Ramal means walking quickly and vigorously moving one’s shoulders and taking small steps, with a sense of strength and energy. Ibn `Umar reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) jogged from the Black Stone around the Kab’ah and back to the Black Stone three times, and walked the remaining four rounds.
Elaborating more on the wisdom behind Ramal in Tawaf, we will cite what Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq
states in his well-known book, Fiqh As-Sunnah:
“It is reported by Ibn `Abbas that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions came to Makkah, they were weakened by the fever in Yathrib. Thereupon the idolaters said, ”A people weakened with fever have come to you and they have been affected by evil.” Allah, the Almighty, informed His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about what they had said. So he commanded them to jog throughout the first three rounds of Tawaf around the Ka`bah, and to walk between its two corners. When the idolaters saw the Muslims jogging, they said: “Are they the people you said are weak because of fever? They are stronger and sturdier than us!” Ibn `Abbas added: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not command them to jog throughout all seven rounds so as not to overexert themselves.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud)
`Umar was of the opinion that jogging should be stopped as there was no longer any need for it after the Muslims had become strong and powerful. However, he decided to leave it (in its original form) so that the future generations of Muslims could share a form and feeling similar to that observed and felt by the early Muslims. Muhibbuddin At-Tabari said: “Sometimes certain instructions have been prescribed in the religion for a specific reason, and later even though that specific reason no longer exists, yet the instructions still remain valid.”
Zaid ibn Aslam reported from his father that he said: “I heard `Umar ibn Al-Khattab saying: ‘Why jog around the Ka`bah these days? Why uncover our shoulders (during Tawaf)? Allah has made Islam strong and powerful, and banished disbelief and the disbelievers, yet we shall never abandon what we used to do during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).”