All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
There is a consensus amongst scholars that performing voluntary Tawaf around the Kaba seven times is recommended since Ibn Omar narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: " Whoever performs Tawaf around this House seven times and he keeps track of it, then it is as if he freed a slave. "{At-Tirmidhi}.
As for performing less than seven times, Shaffie and Maliki scholars, according to the accredited opinion of their schools, are of the view that performing less than seven times doesn`t avail a person. In this regard, Al-Bajji stated: "Performing less than seven times of voluntary Tawaf doesn`t avail a person." { "Shareh al-Mowat`a"}. "Voluntary Tawaf is seven times, not less.
However, it was reported that Al-Khadim, an eminent scholar, said :" it is permissible for a person to offer less than seven times." {Hashyat Al-Jamal, a Shafie` book}.
Moreover, Hanafie scholars are of the view that performing voluntary Tawaf around the Kaba seven times isn`t an obligation, and that a person gets rewarded in accordance with the number of times that he performs.
This is also one view of the Shafie scholars. "It is permissible for a person to perform as many times of voluntary Tawaf as he likes because it is an act of worship." {Majma` Al-Anhor, a Hanafie book}. "Is it valid to offer one time of voluntary Tawaf?
It was stated in {Asna al-Matalib}, a Shafie book:" a person is rewarded in accordance with the times of Tawaf that he performs, as if he offered only one Rakah."
Ibn Moflih stated: "Whoever performs voluntary Tawaf around the Kaba one time or two times will be rewarded accordingly, and isn`t a condition that he should perform seven times." {Al-Forou`}.
In conclusion, it is preferable and more prudent to perform voluntary Tawaf around the Kaba seven times, if he has the ability to do so, in order to receive the full reward from Almighty Allah, and to be on the safe side as far as the scholars` disagreement on this matter is concerned. However, if he couldn`t deliver that much for a certain excuse, then he will be rewarded for the times that he managed to perform. And Allah knows best.