Tafseer of The Pilgrimage · Al-Hajj · 22:32
That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols of Allah - indeed, it is from the piety of hearts.
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: This which I have mentioned to you, O people, and commanded you to do — avoiding the filth of the idols, avoiding false speech, standing upright before Allah, and honoring the symbols of Allah (shaʿāʾir Allāh), that is to say: esteeming the sacrificial animals, choosing them as fat as possible, and performing the rites of the pilgrimage as Allah the Exalted has commanded — all of that proceeds from the piety of your hearts.
In the direction of what we have said about this the exegetes spoke.
Mention of those who said that: Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Ziyād related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the words وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ — he said: holding them in high regard, finding them fine, and choosing them as fat as possible.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ — he said: choosing them as fat as possible and holding them in high regard.
Through the same chain from ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, likewise — but he added: and finding them fine.
ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān al-Wāsiṭī related to us, saying: Isḥāq informed us, on the authority of Abū Bishr; and 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, all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ — he said: holding the sacrificial animals in high regard, choosing them as fat as possible, and finding them fine.
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 al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abī Mūsā, who said: the standing at ʿArafāt is among the symbols of Allah, and the standing at Jam (al-Muzdalifa) is among the symbols of Allah, and the casting of the stones (ramy al-jamār) is among the symbols of Allah, and the sacrificial animals (al-budn) are among the symbols of Allah. Whoever honors them: that is among His words وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ — for whoever honors them, that is among the piety of the hearts.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning the words وَمَنْ يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ : he said: the shaʿāʾir are: the stones (al-jimār), al-Ṣafā and al-Marwa are among the symbols of Allah, the sacred ritual site (al-mashʿar al-ḥarām) and Muzdalifa. He said: the shaʿāʾir fall within the sacred precinct, they are symbols and they are sacred places.
The most correct view about this is to say: Allah the Exalted has informed us that honoring His symbols — these being the things which He has set as marks for His creatures in the rites of the pilgrimage which He has made obligatory upon them, among the places where He has commanded them to perform the obligatory acts and the works which He has imposed upon them to perform during their pilgrimage — is among the piety of their hearts. He excepted nothing of this, so that honoring all of this is among the piety of the hearts, as He the Exalted has said. It is an obligation upon His believing servants to honor all of this. He said فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ in the feminine and not fa-innahu, because by it is intended: for that honoring, together with avoiding the filth of the idols, is among the piety of the hearts — like His words إِنَّ رَبَّكَ مِنْ بَعْدِهَا لَغَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ . By His words فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ is intended: it is among the hearts' fearing of Allah out of awe of Him, their actual knowledge of His greatness, and their sincere acceptance of His oneness.
