Who built the kaaba that is in Mecca?
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A link that was posted on here a while back
http//www.hinduism.co.za/kaabaa.htm
I could not recognize one single Arabic word, neither from what is claimed to be found in the kaaba, nor in the following paragraphs where the writer tries to relate some "Arabic" words to Hindu religion.
A research of such a low quality is just a waste of time to read. The only word I could recognize is the word "namaz", and even this is not Arabic, as the writer claims.
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Mister Oak is a known Hindu fundementalist, who tries hard to make everything to be off hindu origin. It is the classical "we feel weak, so we fight back by claimin all history".
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AhmadBahgat
Firstly, according to an article means nothing really, I was asking you about your own understanding to 9107-108, on the other hand Layth article is full of mistakes and I replied already to the first 2 parts and have shown severe mistakes and illogical events according to the article author, I stopped replying to it due to the fact that what I presented from the Quran was enough to refute it fair and square but it seems a lot of young Muslims get excited with the article then get dragged and drugged and just follow it blindly despite the non sense it, then try to do the same that those authors do, which is to manipulate many verses to justify their non sense, this is also what Rashad Khalifah did exactly btw his cult follower continue to do just that, and even this is what the sunnis do as all sects do for that matter.
very correct dear friend, this is actually what is happening, I realy appreciate your efforts, the reason i too am spending my time here. These half learned friends have become more dangerous for ISlam then the rigid enemies of Islam.
Quran
We appointed Abraham to establish the Shrine "You shall not idolize any other god beside Me, and purify My shrine for those who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate."And proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations."
This prophecy from the times of Muhammad till Present is only true for the shrine that is built in Mecca the "KAABA".
Offcourse people visit Jersualem and other shrines too, but in what numbers as compared to Mecca and according to any system as comapred to Mecca?
Please stop misguiding the younger generation.
Quote from Zidane seems out of context here.
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"And proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations."
This prophecy from the times of Muhammad till Present is only true for the shrine that is built in Mecca the "KAABA".
Raj-ah,
How is this prophecy true? Only "muslims", not the people, go to Mecca. Moreover, women are restricted unless accompanied by a mahram (?) -
Samia
Raj-ah,
How is this prophecy true? Only "muslims", not the people, go to Mecca. Moreover, women are restricted unless accompanied by a mahram (?)First of all "muslims" are people too
Women restricted?? Well I am not aware of any sort of command in Quran!
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Quran
We appointed Abraham to establish the Shrine "You shall not idolize any other god beside Me, and purify My shrine for those who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate."And proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations."
This prophecy from the times of Muhammad till Present is only true for the shrine that is built in Mecca the "KAABA".
Offcourse people visit Jersualem and other shrines too, but in what numbers as compared to Mecca and according to any system as comapred to Mecca?
Please stop misguiding the younger generation.
Quote from Zidane seems out of context here.
Salam dear brother
I was thinking about this verse the other day, thanks for bringing it in here, this is yet another compelling evidence that the fairy tale of Al Masjid Al Haram beng in Juresalem is nothing but dust in thin air promoted by a buch of ignorant
You are 100% right man regarding the people coming from every where when the Hajj time comes, this is what the verse also says "The Hajj Time", there is no Hajj time in Jerusalem, in another words no one calls us to do Hajj in Juresalem
Regarding the argument presented by another member trying hard to flaw the Hajj to Mecca, Al Nas means men and women, the member is trying to use the SA flaws controlling Al Masjid Haram to totally discredit its holy status following the Shaitan calls of course, yet no one of those non sense advocate provided a single compelling proof from the Quran, they come to us with weird and unfounded propositions, like Al Masjid Al Haram is a status in your head rotfl rotfl rotfl
Here is the word Al Nas meanning only the believers only, so the Tom and Jerry argument that the verse is not talking about the Muslims only (doing the Hajj) because is calls them Al Nas must be dismissed
And when it is said to them Believe as the people believe they say Shall we believe as the fools believe? Now surely they themselves are the fools, but they do not know.
(13)
-> See, " ", i.e. "as the people believe ", i.e. the word Al Nas can be used for the believers only as it can be used for all
http//free-islam.com/extraimages/slamdunk.gif
Take care bro
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First of all "muslims" are people too
Excatly informed brother
as you can see 213 is talking about the believers and called them Al Nas
Women restricted?? Well I am not aware of any sort of command in Quran!
That is a SA government law that is not sanctioned by Allah in His Quran as you just said
Take care mate
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Peace all,
We appointed Abraham to establish the Shrine "You shall not idolize any other god beside Me, and purify My shrine for those who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate.
"And proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations."
The above translation contains several errors. 2226 tells us about the "location" of the "bayt"/sanctuary/house, not establishing a "shrine". It clearly tells us that the location has the following criterion DO NOT SET UP PARTNERS WITH THE GOD. How can a black shrine full of idols be the location of the "bayt" ?
2227 tells us to call the people with "the hajj", not "the hajj pilgrimage" ! There is only one "hajj" in that verse. It does not say "alhajj alhajj".
There are many pagan shrines in the world that pagans perform a pilgrimage to, and they travel great distances to go to those shrines, walking and riding, but that does not make them the pure house per 2226 because they are full of idols. Also just because the majority goes to a location does not make it the right location, especially when the place is full of idols.
6116 And if you obey the majority of those on Earth they will lead you away from God's path; that is because they follow conjecture, and that is because they only guess.
Shouldn't those who are concerned with a particular location try to cleanse/purify it of all the idols it contains before they choose it as their hajj location as per 2226 ?
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peace brother tanveer,
thank you for the links . I haven't had the time to read them all.
brother ayman- However, we must pause here for a moment and ask some vital questions
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Since the pilgrimage was first called to by Abraham and was known by the prophets who came after him (e.g. Moses making an oath ? measured by the years of pilgrimage), then why are the so-called followers of Moses and Jesus (Jews & Nazarenes) unaware of the significance of Mecca or the need to visit the Temple there?
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If Mecca was the place where Abraham first raised the Shrine, then why do the Sunnis and Shia claim in their history that the prophet and his followers were facing Jerusalem in their daily Salat before switching to Mecca a few years later?
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If the Sunnis and Shia are fabricating the history of the Jerusalem qibla (focal point), then why is there physical evidence found in the form of a mosque with two qiblas located in Medina and dating back to the prophet?s time?
please will anyone explain?
Raj-ah- This prophecy from the times of Muhammad till Present is only true for the shrine that is built in Mecca the "KAABA".
Ok brother raj-ah fine!....but was this built by Ibrahim and his son? if so then i would like you to enlighten me by explaining this verse.
2846. And you were not on this side of the mountain when We called, but a mercy from your Lord that you may warn a people TO WHOM NO WARNER CAME BEFORE YOU, that they may be mindful.yesterday I heard on Geo TV that the prophet's mother was buried at Abwa a place 600 km from Mecca...where is Abwa? I couldn't find it on the Map...and can somebody explain the background of her death 600 km from Mecca?
peace
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I haven't heard such thing before I came to this forum that Kaaba wasn't built by the Abraham. Lots of innocent Muslims have different views about that Kaaba Sharif. But if someone can prove that it wasn't built by Abraham and Masjed Hiram is not that then I think it would be lot more interesting than code 19. Because as Christians beliefs revolve around crucifixion similarly the most important pillar of sunni/shia-Islam revolves around that building, literally and metaphorically.
May God guide us, Hamsa
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peace Hamsa,
if we look at this from a martian's point of view, the kaaba is just a building, and it could've been built by anyone. There's only one group that claims that Abraham built the kaaba, the Muslims, who also believe in a lot of crap. And because it's impossible to sort out the crap from the truth, we can come to the conclusion that no one knows when or how the Kaaba was built, and we can probably never know that.So how do we know whether it is God's house or just another pagan shrine? Well, we look at it and examine it. We know that it has pagan written all over it, and so does the hajj ritual, so I guess it must be a pagan shrine built by pagans.
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Samia
First of all "muslims" are people tooWomen restricted?? Well I am not aware of any sort of command in Quran!
Raj-ah
This is not valid logic! If I say everyone should come in, and only females came in, that means they did not understand my command, or they do not care about it. Similarly, Christians, Jews, infidels, Hindus...etc are also people, so why only muslims, among all the people, are allowed?
As for women being restricted, of course you are not aware of anything like that in the quraan, and you are right. I was not talking about what quraan commands, because that's not what's going on in the so-called-pilgrimage, I was talking about what the "pilgrimage" taking place in S.A commands.
Actually, it is all against the commands of God. Therefore, no prophecy came true.Are you aware that women are restricted from performing hajj without being accompanied by a mahram? Just go to any site of a S.A embassy and look at visa requirements for hajj for females.
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Tanveer wrote
The above translation contains several errors. 2226 tells us about the "location" of the "bayt"/sanctuary/house, not establishing a "shrine". It clearly tells us that the location has the following criterion DO NOT SET UP PARTNERS WITH THE GOD. How can a black shrine full of idols be the location of the "bayt" ?
Several errors?
Ok! then what is your translation for it?
Is Kaaba a black shrine??
Why do you call it a Black Shrine??
Are you talking about the stone?
The stone is a dark reddish brown color and its diameter is about 12 inches (30.5 centimeters).
Are their any Idols in it?
Please can you answer and improve our knowldge!Tanveer
2227 tells us to call the people with "the hajj", not "the hajj pilgrimage" ! There is only one "hajj" in that verse. It does not say "alhajj alhajj".
There are many pagan shrines in the world that pagans perform a pilgrimage to, and they travel great distances to go to those shrines, walking and riding, but that does not make them the pure house per 2226 because they are full of idols. Also just because the majority goes to a location does not make it the right location, especially when the place is full of idols
Despite lot of differences in our opnion I still respect your views, but these one I think are made in hurry.
Yes that does not make them pure house becuase they are full of idols, so this is what I am saying; what is your point?
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Samia wrote
Raj-ah
This is not valid logic! If I say everyone should come in, and only females came in, that means they did not understand my command, or they do not care about it. Similarly, Christians, Jews, infidels, Hindus...etc are also people, so why only muslims, among all the people, are allowed?
As for women being restricted, of course you are not aware of anything like that in the quraan, and you are right. I was not talking about what quraan commands, because that's not what's going on in the so-called-pilgrimage, I was talking about what the "pilgrimage" taking place in S.A commands.
Actually, it is all against the commands of God. Therefore, no prophecy came true.Are you aware that women are restricted from performing hajj without being accompanied by a mahram? Just go to any site of a S.A embassy and look at visa requirements for hajj for females.
Please read carefully what AhmedBahgat posted, it can't be more simple!
I guess you understand the difference between Allah and Saudi Government?
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Samia wrote
Please read carefully what AhmedBahgat posted, it can't be more simple!What Ahmed posted does not answer my question.
I guess you understand the difference between Allah and Saudi Government?
I do. Do you?
Do you believe the Saudis are making the prophecy come true? -
Agentxxx
Quote
Raj-ah- This prophecy from the times of Muhammad till Present is only true for the shrine that is built in Mecca the "KAABA".
Ok brother raj-ah fine!....but was this built by Ibrahim and his son? if so then i would like you to enlighten me by explaining this verse.
2846. And you were not on this side of the mountain when We called, but a mercy from your Lord that you may warn a people TO WHOM NO WARNER CAME BEFORE YOU, that they may be mindful.yesterday I heard on Geo TV that the prophet's mother was buried at Abwa a place 600 km from Mecca...where is Abwa? I couldn't find it on the Map...and can somebody explain the background of her death 600 km from Mecca?
Regarding Geo TV, do you think it is an authenticated source?
Qur?an lays stress on the religion of Ibrahim, presenting Islam as a return to the purity of the religion of Ibrahim which, obscured by Judaism and Christianity, shone forth in its original brightness in the Qur?an. The pilgrimage?s to the Ka?aba and ritual progressions around the building were continued after Muhammad cleaned it from idols but now for the glorification of One God. The Abrahimic vision of the Ka?aba created a means of discerning an orthodox origin buried in the midst of pagan malpractices to which the first muslims pointed the way.
Quran
Then we inspired you (Muhammad) to follow the religion of Abraham, the monotheist; he never was an idol worshiper.Those who received the scripture, and know it as it should be known, will believe in this. As for those who disbelieve, they are the losers.
We have rendered the shrine (the Ka`aba) a focal point/model for the people, and a safe sanctuary. You may use Abraham's shrine as a prayer house. We commissioned Abraham and Ismail "You shall purify My house for those who visit, those who live there, and those who bow and prostrate."
It says that Abraham and Ismail were ordered by Allah to purify this house and not to built for the first time but may be rebuilt or rennovate, meaning that this house existed before them.
So my understanding is that this building existed before Abraham and Ismail and they only purified it by removing idols etc.
But regarding the question is this the same building which is in Mecca, YES as the Quran clearly tells us
We appointed Abraham to establish the Shrine "You shall not idolize any other god beside Me, and purify My shrine for those who visit it, those who live near it, and those who bow and prostrate.
Allah appointed Abraham to establish the shrine on basis that we should not idolize any other god besides Allah and not on the basis it existed before.
Another translation
And when We assigned to Ibrahim the place of the House, saying Do not associate with Me aught, and purify My House for those who make the circuit and stand to pray and bow and prostrate themselves.Prophecy
And proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations."Mecca is the only place where People come for HAJJ from all over the world from farthest places in an organized manner, Mecca is the only place where this practice is carried out for last 1500 years every year without any break.
No other place in the world is there we people go for Hajj or are called for Hajj.Hajj shall be observed in the specified months. Whoever sets out to observe Hajj shall refrain from sexual intercourse, misconduct, and arguments throughout Hajj. Whatever good you do, GOD is fully aware thereof. As you prepare your provisions for the journey, the best provision is righteousness. You shall observe Me, O you who possess intelligence.
Only in Mecca people go for Hajj in specific months, and refrain from Sexual intercourse and misconduct. Where else do people go for Hajj in specified months refraining from Sex etc.?
You shall observe the complete rites of Hajj and
Umrah for GOD. If you are prevented, you shall send an offering, and do not resume cutting your hair until your offering has reached its destination. If you are ill, or suffering a head injury (and you must cut your hair), you shall expiate by fasting, or giving to charity, or some other form of worship. During the normal Hajj, if you break the state of Ihraam (sanctity) betweenUmrah and Hajj, you shall expiate by offering an animal sacrifice. If you cannot afford it, you shall fast three days during Hajj and seven when you return home - this completes ten - provided you do not live at the Sacred Masjid. You shall observe GOD, and know that GOD is strict in enforcing retributionWhere else do people stop cutting their hairs until sacrifice of the animal is done? Where else do people during HAjj offer Kafara in the shape of Fasting during HAjj??
You commit no error by seeking provisions from your Lord (through commerce). When you file from `Arafaat, you shall commemorate GOD at the Sacred Location (of Muzdalifah). You shall commemorate Him for guiding you; before this, you had gone astray.
Where else do in the world we see trading during Hajj season, and the place Arafat?
If all these things mentioned in Quran combined happen some where else other then Mecca, Then is the case of those who impressed by Jewish and Christian missionaries propoganda say that Kaaba is not the place Abraham was assigned to purify.
Further proof for Abraham and ISmail rebuilding KAaba
A line in the Book of Jubilees (2013) mentions that the descendants of Abraham's son by Hagar, Ishmael, as well as his descendants by Keturah, became the "Arabians" or "Arabs". The 1st century Jewish historian Josephus similarly described the descendants of Ishmael (i.e. the Ishmaelites) as an "Arabian" people. He also calls Ishmael the "founder" (ς of the "Arabians". Some Biblical scholars also believe that the area outlined in Genesis as the final destination of Ishmael and his descendants ("from Havilah to Assyria" refers to the Arabian peninsula. This has led to a commonplace view that modern Semitic-speaking Arabs are descended from Abraham via Ishmael, in addition to various other tribes who intermixed with the Ishmaelites, such as Joktan, Sheba, Dedan, Broham, etc. Both Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions speak of earlier inhabitants of Arabia.
Abraham?s son Ishmael was a teenager when he and his mother were sent away by Sarah to live on their own (Genesis 16 &17)
Meccans who were known for memorizing and repeating the family tree and praising renknown members of the family tree have provided us with the tree which leads from Muhammad to Ismail.
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Salaam Raj-ah
Allow me to comment on your reply to Agentxxxx's
I do not think you understood what he is asking about, because the reply does not provide the answer. He is quoting a verse that confirms no messenger was sent to the people of Muhammad before him; so what was Ibraheem doing there in Mecca, and whom was he inviting to the "house" of God.
Abrahams son Ishmael was a teenager when he and his mother were sent away by Sarah to live on their own (Genesis 16 &17)
According to the quraan, Ibraheem and his WIFE were an old couple when he had his first son. (1439), and his second and third sons (1172; 5129) Sara (if she exists) was definitely old, too. Why would she send them away? How could she dare punish a prophet by exiling him and his teenage son (he was then even older than when he had him) into the wilderness? And he just obeys her and leaves his people? What made him return back? The quraan does not mention two wives for Ibraheem. He had all three sons (Ismael, Izhaaq and Yacob) all during his old age. This story told by genesis does not hold water with what the quraan tells us.
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peace sis,
raj-ahI do not think you understood what he is asking about, because the reply does not provide the answer. He is quoting a verse that confirms no messenger was sent to the people of Muhammad before him; so what was Ibraheem doing there in Mecca, and whom was he inviting to the "house" of God.
Thank you sis that is exactly what my question was.
raj-ahRegarding Geo TV, do you think it is an authenticated source?
no scholar have challenged what was said on geo Tv .
raj-ah-It says that Abraham and Ismail were ordered by Allah to purify this house and not to built for the first time but may be rebuilt or rennovate, meaning that this house existed before them.
So my understanding is that this building existed before Abraham and Ismail and they only purified it by removing idols etc.
why did they abandoned the building after purifying it?
how far is hebron from Mecca?peace
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Peace be with you
The following article is a sample article from the ?Encyclopaedia of the Qurn? at Brill Online. The article deals with some important aspects of the modern day hajj and its contradictions. Find the complete article at http//www.brillonline.nl/public/pilgrimage#content#content
Encyclopaedia of the Qurn
Pilgrimage
A journey to a holy place, and the religious activities associated with it. The words most often translated as pilgrimage, both in the Qurn and with regard to Muslim ritual (see ritual and the qurn ), are ajj and umra. The word ajj occurs nine times in five different verses (in q 2189, three times; in q 2196, three times; and once each in q 2197, q 93 and q 2227), umra twice in one verse only (q 2196) but there are also a number of related nominal and verbal forms for each. With reference to Muslim practice, ajj is sometimes distinguished as the major pilgrimage, umra as the minor, but whether one is speaking of the Qurn or of Muslim practice, the word pilgrimage is not really an adequate indication of what ajj and umra involve. The English word commonly suggests a journey to a sacred place made as a religious act. The focus is on the journey itself, even though the pilgrim may participate in religious ceremonies and rituals once the object of the pilgrimage has been reached. Those who make ajj and umra, it is true, have nearly always traveled long distances to Mecca (q.v.) in order to do so, and a substantial part of the journey has to be made in the sacral state known as irm, but it is the rites and ceremonies that are performed after arriving that really constitute the ajj or the umra. If consideration is restricted to the relevant qurnic passages without reference to Muslim practice, it is questionable how far they evoke the idea of pilgrimage as journey, although it could not be ruled out that traveling to perform ajj or umra is envisaged.
The traditional Arabic lexicographers associate the verbal forms ajja and itamara with the idea of travelling to a place (especially the sanctuary; see kaba) for the purpose of a visit (ziyra) but that possibly reflects standard Muslim practice and may not be an accurate guide to the basic meaning of the words. The roots -j(-j) (or -w-j) and -m-r occur in other Semitic languages apart from Arabic but it is difficult to determine basic meanings for them. The use of cognate words to elucidate the meaning of ajj and umra is complicated by the fact that Semiticists sometimes use Arabic materials influenced by Islam to attempt to clarify the vocabulary of, say, Hebrew or south Arabian. -j(-j), it has been suggested, has a number of possible meanings including procession, round, dance or festival. It has been argued that basically it refers to the act of dancing or processing around an altar or other cultic object, and that that relates to the ritual of the circumambulation (awf) of the Kaba, which is an important part of both ajj and umra. In the Bible the Hebrew aj is usually translated simply as festival or feast, although it could involve the participants in journeying to the place, Jerusalem or elsewhere, where the aj was to be held (e.g. Exod 2314-7; Deut 1616). In that light the Arabic ajj might be understood as a ?pilgrim festival.? The root -m-r is harder to document in any sense securely related to the Arabic umra.
As well as the nine qurnic attestations of ajj, q 397 proclaims ijj (sic) al-bayt (bayt referring to the house or sanctuary associated with Abraham; see abraham; house, domestic and divine) as a duty owed to God for anyone who can find a way to it (mani staa ilayhi sablan). This is the verse that is understood as establishing the obligation (farḍ for every Muslim to make ajj at least once in his lifetime; possible justifications for failing to meet the obliga-tion are discussed in commentary on the phrase ?for anyone who can find a way to it.? Generally, ijj is seen as no more than a dialectical variant of ajj without significance as to meaning, although there are some attempts to make distinctions in meaning between the two vocalizations. q 2158 uses the verbal forms ajja and itamara (man ajja l-bayta awi tamara). q 919 has the noun jj, apparently indicating someone making ajj, in the context of a rhetorical question ?Do you count providing water for him who makes ajj, and habitation of al-masjid al-arm (see profane and sacred ), as comparable with believing in God and the last day and making jihd (q.v.) in the way of God (see path or way; last judgment; faith)?? The references to ajj and umra sometimes occur in the context of more extended passages which contain regulations for those making them or which relate in some way to the sanctuary at which they take place. The qurnic verses do not, however, contain sufficient detail to enable us to use them as a blueprint even for those rituals to which they allude, and there are many aspects of the Muslim sanctuary and its pilgrimage ceremonies to which no allusion is made in the Qurn. The detailed Islamic regulations regarding these pilgrimages, therefore, do not depend primarily upon qurnic passages.
Furthermore, it sometimes seems that there is a degree of tension between Muslim practice or legal doctrines and some of the qurnic materials. The commentators, naturally, attempt to interpret the verses and the more extended passages, and to address the problems which they raise, with the Muslim forms of ajj and umra in mind. They assume that the passages are concerned with the Kaba at Mecca and its related sacred places and that they not only refer to, but to some extent provide a warrant for, the ajj and the umra as we know them from Muslim law and practice (see law and the qurn).
In some cases, however, the qurnic materials are problematical from that point of view, and much of the interest in reading the commentaries on the verses relating to ajj and umra consists in observing how the texts are accommodated to later Muslim assumptions. In general, it seems that while there are definite points of contact (e.g. in terminology and some proper names) between the qurnic passages and the pilgrimages as we know them from Muslim law and practice, it cannot be said that all the scriptural passages fit easily with the normative Muslim forms of ajj, umra, and the sanctuary with which they are associated. The following examples illustrate some apparent disjunctions and some of the interpretative strategies that seem to be adopted in order to overcome them.
q 2158 reads ?Al-af and al-Marwa (see af and marwa ) are among the signs (shair) of God. Whoever makes ajj of the sanctuary (al-bayt) or umra, no wrong attaches to him if he makes circumambulation of the two (l juna alayhi an yaawwafa bi-himā. Whoever performs something good voluntarily (wa-man taawwaa khayran), God recognizes and knows (it).? Commentators here unanimously identify al-af and al-Marwa as the two small elevations known by those names in Mecca, the former just to the south-east, the latter to the north-east, of the mosque which contains the Kaba, about 400 yards apart. The ritual of the Muslim ajj and umra includes a seven-times-repeated passage between al-af and al-Marwa, part of which has to be covered at a faster than walking pace. For that reason the ritual is ordinarily referred to as the say (literally, ?run?). The commentators, usually without discussion, identify the Islamic say with the circum-ambulation implied in the Qurn's an yaawwafa bi-him even though the Islamic ritual here can only questionably be described as a circumambulation. In discussions of the ritual in adth (see adth and the qurn) and jurisprudence (fiqh) it is usually referred to as say but awf is not infrequent. The major issue discussed in connection with this verse, however, is why it is stated that ?no wrong attaches to? (l juna alā the person who makes the awf of al-af and al-Marwa when it is virtually unanimously accepted in Islam that the ritual is an integral part of both ajj and umra. A well-known report tells us that Urwa b. al-Zubayr asked isha (see isha bint ab bakr) whether it meant that no wrong accrued to a person who did not make the awf between them, an interpretation which she strongly rejected.
There are several variant reports intended to explain how something which is regarded as meritorious, and by most as obligatory, should be described as incurring no wrong (jun is often glossed as ithm, ?sin?; see sin, major and minor). Most attempt to do so by referring, with variant details, to a group, which before Islam avoided al-af and al-Marwa because they were associated with idolatry (see idolatry and idolaters; polytheism and atheism ) and therefore had qualms about making the awf of them in Islam. The wording of the verse was intended to reassure them that God did not disapprove of the rite once its idolatrous associations had been removed. Another ?occasion of revelation? (see occasions of revelation) report refers to a group that did make this awf before Islam and were puzzled when God ordered the awf of the Kaba (q 2229 is understood to mean that) but did not mention the two hills. They asked the Prophet whether there was anything wrong in making the awf of al-af and al-Marwa and then the verse was revealed.
Some claimed that the passage between the two elevations is not an obligatory part of the ritual of ajj and umra and, in addition to suggesting that the verse may be read ?there is no harm in not making circumambulation of the two,? wanted to see its concluding words, ?whoever voluntarily does something good, God is thankful and cognizant,? as a reference to the voluntary nature of this say/awf. That was rejected by the majority who insisted that the ritual is an integral part of both ajj and umra, and said that the concluding words of the verse allude to those who make a voluntary ajj or umra ? it has nothing to do with al-af and al-Marwa. Among those who insisted that the ritual was obligatory, there were differences of opinion about the consequences of failing to perform the passage between al-af and al-Marwa when making the obligatory once-in-a-lifetime ajj (ijjat al-islm) can missing it be compensated for by a recompense (fidya) of a blood offering (see sacrifice ) like some of the other rites, or does it require a return to Mecca in person to perform it? There are conflicting views on this point.
Similar problems arise concerning the command at the beginning of the long verse q 2196 ?Complete the ajj and the umra for God.? Commentary on this phrase is fundamentally concerned to establish the distinction between ajj and umra (what rituals each involves) and with the issue of whether, as the wording might imply, the umra is obligatory (far wjib) like the ajj, or merely voluntary as the majority view in Islam holds.
Some proponents of the voluntary nature of umra read that word in the nominative case, giving the sense, ?complete the ajj but the umra is for God?.? Others who hold this understanding of the voluntary nature of umra maintained the standard reading, with umra in the accusative, but argued that ?complete? (atimmū means ?complete it when you have undertaken to perform it.? To the accusation that that could mean that the ajj also is voluntary, they responded by arguing that it is q 397 and not this verse which establishes the obligatory nature for every Muslim of at least one ajj. Those who held the umra to be obligatory preferred the standard reading and supported their argument with adths in which the Prophet included umra among the obligatory things required of a Muslim. Their opponents rejected the validity of those adths and countered with ones proclaiming the opposite.
The continuation of q 2196 then presents a different problem regarding the accommodation of the text to extra-qurnic considerations. One immediately noticeable and surprising feature in the commentaries is the amount of attention given to the meaning of the expression ?if you are detained? (fa-in uirtum) in the regulations about what should be done if you are unable to fulfil the verse's initial command to ?complete the ajj and the umra for God.? Generally it is agreed that this means, ?if you are detained when you have undertaken to make ajj or umra.? In that case, according to the verse, the person prevented from fulfilling the injunction made at its opening must make ?a convenient offering? (m staysara mina l-hady; see consecration of animals) and must remain in the sacral state of irm (?do not shave your heads?) until the animal offerings arrive at the time and place for slaughter (q.v.; att yablugha l-hadyu maillahu). There is, however, quite complex discussion about the circumstances that may lead to detention. Does it mean only such things as illness (see illness and health), injury to one's mount, and financial difficulties (see poverty and the poor); does it refer only to detention by an enemy (see enemies) or a human agent such as a ruler; or does it cover all of these possible causes? Those questions are related to the fact that it is widely accepted that this verse was revealed at the time when the Prophet and his companions were prevented by his Meccan opponents from completing an intended umra on which they had started (see opposition to muammad). Most of the reports about that incident say that the Prophet ordered his companions to slaughter the animal offerings (hady) at al-udaybiya (q.v.) where they had been stopped. Most agree that al-udaybiya was outside the sacred territory (the aram; see sacred precincts), that the Prophet did not imply that he and his companions had any further obligations once the hady had been slaughtered, but that in the following year he went to Mecca and performed an umra (known as umrat al-qa or umrat al-qaiyya, ?the umra of completion?). This tradition seems to conflict with the regulations set out in q 2196 concerning someone who is ?detained? from completing ajj or umra ? that abandoning the sacred state should not take place until the animal offerings reach their time and place for slaughter. The complex and detailed discussions in the commentaries on this verse display varying attitudes as to whether priority should be accorded to the tradition about the Prophet's behavior at al-udaybiya, to the regulations set out in the verse (and further elaborated by some of the scholars), or to practicality. Generally the Mliks emphasize the importance of the tradition about al-udaybiya as a model for someone intending to make umra but who is then prevented from completing it through detention by an enemy. Anyone detained by any other cause must not leave the consecrated state (except in the case of an illness the treatment of which necessitates this) until he has reached Mecca and performed an umra. Al-abar's (d. 310/923; Tafsr, ad loc.) account of the Mlik understanding of q 2196 and of the way in which they relate it to their doctrine is, however, hard to understand and does not seem completely logical. Others give priority to the wording of the verse and some attempt to harmonize it with the udaybiya tradition by excluding detention by an enemy from the cases covered by fa-in uirtum. In general, the complex arguments of the commentators on this part of the verse may be understood as the result of their attempts to interpret it in the light of existing practice, law and other material regarded as relevant for determining practice.
A further example of the difficulties which arise when attempting to interpret the qurnic material with the Muslim rituals in mind is provided by q 2198-9. q 2198 tells believers that after making ifa (fa-idh afatum) from Araft (q.v.) they should remember God by al-mashar al-arm; the next verse orders them to ?then? make ifa from where the people make it (thumma af min aythu afa l-nsu). In the Muslim ajj rituals, Araft, a hill about twenty-five kilometers to the east of Mecca, is the site of the ceremony of the wuqf, without which, according to several traditions and legal authorities, ajj is invalid. The wuqf, the ?standing? ritual, takes place on the flat ground on the side of the hill towards Mecca on the 9th of Dh l-ijja. Outside the Qurn the name of the hill often occurs in the form Arafa, and the commentators discuss and offer various explanations for the seemingly feminine plural form of the name in the Qurn and for its etymology associating it with the verb arafa, ?to know, to recognize,? they relate various stories involving earlier prophets (especially Adam or Abraham) who recognized people or things there (see adam and eve).The attempted identification of al-mashar al-arm is more complex and, to some extent, inconsistent. Al-mashar is understood to mean the same as al-malam, ?a place in or by which something is known, a place in which there is a sign? ? here, a place in which rituals of the ajj take place. Statements attempting to locate al-mashar al-arm give various specifications. Common to many of them is the idea that it is associated with al-Muzdalifa, the destination of a procession (ifa) from Arafa in the Muslim ajj. The simplest statement is of the form ?all of al-Muzdalifa is al-mashar al-arm.? Others are more specific but at the same time more confusing, while some seem to indicate a much wider area. For example, Ibn Umar is reported to have said when he stood ?at the furthest part of the hills (jibl) adjoining Araft? that ?all of it is mashir to the furthest point of the aram.? In notable reports cited by al-abar, Ibn Jurayj seems not to know the location of al-Muzdalifa while Abd al-Ramn b. al-Aswad said that he could not find anybody who could tell him about al-mashar al-arm. Al-abar comments on these traditions in ways which limit their apparent significance. The verbal noun ifa, literally a ?pouring out? or ?pouring forth,? is understood as referring to a sort of hasty procession when the pilgrims pour forth from one place, where they have been gathered together, to another. The name is given to various ?processions? involved in the ajj ceremonies, but it most commonly refers to that to al-Muzdalifa from the plain in front of the hill of Arafa. At al-Muzdalifa the pilgrims spend the night before going to Min on the next day. It may be this which leads to the attempts to identify al-mashar al-arm in connection with al-Muzdalifa. There is then a problem with the command, ?then make ifa from where the people make ifa,? at the beginning of q 2199, since it comes after the phrase ?when you have made ifa from Araft? in q 2198. Some understand the same ifa, i.e. that from Araft to al-Muzdalifa, to be referred to in both passages and see the latter command as addressed specifically to the Quraysh (q.v.) of Mecca who, in the Age of Ignorance (q.v.; jhiliyya), belonged to a group called the ums. The ums, we are told, regarded it as beneath them to go outside the aram at the time of the ajj. Since Araft lies outside the sacred area, they would not go to join in the ifa thence like the rest of the people. That explains the apparent difficulty of having the command introduced after the allusion which suggests that the duty had already been fulfilled. Another approach is to see the ifa commanded in the second passage as different from that in the former while the former is that from Arafa to al-Muzdalifa, the latter is that from al-Muzdalifa to Min (sometimes called the daffʿ. The command is understood as addressed to the Muslims generally while ?the people? (al-ns) is interpreted as a reference to Abraham. Al-abar himself prefers this second possibility even though it is a minority one and even though it involves explaining how the collective ns could refer to a single individual. His reasoning is that he does not think that God would say ?when you have made the ifa? in the previous verse and then begin this one with the words ?then make ifa? if the same ifa was meant both times.
In q 2203 the ?numbered days? (ayym maddt) on which we are commanded to remember God are generally identified as the so-called ayym al-tashrq of the Muslim ajj, the three days spent at Min following the slaughter of the animal offerings there. The following statement that no sin (ithm) is incurred by those who ?make haste in two days? (man taajjala f yawmayn) nor by those who ?delay? (man taakhkhara), so long as there is fear (q.v.) of God, is generally understood to mean that there is nothing wrong with departing from Min after two days nor with doing so after three. Since the latter is the normal accepted practice, however, that raises the same question which we have seen asked about the qurnic reference to al-af and al-Marwa why would God say that no sin is incurred by doing something regarded as a normal part of the ajj rituals? An alternative way of interpreting this verse ? that it is alluding to the Muslim belief that a properly accomplished ajj frees the pilgrim from some or all of his sins, and that that applies whether one cuts short the ayym al-tashrq or remains at Min until they have finished ? is probably to be understood as an attempt to avoid the difficulty inherent in the previous interpretation.The mention in q 396 of the ?first house (bayt)? at Bakka,? which is naturally understood as a reference to the Kaba at Mecca (Makka), involves the commentators in variant explanations as to why the Qurn uses the form Bakka. It seems obvious that all of the suggested explanations are simply attempts to account for something of which the commentators had no real knowledge, and the way in which it is done ? e.g. by reference to the crowding (izdim, a word the root of which is said to have the same meaning as that of bakka) of the people in the circumambulation of the Kaba ? again illustrates the way in which the commentators attempt to relate the qurnic material to the Muslim pilgrimage rituals.
Finally in this connection there may be noted the difficulties the commentators have with the expression al-ajj al-akbar, ?the greater ajj,? in q 93 (?a proclamation from God and his messenger to the people on the day of al-ajj al-akbar?). Here there is considerable diversity in interpretation of the phrase some wish to explain it as referring to a particular day or particular days of the ajj rituals ? the day of the ?standing? at Arafa, the day of the slaughter of the victims, etc.; most associate it with the ajj led by Ab Bakr immediately following the conquest of Mecca by the Prophet, but some with the ?Farewell Pilgrimage? (q.v.) led by the Prophet himself in the last year of his life, and they give variant explanations of why the one or the other should be called al-ajj al-akbar; yet others explain it by reference to the distinction between the ?major? pilgrimage (the ajj) and the ?minor? pilgrimage (the umra which may, allegedly, be called al-ajj al-aghar), or between a ajj combined with an umra and a ajj performed alone. Again it seems obvious that the commentators have no real understanding of the phrase but try to make sense of it by aligning it with Muslim practice and, in this case, with traditions relating to the life of the Prophet.
It might be argued that, in spite of disjunctions of the sort illustrated above, the qurnic materials nevertheless reflect institutions and practices that are not radically different from those of Islam. Much of the qurnic terminology, after all, is used also in Muslim law and ritual practice, and the few proper names that occur (al-af, al-Marwa, Araft) are those of places in or near Mecca. On the other hand, it might be thought that the relative paucity and lack of detail of the qurnic verses concerning ajj and umra make it impossible to judge the extent to which they envisage the same rites in the same places as does classical Islam. Not only are some rites and places which are of major importance in Muslim practice (e.g. Zamzam, Min, the wuqf, the stoning ritual; see stoning; springs and fountains) not mentioned at all in the Qurn, those names which do occur may not indicate the same things as they do in classical Islam. The traditional accounts of how the Meccan sanctuary and the rites associated with it came to be incorporated into Islam assume a basic continuity. According to tradition, the Prophet took over the Kaba and the other places in the vicinity of Mecca and did not radically change the rituals which at the time constituted the ajj and the umra. He cleansed them of the idolatry which polluted them and restored the pristine monotheism which had existed when Abraham built the Kaba and summoned humankind to make ajj and umra, but apart from that he made only minor and marginal alterations (see anf).
Some scholars have suggested that the changes involved in the identification of the Meccan sanctuary as the Muslim sanctuary were more significant. Following Snouck Hurgronje and Wellhausen, many have argued that the evidence points to a unification of a number of originally distinct and independent holy places and rituals in a way that focused them on the Kaba at Mecca. According to that view, the ajj originally had nothing to do with Mecca or the Kaba but concerned Mount Arafa and other holy places at some distance from Mecca. It was the umra which was originally the ritual associated with the Kaba.
The phrasing of q 2158 with its apparent concern to reassure the hearers that awf of al-af and al-Marwa was an acceptable part of ajj or umra has sometimes been explained by reference to that idea it reflects an early stage in the process in which the rituals of the umra came to be incorporated in the ajj and perhaps mirrors the objections of those who questioned the validity of that incorporation. (For a different approach, see Burton, Collection, 12, 16, 30-1.)
A particularly difficult passage in q 2196 might also reflect such a development. Following the section, discussed above, which establishes rules for those ?detained? from meeting the command to ?complete the ajj and the umra for God,? we then read ?and when you are in security, then whoever enjoys/benefits from the umra to/for/until the ajj (man tamattaa bi-l-umrati il l-ajji), then a convenient offering (m staysara mina l-hady).?
?When you are in security? (fa-idh amintum) is understood as meaning ?when the circumstances which detained you no longer pertain.? Commentary then concerns itself with the knotty issue of what is meant by the tamattu referred to in the following phrase. In their discussions commentators and other traditional scholars also use the forms muta and istimt and they reflect a variety of understandings of what the phrase means. The relevant phrase in q 2196 (man tamattaa bi-l-umrati il l-ajji) is difficult to translate, and attempts to interpret it reflect ideas current in Islamic practice or legal theory.
What most interpretations have in common is that tamattu (or istimt or muta) involves a premature abandonment of the consecrated state on the part of the pilgrim. For example, one of the most common understandings of the concept is that the pilgrim has begun by intending to perform both umra and ajj and has stated that intention when he adopted irm. On arriving at Mecca before the ajj has started he performs an umra and then leaves the state of irm, thus removing restrictions regarding such things as toilet, dress and sexual activity (see sex and sexuality; ritual purity ). He remains in this normal, desacralized state until the time for the ajj arrives, when he once more enters irm and remains in the sacralized state until the ajj is over. For that break in irm he is liable to the penalty of an offering or something in lieu of it.