How to Begin Tawaf and Touching the Pillars of the Ka'bah

Question:
He says: I hope you will inform me about how to begin tawaf, and whether I should say takbir and raise my hand when I am opposite the Yemeni corner or when I am opposite the Black Stone?

Answer:
The pillars of the Ka'bah are four. The first is the corner of the Black Stone; this is the starting point of tawaf. So, when you are opposite it and you intend to perform tawaf, if it is easy for you to touch it with your hand and kiss it, that is mustahabb (recommended) and a sunnah (recommended practice). If it is not easy for you, then you touch it with your hand or with something you have with you, such as a stick or the like, and then you kiss what you touched it with. If neither kissing nor touching is easy for you, then you point to it. When you are opposite it, you raise your hand and say "Allahu Akbar," then you continue the tawaf. This is the Black Corner. The two Sham corners are not touched, not kissed, and not pointed to. The two Sham corners, which are on the north side of the Ka'bah, are not kissed, not touched, and not pointed to. As for the Yemeni corner, it is touched but not kissed. If it is not easy for you to touch it due to the crowd, you do not point to it; you walk past it without pointing to it. So, the Yemeni corner is touched but not kissed and not pointed to. The Black Corner, which is the Black Stone, is touched and kissed, or pointed to. As for the two Sham corners, they are not kissed, not touched, and not pointed to.