General Fatwas
Does the Regular Sunnah Prayer Suffice for the Two Rak'ahs of Tawaf?
Shaykh Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baz
Local English rendering of the selected Arabic question and answer. The Arabic source remains authoritative; this is not an official published English edition.
Question
Do the regular Sunnah prayers suffice for the two rak'ahs of tawaf?
Answer (English translation)
No; they are a separate Sunnah. The established practice is to pray two independent rak'ahs. The scholars generally regard them as Sunnah, although the view that they are obligatory is strong; this is based on the hadith in which the Prophet mentioned the five prayers and said that anything beyond them is voluntary.