The Kaaba also called Bayt Allāh (House of God) or Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām is the most sacred place for the Muslims. Its location determines the qiblah for the Muslims that means wherever they are in the world, they are expected to face the Kaaba when offering their prayers five times in a day. Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every Muslim who is able to do so has to perform the Hajj at least once in his lifetime. Multiple parts of the hajj require pilgrims to make Tawaf seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction. Tawaf is also performed by pilgrims during the ‘Umrah. In 2017, the number of pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform hajj was officially reported as 1,752,014 and 600,108 Saudi Arabian residents bringing the total number of pilgrims to 2,352,122.