Tafseer of The Pilgrimage · Al-Hajj · 22:30
That [has been commanded], and whoever honors the sacred ordinances of Allah - it is best for him in the sight of his Lord. And permitted to you are the grazing livestock, except what is recited to you. So avoid the uncleanliness of idols and avoid false statement,
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.
Allah the Exalted says with His words ذَلِكَ : this, which He has commanded regarding the removal of the tafath (ritual impurities), the fulfillment of vows, and the ṭawāf around the venerable House, is the obligatory duty incumbent upon you, O people, in your pilgrimage. وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ — He says: and whoever avoids that which Allah has commanded him to avoid during the state of his iḥrām, out of reverence for the limits of Allah against transgressing them, and for His sacred commandments against declaring them lawful — that is better for him with his Lord in the Hereafter.
As al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Mujāhid said, concerning the words ذَلِكَ وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ : he said: the ḥurma (sanctity) is Mecca, the pilgrimage, the ʿumra, and everything that Allah has forbidden of all acts of disobedience to Him.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, likewise.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning the words وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ : he said: the ḥurumāt are: the sacred ritual ground (al-mashʿar al-ḥarām), the sacred House, the Sacred Mosque, and the sacred city — these are the ḥurumāt.
As for His words وَأُحِلَّتْ لَكُمُ الأَنْعَامُ (and the cattle have been made lawful for you): Allah the Exalted says: Allah has made lawful for you, O people, the cattle (al-anʿām) to eat when you ritually slaughter them; He has not forbidden you the baḥīra, nor the sāʾiba, nor the waṣīla, nor the ḥāmi, nor what you have designated of them for your gods. إِلاَّ مَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ — He says: except what is recited to you in the Book of Allah, and that is: the carrion (al-mayta), blood, the flesh of swine, what has been slaughtered for other than Allah, the strangled, the beaten, the fallen, that gored by another animal, what has been torn by a beast of prey, and what has been slaughtered upon the sacrificial altars (al-nuṣub) — all that is filth (rijs).
As Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: إِلاَّ مَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ — he said: except the carrion and that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, likewise.
As for His words فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ (so avoid the filth of the idols): he says: avoid the worship of the idols and obedience to Satan therein, for they are filth.
In the direction of what we have said concerning this the exegetes spoke.
Mention of who said that: Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the words فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ : Allah the Exalted says: avoid obedience to Satan in worshipping the idols.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning the words الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ : he said: the worship of the idols.
As for His words وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ (and avoid false speech): Allah the Exalted says: avoid false lying and slander against Allah by saying concerning the gods مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلاَّ لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى (we worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah in nearness), and by saying concerning the angels that they are the daughters of Allah, and similar utterances — for all that is lying, falsehood, and the ascribing of partners to Allah (shirk).
In the direction of what we have said concerning this the exegetes spoke.
Mention of who said that: Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words قَوْلَ الزُّورِ — he said: the lie.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, likewise.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ حُنَفَاءَ لِلَّهِ غَيْرَ مُشْرِكِينَ بِهِ — he said: the slander against Allah and the lie.
Muḥammad ibn Bashār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Wāʾil ibn Rabīʿa, on the authority of ʿAbdullāh, who said: false witness weighs equal to shirk. And he recited: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ .
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Abū Bakr related to us, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Wāʾil ibn Rabīʿa, who said: false witness is equated with shirk. Then he recited this verse: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ .
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, saying: Sufyān al-ʿUṣfurī related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Khuraym ibn Fātik, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "False witness is equated with shirk against Allah." Then he recited: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ .
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Marwān ibn Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Sufyān al-ʿUṣfurī, on the authority of Fātik ibn Faḍāla, on the authority of Ayman ibn Khuraym: the Prophet ﷺ stood up as a preacher and said: "O people, false witness is equated with shirk against Allah" — twice. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited: فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ .
It is also possible that what is meant by it is: avoid, O people, defiling yourselves with the idols by worshipping them.
If someone were to ask: are there idols that are not filth, that it should be said "avoid the filth of them"? Then it is answered: they are all filth. The meaning you intend, however, does not apply here; the meaning of the words is: avoid the filth that arises from the idols — that is, their worship. That, therefore, to which Allah the Exalted commands with His words فَاجْتَنِبُوا الرِّجْسَ of those idols, is the avoidance of their worship, and that worship is the rijs — as Ibn ʿAbbās said and those whose statements we have mentioned above.
