Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:125
And [mention] when We made the House a place of return for the people and [a place of] security. And take, [O believers], from the standing place of Abraham a place of prayer. And We charged Abraham and Ishmael, [saying], "Purify My House for those who perform Tawaf and those who are staying [there] for worship and those who bow and prostrate [in prayer]."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِلنَّاسِ (And when We made the House a place of resort for the people) (2:125)
Abū Jaʿfar said: As for His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort," this is connected by way of "idh" (when) as an appendix to His words: وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ (And when Ibrāhīm was tried by his Lord with words). And His words: وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ (And when He tried Ibrāhīm) are connected to His words: يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ (O Children of Israel, remember My favour). So remember "when Ibrāhīm was tried by his Lord" and "when We made the House a place of resort."
* * *
And "the House" that Allah made a place of resort for the people is the Sacred House (al-Bayt al-Ḥarām).
* * *
As for "al-mathāba" (the place of resort): the linguists differ over its meaning and over the reason why the word is in the feminine form.
Some of the grammarians of Basra said: The hāʾ (the ending) was added to "al-mathāba" on account of the great number of those who return to it, just as one says "sayyāra" for someone who travels much, and "nassāba" (for someone who practices genealogy much).
And some of the grammarians of Kūfa said: No, "al-mathāb" and "al-mathāba" have one and the same meaning, comparable to "al-maqām" and "al-maqāma." And "al-maqām" is — according to their view — in the masculine form because by it is meant the place upon which one stands, whereas "al-maqāma" is in the feminine form because by it is meant the plot of ground (al-buqʿa). These people denied that "al-mathāba" would be equivalent to "al-sayyāra" and "al-nassāba," and they said: The hāʾ in "al-sayyāra" and "al-nassāba" is merely inserted by way of comparison with "al-dāʿiya."
* * *
And "al-mathāba" has the form "mafʿala," derived from "thāba al-qawm ilā al-mawḍiʿ" (the people returned to the place), when they return to it; so they return to it as a "mathāb," a "mathāba," and a "thawāb."
The meaning of His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people" is therefore: And when We made the House a place of return for the people and a refuge, to which they come every year and to which they return without ever having their fill of it. Among the [examples of] "al-mathāb" is the saying of Waraqa ibn Nawfal in his description of the Sacred Precinct (al-Ḥaram):
"A place of resort for all kinds of tribes, all together, toward which the swift, worn-out she-camels press on."
And from this is derived the expression: "thāba ilayhi ʿaqluhu" (his reason returned to him), when it returns to him after it had left him.
* * *
And in agreement with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
1963 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: [Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us], on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the saying of Allah: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: They never have their fill of it.
1964 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
1965 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: They return to it and never have their fill of it.
1966 — Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: As for al-mathāba, that is the place to which they return every year; a person does not leave it — once he has come to it — without returning to it.
1967 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: They never have their fill of it; they come to it, then return afterwards to their families, and then return again to the House.
1968 — ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Abī ʿUmayr related to me, he said: al-Walīd ibn Muslim related to me, he said: Abū ʿAmr said: ʿAbda ibn Abī Lubāba related to me concerning His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: No one returns from it being of the opinion that he has had his fill of it.
1969 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: Hushaym related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Malik informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: They return to it from every place and never have their fill of it.
1970 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, the like of it.
1971 — Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra al-Asadī related to me, he said: Sahl ibn ʿĀmir related to us, he said: Mālik ibn Mighwal related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya, concerning His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: They never have their fill of it.
1972 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Hudhayl, he said: I heard Saʿīd ibn Jubayr say: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: They perform the pilgrimage and return.
1973 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Abū al-Hudhayl, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His words: "a place of resort for the people," he said: They perform the pilgrimage, and perform the pilgrimage again, and never have their fill of it.
1974 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Ibn Bukayr related to us, he said: Misʿar related to us, on the authority of Ghālib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: "a place of resort for the people," he said: They return to it.
1975 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people and a place of security," he said: a place of gathering.
1976 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "a place of resort for the people," he said: They return to it.
1977 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "a place of resort for the people," he said: They return to it.
1978 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: "And when We made the House a place of resort for the people," he said: They return to it from all lands and come to it.
* * *
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَأَمْنًا (and a place of security)
Abū Jaʿfar said: And "al-amn" (security) is a verbal noun, derived from the saying of the one who says: "amina yaʾmanu amnan" (he was secure, he is secure, security).
* * *
Allah called it only "a place of security" because in the time of ignorance (al-jāhiliyya) it was a refuge for whoever sought refuge in it. If a man of them met there the murderer of his father or his brother, he would not attack him nor do anything to him, until he had left the precinct. And it was as Allah — exalted is His praise — said: أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا جَعَلْنَا حَرَمًا آمِنًا وَيُتَخَطَّفُ النَّاسُ مِنْ حَوْلِهِمْ (Do they not see that We have made a secure sanctuary, while the people around them are snatched away?) [Surah al-ʿAnkabūt: 67].
1979 — Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: "and a place of security," he said: Whoever takes refuge in it is secure; a man would meet the murderer of his father or his brother, and do nothing to him.
1980 — Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: As for "a place of security," whoever entered it was secure.
1981 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words of Allah: "and a place of security," he said: it is its inviolability; whoever enters it need not fear therein.
1982 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His words: "and a place of security," he says: secure from the enemy, that weapons are borne; and in the time of ignorance the people around them were snatched away, while they were secure and were not taken captive.
1983 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Minjāb, he said: Bishr informed us, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: "and a place of security," he said: secure for the people.
1984 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: "and a place of security," he said: its inviolability; whoever enters it need not fear therein.
* * *
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَاتَّخِذُوا مِنْ مَقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى (And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The reciters differ over the recitation of this.
Some of them read: "wa-ttakhidhū min maqāmi Ibrāhīma muṣallā" with a kasra on the "khāʾ," by way of a command to take the standing-place as a place of prayer. This is the recitation of the generality of the two garrison towns, Kūfa and Basra, and the recitation of the generality of the reciters of Mecca and a portion of the reciters of Medina. Those who read it thus based themselves on the narration that reads:
1985 — Abū Kurayb and Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, both of them saying: Hushaym related to us, he said: Ḥumayd informed us, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, he said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, might you not take the standing-place as a place of prayer! Then Allah revealed: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer."
1986 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us — and Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us — both on the authority of Ḥumayd, on the authority of Anas, on the authority of ʿUmar, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, the like of it.
1987 — ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Ḥumayd related to us, on the authority of Anas, he said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, — and he mentioned the like of it.
* * *
They said: Allah — exalted is His mention — revealed this verse only as a command from Him to His Prophet ﷺ to take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer. It is therefore not permissible to recite it — while it is a command — by way of a report (in the indicative form).
* * *
And some of the grammarians of Basra have claimed that His words: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer" are connected to His words: يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ (O Children of Israel, remember My favour), and "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer." The command in this verse, and the taking of a place of prayer at the standing-place of Ibrāhīm, then concerned — according to the view of this speaker — the Jews of the Children of Israel who were living in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ..... as it was related to us [on the authority of] al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas with the following:
1988 — [It] was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, he said: Among the words with which Ibrāhīm was tried was His saying: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer." So He commanded them to take a place of prayer at the standing-place of Ibrāhīm, and thus they perform the prayer behind the standing-place.
* * *
The interpretation of the one who holds this view is therefore: وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ (And when Ibrāhīm was tried by his Lord with words and he completed them), He said: إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا (Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people), and He said: take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The narration which we mentioned earlier on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, on the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, indicates the opposite of what these people have said, and that it was a command from Allah — exalted is His mention — to that effect, to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, to the believers in him, and to all created beings who fall under the religious obligation.
* * *
And some of the reciters of Medina and Syria read: "wa-ttakhadhū" with a fatḥa on the "khāʾ," by way of a report (in the past tense: "and they took").
* * *
Then they differed over that to which "wa-ttakhadhū" is connected as an appendix, when it is read thus, by way of a report.
Some of the grammarians of Basra said: Its interpretation, when it is read thus, is: وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَأَمْنًا (And when We made the House a place of resort for the people and a place of security), [and when] they took the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer.
And some of the grammarians of Kūfa said: No, that is connected to His words: جَعَلْنَا (We made), so that the meaning of the statement according to their view is: And when We made the House a place of resort for the people, and they took it as a place of prayer.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct view and recitation in this, according to us, is: "wa-ttakhidhū" with a kasra on the "khāʾ," in the meaning of a command to take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer, on account of the well-established narration of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ which we just mentioned, and because:
1989 — ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, he said: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer."
* * *
Then the people of interpretation differed over the interpretation of His words: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," and over "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm." Some of them said: "The standing-place of Ibrāhīm" is the entire pilgrimage.
* Mention of who said that:
1990 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Ibn Jurayj informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm," he said: The entire pilgrimage is the standing-place of Ibrāhīm.
1991 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," he said: The entire pilgrimage.
1992 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: The entire pilgrimage is "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm."
* * *
And others said: "The standing-place of Ibrāhīm" is ʿArafa, al-Muzdalifa, and the stoning-pillars (al-jimār).
* Mention of who said that:
1993 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Riyāḥ: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," he said: Because I have made him a leader; his standing-place is therefore ʿArafa, al-Muzdalifa, and the stoning-pillars.
1994 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," he said: his standing-place is Jamʿ (al-Muzdalifa), ʿArafa, and Minā — I am almost certain that he also mentioned Mecca.
1995 — ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," he said: his standing-place is ʿArafa.
1996 — ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: It was revealed to him while he was standing at ʿArafa, the standing-place of Ibrāhīm: الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ (Today I have perfected for you your religion) [Surah al-Māʾida: 3], the verse.
1997 — ʿAmr related to us, he said: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, the like of it.
* * *
And others said: "The standing-place of Ibrāhīm" is the Sacred Precinct (al-Ḥaram).
* Mention of who said that:
1998 — It was related to me on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Zayd, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," he said: The entire Sacred Precinct is "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm."
* * *
And others said: "The standing-place of Ibrāhīm" is the stone upon which Ibrāhīm stood when the building had risen high and he had become too weak to lift the stones.
* Mention of who said that:
1999 — Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, he said: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Majīd al-Ḥanafī related to us, he said: Ibrāhīm ibn Nāfiʿ related to us, he said: I heard Kathīr ibn Kathīr relate, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: Ibrāhīm began building it, while Ismāʿīl was handing him the stones, and they both said: رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ (Our Lord, accept it from us; indeed, You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing). When the building had risen high and the old man had become too weak to lift the stones, he stood upon a stone, and that is "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm."
* * *
And others said: No, "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm" is his standing-place which is located in the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām).
* Mention of who said that:
2000 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," they were commanded only to pray beside it, and they were not commanded to touch it. And this community has imposed upon itself something which the communities before it did not impose upon themselves. And it was related to us about someone who saw the imprint of his heel and his toes, and these communities kept touching it until it wore away and was effaced.
2001 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," and thus they perform the prayer behind the standing-place.
2002 — Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," and that is the prayer beside his standing-place during the pilgrimage.
And "the standing-place" is the stone which the wife of Ismāʿīl had placed under the foot of Ibrāhīm when she washed his head. Ibrāhīm placed his foot upon it while he was seated, and she washed the one half of his head; then she pulled the stone out from under him, while his foot had sunk into the stone, and placed it under the other half, and washed it; and his foot sank into it there likewise. So Allah made it one of His rites, and He said: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer."
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct of these views, according to us, is what those said who held that "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm" is the standing-place known by this name, which is located in the Sacred Mosque, on account of what we just related on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, and on account of the following:
2003 — Yūsuf ibn Salmān related to us, he said: Ḥātim ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, he said: Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Jābir, he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ touched the Corner-stone, jogged three times and walked four times, and then went to the standing-place of Ibrāhīm and recited: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer." He placed the standing-place between himself and the House and performed two units of prayer.
* * *
These two narrations make clear that Allah — exalted is His mention — meant by "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm," which Allah commanded us to take as a place of prayer, only that which we have described.
And even if there were no narration from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning the correctness of what we have chosen in the interpretation of this, still what we have said would be the obligatory view. That is because the meaning of a statement is carried to its outward, well-known meaning, and not to its hidden, unknown meaning, until there comes something that indicates the opposite of it, something to which one must submit. And there is no doubt that what is known among the people as "the standing-place of Ibrāhīm" is the place of prayer concerning which Allah — exalted is His mention — said: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer."
* * *
[Abū Jaʿfar said: As for the words of the Exalted: "a place of prayer" (muṣallā)], the people of interpretation differ over its meaning. Some of them said: it is a place of supplication (al-muddaʿā).
* Mention of who said that:
2004 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "And take the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer," he said: the place of prayer of Ibrāhīm is a place of supplication.
* * *
And others said: Its meaning is: take a place of prayer at which you pray.
* Mention of who said that:
2005 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to me, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: They were commanded to pray beside it.
2006 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: it is the prayer beside it.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: It is as if those who said that the interpretation of "the place of prayer" (al-muṣallā) here is "the place of supplication" (al-muddaʿā) understood "al-muṣallā" as a "mufaʿʿal," derived from the saying of the one who says: "ṣallaytu" in the meaning of "I supplicated, I prayed for something."
And the adherents of this view are the same ones who said that the standing-place of Ibrāhīm is the entire pilgrimage.
* * *
Its meaning in the interpretation of this verse was therefore: Take ʿArafa, al-Muzdalifa, al-Mashʿar, the stoning-pillars, and all the other places of the pilgrimage at which Ibrāhīm used to stand, as places of supplication, where you supplicate Me, and in which you take My friend (khalīl) Ibrāhīm — peace be upon him — as an example; for I have made him, for those who come after him — of My friends and the people who obey Me — a leader whom they follow, him and his footsteps; so follow him.
* * *
As for the interpretation of those who hold the other view, which reads: Take, O people, the standing-place of Ibrāhīm as a place of prayer at which you pray, as an act of worship on your part and as an honouring by Me of Ibrāhīm.
* * *
And this view is the most correct, on account of what we have mentioned of narration on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, on the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
* * *
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَنْ طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ (And We charged Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl: "Purify My House")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted is His mention — means by His words: "And We charged": and We commanded, as:
2007 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: What does "He charged" mean? He said: He commanded.
2008 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed me, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: "And We charged Ibrāhīm," he said: We commanded him.
* * *
The meaning of the verse is therefore: And We commanded Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl to purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation (al-ṭāʾifīn). And "the purification" which Allah commanded them both regarding the House is the purification of it from the idols, from the worship of the idols therein, and from the ascribing of partners to Allah (al-shirk).
* * *
If someone were to say: What does His saying mean: "And We charged Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl: Purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation"? Was there then, in the days of Ibrāhīm — before his building of the House — a house that had to be purified from shirk and from the worship of the idols in the Sacred Precinct, so that it would be permissible that they both were commanded to purify it?
To this it is answered: For that there are two manners of interpretation, and to each of the two manners a group of the people of interpretation has held.
The first: that its meaning is: And We charged Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl: build My House purified of shirk and of doubt (al-rayb), as the Exalted — exalted is His mention — said: أَفَمَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَى تَقْوَى مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانٍ خَيْرٌ أَمْ مَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَى شَفَا جُرُفٍ هَارٍ (Is then he who founded his building upon godfearingness toward Allah and upon good pleasure better, or he who founded his building on the edge of a crumbling bank?) [Surah al-Tawba: 109]. So likewise is His saying: "And We charged Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl: Purify My House," that is to say: build My House upon purity from shirk toward Me and from doubt, as:
2009 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And We charged Ibrāhīm and Ismāʿīl: Purify My House," he says: build My House [for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation].
This is therefore one of the two manners.
And the other of the two manners: that they both were commanded to purify the site of the House before its building, and the House after its building, from that which the people of shirk in Allah (ahl al-shirk billāh) placed in it — in the time of Nūḥ and those before him — of idols, so that that would become a custom (sunna) for whoever would come after them both, since Allah — exalted is His mention — had made Ibrāhīm a leader followed by whoever comes after him, as:
2010 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: "Purify, the two of you," he said: of the idols which they worshipped, which the people of shirk venerated.
2011 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr: "Purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation," he said: of the idols and the doubt.
2012 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, the like of it.
2013 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to me, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: of the shirk.
2014 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Abū Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Mujāhid: "Purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation," he said: of the idols.
2015 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: "Purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation," he said: of the shirk and the worship of the idols.
2016 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, the like of it — and he added to it: and the false speech.
* * *
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: لِلطَّائِفِينَ (for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The people of interpretation differ over the meaning of "al-ṭāʾifīn" (those who perform the circumambulation) in this place. Some of them said: they are the foreigners who come to the Sacred House from a far land.
* Mention of who said that:
2017 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, he said: Abū Ḥaṣīn related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His words: "for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation," he said: whoever comes to it from a far land.
* * *
And others said: No, "those who perform the circumambulation" are those who perform the circumambulation around it, whether they are foreigners or belong there.
* Mention of who said that:
2018 — Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAlāʾ related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: "for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation," he said: when someone performs the circumambulation around the House, then he belongs to "those who perform the circumambulation."
* * *
And the most correct of the two interpretations of the verse is what ʿAṭāʾ said, for "al-ṭāʾif" is the one who goes around something, and no one else. And the one arriving from a far land does not deserve the name "one who performs the circumambulation around the House," if he does not perform the circumambulation around it.
* * *
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَالْعَاكِفِينَ (and those who dwell in seclusion there)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted is His mention — means by His words: "and those who dwell in seclusion there" (al-ʿākifīn): and those who dwell there. And "al-ʿākif ʿalā al-shayʾ" is the one who stays beside something, as Nābigha of Banū Dhubyān said:
"dwelling beside their tents, draining them dry — may Allah strike those grovelling, begging hands."
And the "muʿtakif" (the one who withdraws into religious seclusion, iʿtikāf) is called so only on account of his staying in the place where he holds himself for Allah, the Exalted.
* * *
Then the people of interpretation differed over whom Allah meant by His words: "and those who dwell in seclusion there."
Some of them said: He meant by it the one who sits in the Sacred House without circumambulation and without prayer.
* Mention of who said that:
2019 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, he said: When someone performs the circumambulation around the House, then he belongs to those who perform the circumambulation, and when he sits, then he belongs to those who dwell in seclusion.
* * *
And some of them said: "Those who dwell in seclusion" are the muʿtakifūn, the neighbours (who reside beside the House, al-mujāwirūn).
* Mention of who said that:
2020 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us, he said: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Mujāhid and ʿIkrima: "Purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation and those who dwell in seclusion there," he said: the neighbours (al-mujāwirūn).
* * *
And some of them said: "Those who dwell in seclusion" are the inhabitants of the Sacred Precinct.
* Mention of who said that:
2021 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, he said: Abū Ḥaṣīn related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His words: "and those who dwell in seclusion there," he said: the inhabitants of the precinct.
2022 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and those who dwell in seclusion there," he said: those who dwell in seclusion are the inhabitants of it.
* * *
And others said: "Those who dwell in seclusion" are those who perform the prayer.
* Mention of who said that:
2023 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said concerning His words: "Purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation and those who dwell in seclusion there," he said: those who dwell in seclusion are those who perform the prayer.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct of these interpretations is what ʿAṭāʾ said, namely that "al-ʿākif" in this place is the one who dwells in the House, residing beside it (mujāwiran), without circumambulation and without prayer. For the nature of "al-ʿukūf" is what we have described: the staying in the place. And the one who stays in a place may stay in it while seated, while praying, while performing the circumambulation, while standing, or in other states. And since the Exalted — exalted is His mention — in His words: "Purify My House for the sake of those who perform the circumambulation, those who dwell in seclusion there, and those who bow and prostrate" has already mentioned those who perform the prayer and those who perform the circumambulation, it is known from this that the state which Allah — exalted is His mention — meant by "al-ʿākif" is a state other than the state of the one who prays and the one who performs the circumambulation, and that the state which He meant is the staying beside the House, by way of residing beside it, even if he does not pray there, and does not bow there, and does not prostrate there.
* * *
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ (125) (and those who bow and prostrate)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted is His mention — means by His words: "and those who bow" (al-rukkaʿ) the collective of people who bow before Him therein; the singular of it is "rākiʿ" (a bowing one). And likewise "al-sujūd" (those who prostrate): they are the collective of people who prostrate before Him therein; the singular of it is "sājid" (one who prostrates) — as one says: "rajul qāʿid wa-rijāl quʿūd" (a sitting man and sitting men) and "rajul jālis wa-rijāl julūs" (a seated man and seated men), likewise "rajul sājid wa-rijāl sujūd" (a man who prostrates and men who prostrate).
* * *
And it has been said: No, by "those who bow and prostrate" He meant those who perform the prayer.
* Mention of who said that:
2024 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: "and those who bow and prostrate," he said: when someone performs the prayer, then he belongs to "those who bow and prostrate."
2025 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and those who bow and prostrate," the people of the prayer.
* * *
And we have already earlier set out the meaning of "the bowing" (al-rukūʿ) and "the prostration" (al-sujūd), so that this relieves us from repeating it here.
