Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Ibn Shihab say thathe had heard one of the people of knowledge say that the Hijr was onlyenclosed so that people would go beyond it as they were making tawaf,and their tawaf would therefore encompass the original House.
USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 20, Hadith 107
Arabic reference: Book 20, Hadith 810