Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:97
In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.
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.
Therein are clear signs: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm
The word concerning the explanation of His statement — exalted is He: Therein are clear signs: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm
The Qurʾān-reciters differed over the reading of it. The reciters of the metropolises read it: Therein are clear signs (āyāt bayyināt) in the plural of "sign (āya)," in the meaning: therein are clear signs. And Ibn ʿAbbās read it: "Therein is a clear sign (āya bayyina)," by which he meant: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm, intending a single sign.
Then the exegetes differed over the explanation of His statement: Therein are clear signs and what those signs are. Some of them said: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm and the sacred place (al-Mashʿar al-Ḥarām), and the like.
The mention of who said that:
5885 - 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 His statement: Therein are clear signs : the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm and the sacred place (al-Mashʿar).
5886 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda and Mujāhid: Therein are clear signs: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm — they both said: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm is among the clear signs.
And others said: the clear signs are the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm, and whoever enters it is safe .
The mention of who said that:
5887 - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, saying: ʿAbbād related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His statement: Therein are clear signs — he said: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm, and whoever enters it is safe .
And others said: the clear signs, that is the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm.
The mention of who said that:
5888 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement: Therein are clear signs: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm — as for the clear signs: that is the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm.
And as for those who read it as "Therein is a clear sign" in the singular, they meant by the clear sign: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm.
The mention of who said that:
5889 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: Therein are clear signs — he said: his two feet in the Standing-place are a clear sign. He says: and whoever enters it is safe — he said: this is something else.
* - It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: "Therein is a clear sign: the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm" — he said: the trace of his two feet in the Standing-place is a clear sign.
The correct of the statements in the explanation of it is the statement of him who said: the clear signs, among which is the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm — and that is the statement of Qatāda and Mujāhid which Maʿmar transmitted from them both, so that in the words "among which" is intended, which is elided because the indication of the words suffices for it.
If someone says: This Standing-place, then, belongs among the clear signs; what then are the remaining signs on account of which clear signs was said? — then it is said: among them are: the Standing-place, the Stone (al-Ḥijr), and al-Ḥaṭīm. The correct of the two readings therein is the reading of him who read Therein are clear signs in the plural, on account of the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the reciters of the metropolises of the Muslims that that is the correct reading and no other.
As for the disagreement of the exegetes over the explanation of the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm , we have already mentioned that in Sūrat al-Baqara, and we set forth there the correct of the statements concerning it, namely that it is, according to us: the well-known Standing-place. The explanation of the verse, then, is: Indeed, the first House established for mankind, blessed and a guidance for the worlds, is that at Bakka, in which are signs of the power of Allah and traces of His intimate friend Ibrāhīm; among them the trace of the foot of His intimate friend Ibrāhīm ﷺ in the stone upon which he stood.
And whoever enters it is safe
The word concerning the explanation of His statement — exalted is He: And whoever enters it is safe
The exegetes differed over the explanation of it. Some of them said: its explanation is the report that everyone who committed a crime in the Jāhiliyya and then took refuge in the House was not seized there.
The mention of who said that:
5890 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: And whoever enters it is safe — and this was in the Jāhiliyya: if a man had loaded upon himself whatever crime against himself and then sought refuge in the sacred precinct (ḥaram) of Allah, he was not pursued and not prosecuted. But in Islam one is not protected by it against the prescribed punishments (ḥudūd) of Allah: whoever steals therein, his hand is cut off; whoever commits fornication (zinā) therein, the prescribed punishment (ḥadd) is carried out upon him; whoever kills therein is killed. And on the authority of Qatāda: that al-Ḥasan used to say: The sacred precinct does not protect against the prescribed punishments of Allah; if someone commits a punishable act outside the sacred precinct and then seeks refuge in the sacred precinct, that does not prevent the prescribed punishment from being carried out upon him. And Qatāda held the opinion as al-Ḥasan said.
5891 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: And whoever enters it is safe — he said: that was in the Jāhiliyya; but as for today: if someone steals therein, the hand is cut off, and if someone kills therein, he is killed, and if the polytheists (mushrikīn) were to be gained power over therein, they would be killed.
5892 - Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā al-Umawī related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Ḥarb related to us, saying: Khuṣayf related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the man who kills and then enters the sacred precinct — he said: he is seized and led out of the sacred precinct, and after that the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him. He means: the death penalty.
5893 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Ḥammād, something like the statement of Mujāhid.
5894 - Abū Kurayb and Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, they both said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: Hishām informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and ʿAṭāʾ, concerning the man who commits a punishable act and seeks refuge in the sacred precinct: he is led out of the sacred precinct and after that the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him.
The explanation of the verse according to the statement of these, then, is: Therein are clear signs, the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm; and whoever of the people entered it was, by that, safe in the Jāhiliyya.
And others said: its meaning is: and whoever enters it, let him be safe — in the sense of a conditional statement, like the statement of someone: "Whoever stands up for me, I honor him," in the meaning of: whoever stands up for me, him I honor. They said: this is a matter that existed in the Jāhiliyya: the sacred precinct was the refuge of every fearful one and the shelter of every criminal, for no guilty one was attacked therein, and a man was not done harm therein concerning the killer of his father or his son. They said: and so it is also in Islam, for Islam only increased its standing and its honor.
The mention of who said that:
5895 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī al-Shawārib related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ziyād related to us, saying: Khuṣayf related to us, saying: Mujāhid related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās said: If a man committed a punishable act — killed or stole — and entered the sacred precinct, then he is not dealt with and given no shelter until he becomes weary of it and leaves the sacred precinct, and then the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him. He said: Then I said to Ibn ʿAbbās: But I am not of that opinion; I am of the opinion that he is seized entirely, and then led out of the sacred precinct, and then the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him, for the sacred precinct only aggravates his case.
5896 - Abū Kurayb and Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, they both said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, saying: Ibn al-Zubayr seized Saʿd, the freedman of Muʿāwiya, who was in a fortress in al-Ṭāʾif, and he sent someone to Ibn ʿAbbās to consult him about them: they are a spy for us. Then Ibn ʿAbbās sent back to him: If I were to find the killer of my father, I would not do him harm. He said: Then Ibn al-Zubayr sent back to him: Shall we then not lead them out of the sacred precinct? He said: Then Ibn ʿAbbās sent back to him: Why not, before you let them enter the sacred precinct? Abū al-Sāʾib added in his transmission: Then he led them out and crucified them, and he paid no heed to the statement of Ibn ʿAbbās.
5897 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: Whoever commits a punishable act outside the sacred precinct and then seeks refuge in the sacred precinct — he is not dealt with, given no shelter, not spoken to and given no shelter until he leaves the sacred precinct; and when he leaves the sacred precinct, he is seized and the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him. He said: And whoever commits a punishable act within the sacred precinct — the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him.
* - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Naṣr al-Sulamī related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Ḥabība, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he said: Whoever commits a punishable act and then seeks protection at the House is safe, and it is not permitted to the Muslims to punish him for anything until he goes out; and when he goes out, they carry out the prescribed punishment upon him.
5898 - Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, saying: If I were to find the killer of ʿUmar in the sacred precinct, I would not attack him.
5899 - Abū Kurayb and Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, they both said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: Layth related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: that al-Walīd ibn ʿUtba wanted to carry out the prescribed punishment in the sacred precinct, whereupon ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr said to him: Do not carry out the prescribed punishment upon him in the sacred precinct, unless he committed that [crime] therein.
5900 - Abū Kurayb and Abū al-Sāʾib related to us, they both said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: Muṭarrif informed us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, saying: If someone commits a prescribed-punishment offense and then flees to the sacred precinct, then he is safe; and when he commits that [offense] within the sacred precinct, the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him in the sacred precinct.
5901 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Firās, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, saying: Whoever commits a prescribed-punishment offense within the sacred precinct, and whoever commits it outside the sacred precinct and then enters the sacred precinct — he is not spoken to and not dealt with until he leaves the sacred precinct, and then it is carried out upon him.
5902 - Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā al-Umawī related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Salām ibn Ḥarb related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, and on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, concerning the man who kills and then enters the sacred precinct — he said: the people of Mecca sell him nothing and buy nothing from him, give him nothing to drink and nothing to eat, and grant him no shelter — he enumerated many matters — until he leaves the sacred precinct, and then he is taken to task for his sin.
5903 - It was related to us on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: that a man, if he commits a prescribed-punishment offense and then enters the sacred precinct — he is given no food, given no drink, granted no shelter, not spoken to, does not marry, and is not dealt with; and when he goes out, the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: If a man commits a punishable act and then enters the sacred precinct, he is granted no shelter, given no company, not dealt with, given no food and given no drink, until he leaves the sacred precinct.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, something similar.
5904 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: As for His statement: And whoever enters it is safe : if a man kills a man and then comes to the Kaʿba and takes refuge there, and the brother of the slain one then meets him, then it is never permitted for him to kill him.
And others said: its meaning is: and whoever enters it, let him be safe from the Fire.
The mention of who said that:
5905 - ʿAlī ibn Muslim related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Ruzayq ibn Muslim al-Makhzūmī informed us, saying: Ziyād ibn Abī ʿAyyāḍ related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Jaʿda, concerning His statement: And whoever enters it is safe — he said: safe from the Fire.
The correct of the statements therein is, according to us, the statement of Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujāhid and al-Ḥasan, and of those who construed its meaning thus: and whoever enters it — from outside, of those who take refuge in it and seek protection at it — is safe so long as he is in it; but he goes out and the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him, if he committed outside the sacred precinct something that merits that punishment and then took refuge in it. And if he committed it within it, it is carried out upon him therein.
The explanation of the verse, then, is: Therein are clear signs, the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm; and whoever of the people enters it, seeking protection at it, let him be safe from that for which he sought protection, so long as he is in it, until he goes out.
If someone says: And what prevented you from carrying out the prescribed punishment upon him therein? — then it is said: on account of the consensus of all the early predecessors (salaf) that whoever committed his crime outside the sacred precinct and then took refuge in it is not seized therein for his crime. They differed only over the manner in which he is led out so as to seize him for it. Some of them said: the manner of that is that the means are withheld from him by which — through the withholding and the lack of them — he is compelled to go out. And others said: there is no other manner for that than to lead him out by every possible manner of those means that lead to the prescribed punishment of Allah being carried out upon him thereby. Therefore we said: it is not permitted to carry out the prescribed punishment upon him therein, except after he has been led out.
As for the one who commits the prescribed-punishment offense therein — there is no disagreement among all [the scholars] that the prescribed punishment is carried out upon him therein. Both questions, then, rest upon a foundation concerning the ruling of which there is consensus, as we have described.
If someone says to us: And what is your proof that the leading out of the one who seeks protection at the House — when he comes to it, seeking protection at it, on account of a crime he committed or a prescribed punishment he merited — from the sacred precinct is permitted in order to carry out the prescribed punishment upon him and to seize him for the crime, while you have acknowledged that Allah, mighty and exalted, made whoever enters it safe, and the meaning of "safe" is not the meaning of "fearful," since they both differ therein? — then it is said: We said that on account of the consensus of all, of the earlier and the later scholars of the community, that the leading out of the one who seeks protection at it on account of a crime he committed or an enormity he perpetrated by which a punishment came to rest upon him, by one of the means of leading out, in order to seize him for what rested upon him, is obligatory for the imām of the Muslims and the people of Islam with him. They differed only over the cause (sabab) by which he is led out. Some of them said: the cause by which it is permitted to lead him out is that all the Muslims refrain from trading with him, from giving him food, giving him drink, granting him shelter, speaking with him and the like — of those means by which no staying is possible for the one who seeks protection at it with some of them, let alone with all. And others among them said: rather, the leading out of him in order to carry out the punishment resting upon him is obligatory by every means of leading out.
Since, then, there was consensus of all that the ruling of Allah — concerning whoever seeks protection at the House on account of a prescribed punishment he merited or a crime he committed — is the leading out of him from it in order to carry out what Allah imposed upon the believers to carry out upon him, and they then differed over the cause by which it is permitted to lead him out — then it is obligatory for them and for their imām to lead him out by whatever manner of leading out is possible, until they carry out upon him the prescribed punishment that rests upon him, outside the sacred precinct, if he took refuge in it from outside, as we have previously set forth.
And furthermore: Allah, mighty and exalted, has not lifted any one of His prescribed punishments for any one of His creatures on account of a place or location to which the one upon whom it rests went. And the reports of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ are abundant that he said: "I have declared Medina sacred just as Ibrāhīm declared Mecca sacred." And there is no disagreement among the entire community that a refuge-seeker, if he were to seek refuge for a punishment resting upon him at the sacred precinct of the Prophet ﷺ, is seized therein for the punishment. And were it not for what I mentioned concerning the consensus of the predecessors (salaf) that in the sacred precinct of Ibrāhīm no punishment resting upon him is carried out upon the one who takes refuge in it until he goes out with what rests upon him — then the most warranted of places that the obligations of Allah which He imposed upon His servants be carried out therein, of the death penalty or otherwise, would be the greatest of places with Allah, such as the sacred precinct of Allah and the sacred precinct of His Messenger ﷺ. But we have been commanded to lead out the one we have been commanded to lead out from the sacred precinct of Allah in order to carry out the prescribed punishment, on account of what we mentioned of the practice of the community thus by transmission.
The meaning of the words, then, is, since the matter is as we have described: and whoever enters it is safe so long as he is in it. And since that is so, then whoever takes refuge in it on account of a punishment resting upon him, seeking protection at it, is safe so long as he is in it, until he goes out. And he comes to the fear only after going out or being led out of it; then, at that moment, he is not entering it and is not in it.
And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it
The word concerning the explanation of His statement — exalted is He: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it
He — exalted is His praise — means by that: And it is an obligatory duty to Allah, upon whoever of the persons held responsible is able to find the way to the pilgrimage to His sacred House, to perform the pilgrimage (ḥajj) to it. We have already previously set forth the meaning of the pilgrimage and demonstrated the correctness of what we said concerning its meaning, with what exempts us from repeating it in this place.
The exegetes differed over the explanation of His statement, mighty and exalted: for whoever is able to find a way to it , and what the way is with the ability of which the obligation of the pilgrimage becomes binding? Some of them said: that is the provision and the mount.
The mention of who said that:
5906 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, said: for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: the provision and the mount.
5907 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Dīnār said: the provision and the mount.
5908 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Janāb, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: the provision and the riding-camel.
5909 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it — and the way is: that the body of the servant is healthy and that he has the price for provision and mount without it being too burdensome for him.
5910 - Khallād ibn Aslam related to us, saying: al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Bajalī, saying: I asked Saʿīd ibn Jubayr about His statement: for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: whoever possesses three hundred dirhams, that is the way to it.
5911 - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of Isḥāq ibn ʿUthmān, saying: I heard ʿAṭāʾ saying: the way: the provision and the mount.
5912 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: As for "for whoever is able to find a way to it," Ibn ʿAbbās said: the way: a mount and provision.
5913 - Al-Muthannā and Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to me, they both said: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sūqa, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: the provision and the mount.
5914 - Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: al-Rabīʿ ibn Ṣabīḥ informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: the provision and the mount.
5915 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: The Prophet ﷺ read this verse: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it , whereupon a man said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the way? He said: "The provision and the mount."
And the adherents of this statement adduced as a ground reports transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with the import of what they said concerning it.
The mention of the transmission concerning that from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
5916 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Khūzī informed us, saying: I heard Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād ibn Jaʿfar transmit, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, saying: A man stood up to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: What is the way? He said: "The provision and the mount."
* - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm al-Khūzī, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, that the Prophet ﷺ said concerning the statement of Allah, mighty and exalted: for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: "The way to the pilgrimage is the provision and the mount."
* - Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Bishr ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Yūnus related to us, and Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ read: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it . They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the way? He said: "The provision and the mount."
5917 - Abū ʿUthmān al-Muqaddamī and al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, they both said: Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Hilāl ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, the freedman of Rabīʿa ibn ʿAmr ibn Muslim al-Bāhilī, related to us, saying: Abū Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥārith, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, he said: "Whoever possesses provision and a mount that brings him to the House of Allah and then does not perform the pilgrimage — it does not matter to him whether he dies as a Jew or as a Christian; and that is because Allah, mighty and exalted, says in His Book: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it …" the verse.
* - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, saying: It has reached us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ — a speaker, or a man, said to him: O Messenger of Allah, what is the way to it? He said: "Whoever finds provision and a mount."
* - Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Tirmidhī related to us, saying: Shādh ibn Fayyāḍ al-Baṣrī related to us, saying: Hilāl ibn Hishām related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Hamdānī, on the authority of al-Ḥārith, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may Allah be pleased with him, saying: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever possesses provision and a mount and then does not perform the pilgrimage, dies as a Jew or as a Christian; and that is because Allah says in His Book: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it …" the verse.
* - Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to me, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Salama related to us, on the authority of Qatāda and Ḥumayd, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, that a man said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the way to it? He said: "The provision and the mount."
* - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, something similar.
And others said: the way which, when the person is able for it, imposes the pilgrimage upon him, is: the capacity to reach it. He said: and that may be both on foot and riding, and with the presence of both there may be incapacity to reach it, on account of the road being blocked by an obstructing enemy, or by scarcity of water and the like. They said: there is in that respect no clearer exposition than what Allah, mighty and exalted, has set forth: that he is able for the way to it, namely the reaching of it without preventer or obstruction between him and it, and that may be both on foot alone, if the mount is lacking to him, and with the mount and otherwise.
The mention of who said that:
5918 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Khālid ibn Abī Karīma, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Ibn al-Zubayr, concerning His statement: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: according to the measure of the capacity.
5919 - Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to us, saying: Yazīd informed us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His statement: for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: the provision and the mount; and if he is a healthy young man who has no means, then it is his duty to hire himself out for his food and his path, until he completes his pilgrimage. Then a speaker said to him: Has Allah obligated the people to walk to the House? He said: If one of them had an inheritance at Mecca, would he leave it lying? By Allah, he would go to it, even crawling! So is the pilgrimage obligatory upon him.
5920 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ said: whoever finds something that brings him to it has found a way, as Allah, mighty and exalted, said: for whoever is able to find a way to it .
5921 - Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Abū Hāniʾ related to us, saying: ʿĀmir was asked about this verse: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: the way: that which Allah makes easy for him.
5922 - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, saying: ʿAbbād related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: whoever finds something that brings him to it has been able for the way to it.
And others said: the way to it is: the health.
The mention of who said that:
5923 - Muḥammad ibn Ḥumayd, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam and al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, they said: Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Muqriʾ related to us, saying: Ḥaywa ibn Shurayḥ and Ibn Lahīʿa related to us, they both said: Sharaḥbīl ibn Sharīk al-Maʿāfirī informed us that he heard ʿIkrima, the freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying about this verse: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: the way: the health.
And others said that which:
5924 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the statement of Allah, mighty and exalted: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: whoever finds strength in expenses, body and conveyance; he said: and if there is in his body something by which he is unable to perform the pilgrimage, then the pilgrimage does not rest upon him, even though he has strength in means; just as when he is healthy of body but finds no means or strength — they say: he is not obligated to walk.
The correct of the statements therein is, according to us, the statement of him who said according to the statement of Ibn al-Zubayr and ʿAṭāʾ: that that is according to the measure of the capacity. For the way (sabīl) in the language of the Arabs is: the road/the path. Whoever, then, finds a path to the pilgrimage, without a preventer that holds him back from it through lack, or incapacity, or an enemy, or scarcity of water on his path, or [lack of] provision, and weakness to walk — upon him rests the obligation of the pilgrimage, and nothing absolves him of it except the performing of it. And if he finds no way — I mean by that: if he is not able for the pilgrimage on account of the impossibility of some of these matters that we have described for him — then he is among those who find no way to it and are not able for it, for the capacity for it is the power over it; and whoever is incapable of it through some of the causes that we mentioned or otherwise, he is not able and cannot find the way to it.
We said only that this statement is the correct of what contradicts it, because Allah, mighty and exalted, when He imposed the obligation of the pilgrimage upon mankind, did not exempt some of those who are able for the way to it from it by the lapsing of that obligation for him; so that rests upon everyone who is able to find a way to it, on account of the generality of the verse. As for the reports that are transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning that, namely that it is the provision and the mount — those are reports in whose chains of transmission (asānīd) there is an objection; it is not permitted to adduce such [reports] as proof in the religion.
The Qurʾān-reciters differed over the reading of "the pilgrimage (al-ḥijj)." A group of the reciters of Medina and Iraq read it with the kasra: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House (ḥijj) obligatory , and another group among them read it with the fatḥa: "And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House (ḥajj)." Both are well-known linguistic forms among the Arabs: the kasra is the linguistic form of the people of Najd, and the fatḥa is the linguistic form of the people of al-ʿĀliya. And we saw none of the linguists who claimed a distinction between the two in meaning or otherwise, except what we mentioned of the difference between the two linguistic forms, except what:
5925 - Abū Hishām al-Rifāʿī related to us concerning that, saying: Ḥusayn al-Juʿfī said: al-ḥajj with the fatḥa: a noun; and al-ḥijj with the kasra: an action. And this is a statement of which I did not see the experts of the languages of the Arabs and the meanings of their words that they knew it; rather, I saw them unanimous over what I described, namely that they are two linguistic forms with one meaning. And what we say concerning the reading of it is that the two readings, since they are both widespread in the reading of the people of Islam, and there is no difference between the two in meaning or otherwise, are two readings that have both come as a proof; so with whichever of the two readings — I mean with the kasra of the ḥāʾ of al-ḥajj or the fatḥa of it — the reciter reads, he attains the correct in his reading.
As for "man" (whoever) which goes together with His statement whoever is able to find a way to it , that stands in the position of a genitive as an apposition (badal) of "mankind," for the meaning of the words is: and to Allah is, upon whoever of mankind is able to find a way to it to the pilgrimage to the House, the pilgrimage to it obligatory. Since, then, the mention of "mankind" preceded "man," He clarified by His statement whoever is able to find a way to it upon which of them that obligation rests, for that obligation rests upon some of mankind and not upon all.
And whoever disbelieves (kafara) — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds
The word concerning the explanation of His statement — exalted is He: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds
He — exalted is His praise — means by that: And whoever denies what Allah imposed upon him of the obligation of the pilgrimage to His House, and so rejects it and disbelieves in it — indeed, Allah has no need of him, nor of his pilgrimage and his work, nor of the rest of His creatures among the jinn and mankind.
As:
5926 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ziyād related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Mujālid, saying: I heard Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — he said: whoever claims that it is not an obligation for him.
5927 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: al-Ḥajjāj informed us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ and Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds — they both said: whoever denies the pilgrimage and disbelieves in it.
5928 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾa, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, saying: whoever denies it.
5929 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: ʿImrān al-Qaṭṭān says: whoever claims that the pilgrimage does not rest upon him.
5930 - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to us, saying: Abū Bakr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbbād, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds — he said: whoever denies it and does not hold the opinion that that is an obligatory right upon him, that is disbelief (kufr).
5931 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: And whoever disbelieves — he said: whoever disbelieves in the pilgrimage.
* - ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf informed us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds — he said: whoever disbelieves in the pilgrimage, disbelieves in Allah.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Yaʿlā ibn Asad related to us, saying: Khālid related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn Ḥassān, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning the statement of Allah, mighty and exalted: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it, and whoever disbelieves — he said: whoever does not regard it as obligatory upon him.
* - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: And whoever disbelieves — he said: in the pilgrimage.
And others said: its meaning is: that he does not believe, in his pilgrimage, that he has a reward for it, nor that upon him, by the omission of it, rests a sin or a punishment.
The mention of who said that:
5932 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim related to me, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds — he said: that is whoever, if he performs the pilgrimage, does not regard it as piety, and if he stays at home, does not regard it as a sin.
* - ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bayān related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf informed us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, saying: that is whoever, if he performs the pilgrimage, does not regard it as piety, and if he stays at home, does not regard it as a sin.
5933 - Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to me, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Maṭar related to us, on the authority of Abū Dāwūd Nufayʿ, saying: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: " And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it, and whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds ." Then a man of Hudhayl stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah, is whoever omits it a disbeliever? He said: "Whoever omits it and does not fear its punishment, and whoever performs the pilgrimage and does not hope for its reward — he is that."
5934 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds — he says: whoever disbelieves in the pilgrimage, so that he does not regard his pilgrimage as piety, nor the omission of it as a sin.
And others said: its meaning is: and whoever disbelieves in Allah and the Last Day.
The mention of who said that:
5935 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, saying: I asked him about His statement: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds — what is this disbelief? He said: whoever disbelieves in Allah and the Last Day.
* - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — he said: whoever disbelieves in Allah and the Last Day.
5936 - Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to us, saying: Yazīd informed us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His statement: And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it — he said: When the verse of the pilgrimage was sent down, the Messenger of Allah gathered all the adherents of religions and said: "O people, indeed Allah, mighty and exalted, has prescribed the pilgrimage upon you, so perform the pilgrimage!" Then one religious community believed in it, and that is whoever held the Prophet ﷺ to be truthful and believed in him; and five religious communities disbelieved in it and said: We do not believe in it, and we do not pray turned toward it, and we do not turn to it. Then Allah, mighty and exalted, sent down: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds .
5937 - Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to me, saying: Abū Nuʿaym informed us, saying: Abū Hāniʾ related to us, saying: ʿĀmir was asked about His statement: And whoever disbelieves — he said: whoever of creation disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of him.
5938 - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, concerning the statement of Allah: And whoever disbelieves — he said: "Whoever disbelieves in Allah and the Last Day."
5939 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of ʿIkrima, the freedman of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the statement of Allah, mighty and exalted: And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam (3:85) — then the religious communities said: We are Muslims! Then Allah, mighty and exalted, sent down: To Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it, and whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds . Then the believers performed the pilgrimage, and the disbelievers stayed at home.
And others said: its meaning is: and whoever disbelieves in these signs that are in the Standing-place of Ibrāhīm.
The mention of who said that:
5940 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds . Then he read: Indeed, the first House established for mankind is that at Bakka, blessed , and he read on until he reached: for whoever is able to find a way to it, and whoever disbelieves — he said: whoever disbelieves in these signs, indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds . It is not as they say: if he does not perform the pilgrimage while he is rich and he has strength, then he has disbelieved in it. And a group of the polytheists (mushrikīn) said: Indeed, we disbelieve in it and we do not do it; then Allah, mighty and exalted, said: indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds .
And others said that which:
5941 - Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muslim related to me, saying: Abū ʿUmar al-Ḍarīr informed us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Baqiyya, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, concerning His statement: And whoever disbelieves — indeed, Allah has no need of the worlds — he said: whoever disbelieves in the House.
And others said: his disbelief in it is: his omission of it until he dies.
The mention of who said that:
5942 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to me, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: As for "whoever disbelieves": that is whoever finds that with which he can perform the pilgrimage and then does not perform it; he is a disbeliever.
And the correct of the explanations therein is the statement of him who said: the meaning of And whoever disbelieves : and whoever denies the obligation of it and rejects its obligatoriness — indeed, Allah has no need of him, nor of his pilgrimage, nor of the worlds altogether. We said that the correct of it is so, because His statement And whoever disbelieves , following His statement And to Allah, upon mankind, is the pilgrimage to the House obligatory, for whoever is able to find a way to it , has more right to be a report about the disbeliever in the pilgrimage than about another, together with the fact that the disbeliever in the obligation of the pilgrimage for whom Allah imposed it, disbelieves in Allah; and disbelief, its foundation is denial; and whoever denies it and rejects the obligation of it — there is no doubt that he, if he performs the pilgrimage, hopes no piety by his pilgrimage, and if he omits it and does not perform the pilgrimage, does not regard it as a sin. These explanations, then, although their wordings differ, are close to one another in meaning.
