Surah al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2 : 196

Overview (Verses 196 - 199)

A Symbol of Islamic Unity
 
The sūrah then gives an outline of the rituals of the pilgrimage and the `Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). This follows quite naturally from the earlier account dealing with lunar changes and phases, and the admissibility of fighting during the sacred months of the year and in the vicinity of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah.
 
Perform to their completion both the pilgrimage and the `Umrah purely for God’s sake. If you are prevented from doing so, then make whatever offering you can easily afford. Do not shave your heads until the offerings have reached their appointed destination. If any of you is ill or suffers from an ailment of the head, he shall redeem himself by fasting, or alms, or sacrifice. When you are in safety, then he who takes advantage of performing the `Umrah before the pilgrimage shall make whatever offering he can easily afford; but he who lacks the means shall fast three days during the pilgrimage and seven more days on returning home; that is, ten days in all. All this applies to those whose families are not resident in the vicinity of the Sacred Mosque. Fear God, and know well that He is severe in retribution. The pilgrimage takes place in the months appointed for it. Whoever undertakes the pilgrimage in those months shall, while on pilgrimage, abstain from lewdness, all wicked conduct and wrangling. Whatever good you do God is well aware of it. Provide well for yourselves: the best provision of all is to be God-fearing. Fear Me, then, you who are endowed with insight. It is no sin for you to seek the bounty of your Lord. When you surge downward from `Arafāt, remember God at al-Mash`ar al-Ĥarām. Remember Him who has given you guidance. Before this you were certainly in error. Surge onward from the place where all other pilgrims surge and pray God to forgive you. He is much forgiving, ever merciful. When you have fulfilled your sacred duties, remember God as you remember your fathers — nay with a yet keener remembrance. Some people say, Our Lord, give us abundance in this world.’ They shall have no share in the rewards of the life to come. There are others who say, ‘Our Lord, grant us what is good in this world and what is good in the lift to come and protect us from the torment of the fire.’ These shall have their portion in return for what they have earned; for God is swift in reckoning. Give glory to God during certain appointed days. Those who hasten their departure after two days incur no sin, and those who stay longer incur no sin, provided that they are truly God-fearing. Have fear of God and know well that you shall all be gathered before Him. (Verses 196-203)
 
The exact date of the revelation of these verses is not known, except for one report indicating that verse 196 was revealed at al-Ĥudaybīyah during the sixth year after Hijrah, 628 CE. Nor can we be precise as to when the pilgrimage was made obligatory in Islam, whether we take that to have been established by verse 196 of this sūrah or verse 97 of Sūrah 3 which says: “Pilgrimage to this House is a duty owed to God by all people who are able to undertake it.”
 
In his book Zād al-Ma`ād, Imām Ibn al-Qayyim says that the pilgrimage was instituted during the ninth or tenth year of the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. This is based on the fact that the Prophet himself performed the pilgrimage in 10 AH. This, however, is not sufficient evidence to support that view. There could have been other reasons that made the Prophet delay going on pilgrimage until the tenth year, especially when we know that he delegated Abū Bakr to head the pilgrimage during the ninth year.
 
It is also well established that on his return from the campaign of Tabūk, the Prophet intended to go for pilgrimage. However, he later decided not to do so, because non-Muslim Arabs were still doing the pilgrimage to Makkah and he did not wish to join them, not least because some of them would be going round the Ka`bah naked, as was their custom. At that point Sūrah 9, which brought the truce with the polytheist Arabs to an end, was revealed and the Prophet dispatched `Alī ibn Abī Ţālib to Makkah to proclaim its provisions to the pilgrims. He charged him with the task of announcing at Mina, when all the pilgrims were gathered, that: “No unbeliever shall enter paradise; no idolater may henceforth perform the pilgrimage; no one may go round the Ka`bah naked. All treaties signed with God’s Messenger shall run their course.” Accordingly, the Prophet did not go to Makkah for pilgrimage until the Ka`bah was cleared of all symbols and manifestations of idolatry.
 
One could point out certain texts as evidence indicating that the pilgrimage was instituted in principle much earlier. Indeed some reports suggest that this took place when the Prophet was still in Makkah, before the migration to Madinah. But this would not hold water. Nevertheless, verses 26-37 of Sūrah 22 list most of the pilgrimage rituals as they were communicated to the Prophet Abraham. These include:
 
When We assigned to Abraham the site of the [Sacred] House, [We said], Do not associate anything as partner with Me. Purify My House for those who will walk around it, and those who will stand before it, and those who will bow down and prostrate themselves in prayer. Proclaim to all people the duty of pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every kind of fast mount. They will come from every far- away quarter, so that they might experience much that shall be of benefit to them, and that they might extol the name of God on the days appointed [for sacrifice], over whatever heads of cattle He may have provided for them. Eat, then, of such [sacrificed cattle] and feed the unfortunate poor. Thereafter let them complete the rites prescribed for them, fulfil their vows, and again walk around the Ancient House...Anyone who honours the symbols set up by God [shows evidence of] God-consciousness in people’s hearts. You have benefit in them for a term appointed; and in the end their place of sacrifice is near the Ancient House...The sacrifice of camels We have ordained for you as one of the symbols set up by God, in which there is much good for you. Hence, extol the name of God over them when they are lined up [for sacrifice]; and after they have fallen lifeless to the ground, eat of their meat, and feed the poor who is contented with his lot, as well as the one who is forced to beg. It is to this end that We have made them subservient to your needs, so that you might have cause to be grateful. Never does their meat or their blood reach God; it is your piety that reaches Him. It is to this end that He has made them subservient to your needs, so that you might glorify God for all the guidance with which He has graced you. Give good news to those who do good.
 
These verses make specific reference to offering animals for sacrifice, walking around the Ka`bah (ţawāf), the rites of iĥrām (consecration), and the invocation of God’s name, all of which constitute the basic rites of the pilgrimage. The Muslims were addressed with these words as the heirs of Abraham, indicating that the pilgrimage had been instituted at an early stage as part of the legacy of Abraham. The fact that Muslims, for various practical reasons, had not been able to perform the pilgrimage is beside the point. However, as mentioned earlier in this volume, individual Muslims had been able to perform the pilgrimage since the Ka`bah was re-instituted as the qiblah in the second year of the Islamic calendar.
 
Let us now take a closer look at the verses on pilgrimage in this sūrah and the instructive message they convey.
 
Perform to their completion both the pilgrimage and the `Umrah purely for God’s sake. If you are prevented from doing so, then make whatever offering you can easily afford. Do not shave your heads until the offerings have reached their appointed destination. If any of you is ill or suffers from an ailment of the head, he shall redeem himself by fasting, or alms, or sacrifice. When you are in safety, then he who takes advantage of performing the `Umrah before the pilgrimage shall make whatever offering he can easily afford; but he who lacks the means shall fast three days during the pilgrimage and seven more days on returning home; that is, ten days in all. All this applies to those whose families are not resident in the vicinity of the Sacred Mosque. Fear God, and know well that God is severe in retribution. (Verse 196)
 
The first thing to notice about this verse is the precision with which it treats the subject. It is divided into a number of short, well-defined instructions. Any exceptions or provisions relating to each ruling are made immediately before moving on to the next. The passage is rounded off with a strong emphasis on God-fearing.
 
The first article stresses the fact that once one has decided to perform the pilgrimage or the `Umrah, one must do so in full and dedicate one’s actions to God: “Perform to their completion both the pilgrimage and the `Umrah purely for God’s sake.” Some scholars have taken this statement as instituting the pilgrimage as a religious duty, while others have understood it to be a mere instruction that once one begins performing the pilgrimage, one should go on to complete its rites. The latter interpretation seems more accurate, since the `Umrah is not universally considered by scholars an obligatory duty. Nevertheless, the order to complete the rites, once begun, applies equally to the pilgrimage and the `Umrah. The latter involves the same rites with the exception of attending at `Arafāt, but differs in that it can be performed any time throughout the year.
 
Exemption from completing the pilgrimage or the `Umrah is granted when one is prevented from doing so either by an enemy or, by illness or other exceptional circumstances. This is universally accepted by all schools of thought. The same applies to the case of being prevented from completing the rites. “If you are prevented from doing so, then make whatever offering you can easily afford.” (Verse 196) If prevented by force, a pilgrim offers a sacrifice within the means at his disposal. He would then be able to terminate his state of consecration, or iĥrām, at the point he reached, even though he might not have performed any of the rituals other than going into the state of consecration.
 
Such a situation arose in the sixth year of the Islamic calendar when the pagan Arabs prevented the Prophet and his Companions from entering Makkah and visiting the Sacred Mosque. The Muslims had camped at al-Ĥudaybiyah, about 25 kilometres west of Makkah, where eventually the famous truce agreement was signed between the Quraysh and the Muslims. It stipulated that the Prophet and his followers would be free to return for `Umrah the following year. Some reports indicate that this verse was revealed at that time, and, accordingly, the Prophet ordered his Companions to make their sacrifices at al-Ĥudaybiyah and terminate their state of consecration, or iĥrām. Some of them showed reluctance, finding it difficult to release themselves from iĥrām before making the offerings at the appropriate place. But once the Prophet took the initiative and offered his sacrifice there, the rest followed suit.
 
The verse refers to “whatever offering you can easily afford” This includes animals such as camels, cows, sheep, or goats. A pilgrim should sacrifice whatever he can easily afford, and several people may share in a single camel or cow. In the `Umrah of al-Ĥudaybiyah, as many as seven people shared in the sacrifice of one camel. On the other hand, one person may choose to offer a sheep or a goat, which would suffice. The exemption serves to mitigate hardship such as that encountered at al- Ĥudaybiyah, or which might arise as a result of illness.
 
The essential aim of such a religious practice is to revive one’s awareness of God and draw closer to Him. If this is disrupted by threats from a hostile quarter, a disabling illness or the like, pilgrims are not deprived of the rewards they would have received had they completed the pilgrimage or the `Umrah. They are, therefore, instructed to proceed with making the offerings as if they had completed the intended rituals. This compassionate attitude is well in line with the spirit of Islam and its view of the purpose of worship.
 
Then follows another rule relating to the performance of pilgrimage and `Umrah: “Do not shave your heads until the offerings have reached their appointed destination.” (Verse 196)
 
This, of course, applies under normal peaceful conditions. A pilgrim is not to shave his head, which precedes the termination of the state of consecration, or iĥrām, until he has made his offerings at the designated place and time. This is done at Mind on the tenth day of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah, after attendance the previous day at the plain of `Arafāt. Once the offerings are made, a pilgrim may release himself from consecration.
 
Here we have another exemption: “If any of you is ill or suffers from an ailment of the head, he shall redeem himself by fasting, or alms, or sacrifice.” (Verse 196) Islam is a practical and humane religion, and if there are grounds of health that would require shaving one’s head, one would be permitted to do so while in the state of iĥrām, even before the destination for offering the sacrifice is reached or the appropriate rituals are completed. The concession, however, is balanced with a compensation which has been set as a three-day fast from dawn to dusk, the feeding of six needy people, or slaughtering a sheep and giving its meat to the poor.
 
This is supported by what the Prophet Muĥammad said to Ka`b ibn `Ajrah when the latter was brought to him during the pilgrimage, having suffered a severe infection so that lice were crawling all over his face. The Prophet said: “I would not have thought you could have reached such a dire state. Can you afford a sheep?” Ka`b said he could not. The Prophet said to him: “Fast for three days, or feed six needy people, giving each half a şā` of food, and shave your head.” (One şā` is an Arabian measure equivalent to four times the fill of a man’s hands cupped together.)
 
The sūrah gives another ruling relating to the pilgrimage and the `Umrah: “When you are in safety, then he who takes advantage of performing the `Umrah before the pilgrimage shall make whatever offering he can easily afford.” (Verse 196) The sacrifice is required of those who are able to complete the rituals of both duties. Let us look at the matter in more detail.
 
One form of tamattu`, which is referred to in this verse as ‘taking advantage of performing both duties of pilgrimage and `Umrah, involves the performance of the `Umrah separately, prior to performing the pilgrimage. To do this, one sets off for `Umrah, goes into iĥrām at the appointed location, performs the rites of `Umrah, which include ţawāf around the Ka`bah and sa`ī between Şafā and Marwah, and shaving one’s head or trimming one’s hair to release oneself from consecration. One then waits for the time of the pilgrimage to re-enter into iĥrām, or consecration, for the pilgrimage. This is valid only if the `Umrah is offered within the appointed months of pilgrimage: Shawwāl, Dhu’l-Qa’dah and the first ten days of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah.
 
Another form of tamattu` is when one goes into iĥrām, at the appointed location, with the intention of combining both `Umrah and pilgrimage. On arrival in Makkah, the `Umrah is performed, after which the pilgrim maintains his iĥrām until he has performed the rest of the rites of the pilgrimage at the proper time.
 
In both cases, pilgrims are required to make such offerings as they can afford and are available. Animals such as camels, cows, sheep and goats can be offered for this purpose.
 
Those who lack the means need to fulfil an alternative requirement. “He who lacks the means shall fast three days during the pilgrimage and seven more days on returning home; that is, ten days in all.” (Verse 196) It is recommended that fasting should be undertaken over the three days before attendance at `Arafāt on the ninth day of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah. The other seven days of fasting are undertaken following one’s arrival back home, a total of ten days in all, as the Qur’ān clearly points out.
 
The idea here apparently is to keep the pilgrims’ hearts and minds attached to God during the interval between the `Umrah and the pilgrimage. The requirement of sacrifice or fasting perhaps aims to maintain the feeling of being closer to God in the period between the `Umrah and pilgrimage. Thus, lifting the restrictions of consecration, or iĥrām, after performing the `Umrah would not lead people away from the highly spiritual atmosphere that the pilgrimage generates.
 
Since those who live close to the Sacred Mosque are required to perform the pilgrimage only, and not the `Umrah, they cannot have the option of tamattu`. They have no sacrifice to offer and, consequently, the ruling of fasting ten days instead does not apply to them, either: “This applies to those whose families are not resident in the vicinity of the Sacred Mosque.” (Verse 196)
 
At this juncture the sūrah draws attention to a vital and fundamental aspect of man’s relationship with God. It exhorts: “Fear God, and know well that He is severe in retribution.” (Verse 196) The requirement for proper observance of these rulings would be an ever-present sense of God-fearing, and an appreciation of the awesome power of His retribution. By its very nature, iĥrām invokes a high sense of awareness” of God and an eagerness not to incur His displeasure, which must be maintained, with equal vigour and sincerity, during the interval when the pilgrims are relieved from the restrictions of iĥrām. Pilgrims are expected to remain vigilant and self-controlled throughout the whole period.
 
The sūrah proceeds to give further details of the pilgrimage rituals. It defines the time of the year in which it is valid and explains further the values to be observed in its performance. Like the preceding passage, it closes with an exhortation to fear God at all times.
 
“The pilgrimage takes place in the months appointed for it. Whoever undertakes the pilgrimage in those months shall, while on pilgrimage, abstain from lewdness, all wicked conduct and wrangling. Whatever good you do God is well aware of it. Provide well for yourselves: the best provision of all is to be God-fearing. Fear Me, then, you who are endowed with insight.” (Verse 197)
 
The text is clear that pilgrimage may be undertaken only within a specified period of the year, which extends over the months of Shawwāl, Dhu’l-Qa’dah and the first ten days of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah, the last three months in the Islamic lunar year. Accordingly — and this is the view held by the Shāfi`ī school of thought and attributed to the reputable scholars Ibn `Abbās, Jābir, `Aţā’, Ţāwūs and Mujāhid— iĥrām for the purpose of pilgrimage is valid only when undertaken during this specified period, known as the “pilgrimage months”. However, Mālik, Abū Ĥanīfah and Aĥmad ibn Ĥanbal, as well as Ibrāhīm al-Nakha`ī, al-Thawrī and al-Layth ibn Sa`d, hold that iĥrām for pilgrimage is valid all the year round. Nevertheless, they restrict the actual performance of the pilgrimage rituals to the period of the year specified in the sūrah. The former view appears to reflect more closely the meaning of the Qur’ānic text.
 
Once a commitment is made to perform the pilgrimage, by entering into the state of iĥrām during the pilgrimage months, the would-be pilgrim “must abstain from lewdness, all wicked conduct and wrangling.” This is a call for total abstinence from all interests, preoccupations and behaviour that are in conflict with, or distract from, the spirit of total devotion and obedience to God which should prevail during pilgrimage. It entails rising above worldly pursuits, total devotion to God alone, and seeking to acquire the necessary humility when conducting oneself at His Sacred Mosque. Donning the unsewn garments of iĥrām is the signal that the pilgrim has discarded all that relates to worldly position or possession, including ordinary clothes.
 
Having pointed out what should be avoided, the sūrah conveys the reassurance that “Whatever good you do, God is well aware of it.” (Verse 197) This would be the greatest incentive for the believer to perform more good deeds, and to have God witness more of his devotion, which is in itself a source of contentment and recompense.
 
God then calls on the pilgrims to provide for themselves, physically and spiritually, in preparation for the challenging and demanding experience of pilgrimage.
 
It has been reported that a group of Yemeni pilgrims set off for pilgrimage without carrying any provisions for the journey, claiming that, since they were intending to visit God’s Sacred House, He would surely provide for them. This conflicts directly with Islamic teaching that while one should rely on God and put one’s trust in Him, one should also seek the necessary practical means and take all measures to look after oneself. Furthermore, such an attitude smacks of impertinence towards God; the implication that God is obliged to provide is one of condescending arrogance.
 
Hence the emphatic exhortation: “Provide well for yourselves: the best provision of all is to be God-fearing. Fear Me, then, you who are endowed with insight.” (Verse 197) The fear of God is a real source of both material and spiritual sustenance. It provides the human mind and body with strength, refinement and physical and moral support. Those with insight and understanding would be the first to appreciate this directive and benefit from divine provision.
 
The sūrah outlines more pilgrimage rules. It explains that it is permitted for pilgrims to engage in trade or employment during the pilgrimage period. It also adds further elaboration of rituals.
 
“It is no sin for you to seek the bounty of your Lord. When you surge downward from `Arafāt, remember God at al-Mash`ar al-Ĥarām [the sacred landmark of Muzdalifah]. Remember Him who has given you guidance. Before this, you were certainly in error. Surge onwards from the place where all other pilgrims surge and pray God to forgive you. God is much-Forgiving, ever-Merciful” (Verses 198-199)
 
Al-Bukhārī reports that Ibn Abbās said that this verse was revealed because people used to feel uneasy about conducting trade during the pilgrimage as they did in pre-Islamic days in such markets as `Ukāż, Mijannah and Dhu’l-Majāz. Abū Dāwūd also quotes Ibn Abbās as saying that the verse was revealed because people used to avoid trading during the pilgrimage season, as they considered it a time for worship and devotion.
 
Abū Umāmah al-Taymī asked Abdullāh ibn `Umar: “While on pilgrimage we offer transport services for hire. Is our pilgrimage valid?” Ibn `Umar said, “Do you not make ţawāf around the Ka`bah, do good deeds, throw the stones, and shave your heads?” When Abū Umāmah replied that they did all those things, Ibn `Umar said, “When the Prophet was asked the same question, he gave no answer until the angel Gabriel conveyed to him the verse which states: “It is no sin for you to seek the bounty of your Lord.”
 
Abū Şāliĥ, an attendant of `Umar, the second Caliph, is reported to have asked him whether people used to conduct trade during the pilgrimage season. `Umar replied, “Indeed! People had no other way of earning a living!”
 
This reluctance to conduct trade and business during the pilgrimage season is but one aspect of the new sensitivity and awareness that Islam had brought to people’s minds, giving them a new attitude towards their pre-Islamic way of life. Muslims would seek to know the view of Islam, or await instructions, before performing certain actions or adopting certain modes of behaviour, as explained earlier with reference to the ritual of sa`ī between the two hills of Şafā and Marwah.
 
Thus, trading and commercial activity, including letting and leasing, are permitted during pilgrimage. In fact, the Qur’ān describes such activities as a means of seeking “the bounty of your Lord”. Thus, anyone who seeks to earn some income through trade and business in pilgrimage should feel that he only seeks God’s bounty and that whatever he receives is given to him by God. It is not his own efforts that give him his earnings. It is God, the generous giver who gives us all we have. Once this is appreciated by the pilgrim, he will realize that even as he is trading, he is in a state of devotion to God which in no way violates or defiles his observance of the pilgrimage duties. Once this principle is established in believers’ hearts and minds, Islam allows them total freedom to pursue their interests, every one of which would in itself be considered a valid act of worship.
 
It is not by chance, therefore, that a verse dealing with the rituals of pilgrimage should also include instructions on earning through trade and commercial activities.
 
“When you surge downward from `Arafāt, remember God at al-Mash`ar al-Ĥarām. Remember Him who has given you guidance. Before this you were certainly in error.” (Verse 198) Attendance at `Arafāt is the central duty of the pilgrimage. It is authentically reported on the authority of `Abd al-Raĥmān al-Daylamī that the Prophet Muĥammad said: “The pilgrimage is attendance at `Arafāt. [He repeated this three times.] He who arrives at `Arafāt before the break of dawn [on the tenth day of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah] will have fulfilled this duty. The days of Minā are three; those who depart after only two days incur no sin, nor do those who stay longer.”
 
The scheduled time for attendance at `Arafāt begins at noon on the Day of `Arafāt, the ninth day of the Muslim lunar month of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah, and ends at the break of dawn the following morning, the Day of Sacrifice. Aĥmad ibn Ĥanbal, however, is of the opinion that the time begins at the break of day, rather than at noon, on the Day of `Arafāt. This is based on the report by `Urwah al-Ţā’ī that he had gone up to the Prophet, as he was going to prayer at Muzdalifah, and explained to him that having come from a long way away both he and his camel were on the point of exhaustion, and that he had done his best to stand at every hill he had passed, and wanted to know whether his pilgrimage would still be valid. The Prophet replied: “Anyone who has joined us in the prayer today and stands with us until we move on, having already been present in `Arafāt at any time, night or day, has completed the pilgrimage and fulfilled his obligations.”
 
Perfect Devotion at Every Move
 
The Prophet laid down this rule and extended the time to the break of dawn on the Day of Sacrifice, the tenth of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah, in order to distinguish Islamic practice from that of the pagan Arabs.
 
Al-Musawwar ibn Makhramah, a Companion of the Prophet reports that, in his address at `Arafāt, the Prophet began with praising and glorifying God before saying: “This is the grand day of pilgrimage. The polytheists and the idolaters used to leave `Arafāt before the sun had set, when it was still visible over mountain tops looking like men’s turbans. But we depart before the sun rises, our practice being distinctly different to theirs.”
 
The established tradition adopted by the Prophet was to depart from `Arafāt after sunset. In an authentic ĥadīth related by Muslim, Jābir ibn `Abdullāh reports that “the Prophet remained at `Arafāt until the sun began to set, the sky reddened and the sun’s disc completely disappeared. With Usāmah behind him on the same camel, he was pulling hard on the reins of his she-camel until her head would hit the saddle. He motioned with his right hand, saying, ‘Stay calm! Stay calm!’ He relaxed his grip on the reins at every hill so that the camel could climb with ease. On arrival at Muzdalifah, he prayed maghrib and `ishā’ with a single adhān and two separate iqāmahs. He did not separate the two obligatory prayers with any glorification of God. After that he lay down to rest until dawn, when he got up and offered the fajr prayer when the light of day began to appear. The prayer was preceded by adhān and iqāmah. The Prophet then mounted his camel and headed towards al-Mash`ar al- Ĥarām. There he faced the qiblah and embarked on a lengthy devotional prayers and praise of God until the light of day was bright. He then set off before the sun had risen.” This is the practice outlined in the sūrah as it says:
 
“When you surge downward from `Arafāt, remember God at al-Mash`ar al-Ĥarām. Remember Him who has given you guidance. Before this you were certainly in error.” (Verse 198)
 
The Qur’ān exhorts Muslims to invoke God’s name following their departure from `Arafāt. It reminds them that this is part of the guidance God favoured them with, and that their actions are an expression of gratitude for that favour. They are also reminded of the gloom and despair that had marked their way of life prior to Islam: “Remember Him who has given you guidance. Before this you were certainly in error.”
 
Those early Muslims were fully aware of this profound truth. They were only a few years away from the pagan Arab way of life, with its lamentable religious ignorance and its worship of idols, jinn and angels, who were also conceived to be daughters of God, while the jinn were thought to be His in-laws. Such foolish superstitions had in turn led to confusion in religious practices. These included the unjustified and unexplained prohibition of the meat of certain animals, or the meat from their backs, and the sacrifice of children to idols, gods or jinn.
 
Pre-Islamic Arab life was plagued with a host of socially unjust and morally corrupt practices. The sūrah points specifically to one of them here, class distinction, by commanding: “Surge onwards from the place where all other pilgrims surge.”
 
The Arabs’ decadence was also shown in the senseless and bloody tribal conflicts which at the time had totally undermined their position in the world. It was further reflected in the near-total confusion of their sexual mores, marriage customs, and family relationships in general. It was apparent in the injustice inflicted upon the weak by the strong, in the total absence of ethical or legal guarantees to restore the balance. Above all, it was manifested in the Arabs’ marginal existence and insignificance on the world stage, which had only begun to be redressed with the advent of Islam.
 
The Qur’ānic words, “Remember Him who has given you guidance. Before this you were certainly in error,” brought all that dark history back to the Muslims’ minds, and led them to consider their new life under Islam, to reflect on God’s grace in guiding them, and to appreciate its value and role in shaping their existence. This remains true for Muslims of all nations and generations. Without Islam they would fall into utter insignificance.
 
Islam has been the main force that has transformed Muslims’ lives and lifted them from tiny, subservient and confused communities to a great pioneering nation. Muslims appreciate this transformation only when they sincerely and diligently adopt Islam and build their whole way of life on its principles. In fact, all mankind needs Islam’s guidance and blessings. This is confirmed, and highly appreciated, by those who come into the fold of Islam after having lived a different life. They find the contrast immeasurable.
 
As a believer in Islam reflects on the social philosophies and ideologies developed and adopted by various societies throughout human history, he is usually astonished by their triviality, misery, pettiness and confusion when compared with Islam. In some societies man, to his great disadvantage, seems to have chosen the reckless course of denying his instinctive need for God and His care and guidance. That is precisely what is being emphasized in this sūrah when God says: “Remember that He has given you guidance. Before this you were certainly in error.” (Verse 198)
 
Returning to the main theme of this passage, one can also describe the pilgrimage as the greatest gathering of Muslims from all over the globe. They are brought together under the single banner of Islam, abandoning all their former racial, cultural and national ties. The unsewn iĥrām garments they don when they are in the state of consecration are symbolic in more senses than one. All pilgrims wearing these garments stand on the same level, with no distinctions of tribal or ethnic kinship. Islam is the only unifying factor:
 
In pre-Islamic days, the Quraysh used to give themselves certain privileges to distinguish them from the rest of the Arabs during the pilgrimage. They arrogantly referred to themselves as al-hums, or the pure. One such privilege the Quraysh had granted themselves was that they did not attend at `Arafāt, and so approached Muzdalifah from a different direction to that of other pilgrims. These Qur’ānic instructions eliminated this anomaly and bound the Quraysh to observe the same pilgrimage rituals as the rest of the Muslims, removing all false distinction: “Surge onwards from the place where all other pilgrims surge and pray God to forgive you. God is much-Forgiving, ever-Merciful.’’
 
Al-Bukhārī relates a report by `Ā’ishah, the Prophet’s wife, in which she said, “The Quraysh and those who followed its lead used to attend at Muzdalifah, and they were known as al-hums, while the rest of the Arabs attended at `Arafāt. But God’s Messenger was instructed to go to `Arafāt, spend the day there, and then leave it for Muzdalifah, and this is what the verse refers to.”
 
Islam transcends kinship and class distinction, and treats all human beings as belonging to one nation; the sole distinction being their fear of, and obedience to, God Almighty. The pilgrimage ritual of iĥrām requires all pilgrims to abandon their usual clothing in order to appear equal, and it would be inconsistent to allow them to boast of their lineage or ancestry.
 
All prejudices and manifestations of pride and vanity must be discarded during the pilgrimage. Pilgrims are instructed to direct their devotion, praise and pleas to God, to pray for forgiveness for their errors and excesses, large and small. They ought to keep their minds, hearts and souls pure of all thoughts of lewdness, transgression, wicked conduct and wrangling of any kind. Through the pilgrimage, Muslims are educated in the wide fundamental principles of Islam: the equality of man and the rejection of discrimination on the basis of caste, race, language, or any other differences. Should they deviate or become negligent, they are urged to seek God’s guidance and forgiveness.