people link it to Ismail because scholars report he and his mother Hajar lived near this spot; the name Hatim refers to the wall itself.
For the Kaaba's history and the waterspout above the Hijr, see our Kaaba facts. The steps of tawaf are in why Muslims circle the Kaaba.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:127
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَٰهِۦمُ ٱلْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ﴿١٢٧﴾
And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], "Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.
The original foundations of the House included the Hijr.
Sahih al-Bukhari 7243
Sahih... سألت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الجدر أمن البيت هو قال نعم ...
"I asked the Prophet about the wall: is it part of the House? He said yes. I asked why they had not included it, and he said: your people ran short of funds."
The Hijr is part of the Kaaba.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 876
Grading to be checked... صلي في الحجر إن أردت دخول البيت فإنما هو قطعة من البيت ...
"Pray in the Hijr if you want to enter the House, for it is a part of the House."
Praying in the Hijr is praying in the Kaaba.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Hajj, on tawaf, going round the Hatim. Tawaf is from behind the Hatim; one who went through it repeats, or a dam is due if he leaves.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, on facing the qiblah. Facing the Hatim alone does not suffice as qiblah.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Hajj, on tawaf in the Hijr. The Shafi'i view that such a round is invalid.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.