Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī | The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of what it contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
translated by
Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Downloaded via sunniconnect.com.
The Publisher have books from both Authentic and Deviant scholars. The Readers are requested to be careful and differentiate such scholars to make sure about the Authenticity of the knowledge. The sufsim mentioned here refers to early stage sufism which is entirely different from what it is today. We recommend the reader to read the book “Devil’s Deception” by Ibn Jawzi for further clarification on this issue.
© Aisha Bewley
Published by: Diwan Press Ltd.
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By: Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qurtubi
Translated by: Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley
Edited by: Abdalhaqq Bewley
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN13: 978-1-908892-96-6 (Paperback)
978-1-908892-97-3 (Casebound)
978-1-908892-98-0 (ePub & Kindle)
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
Table of Transliterations
| Arabic | Latin | Arabic | Latin |
|--------|-------|----------|-------|
| ض | d | ط | t |
| ظ | z | ع | gh |
| ث | t | غ | gh |
| ذ | dh | ف | f |
| ر | r | ق | q |
| ز | z | ك | k |
| س | s | ل | l |
| ش | sh | م | m |
| ح | h | ن | n |
| ت | th | هـ | h |
| خ | kh | و | w |
| د | d | ي | y |
| ص | s | | |
Long vowel | Short vowel
| Arabic | Latin | Examples |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| ا | ā | a [fātih] |
| و | ū | u [damm] |
| ي | i | i [kasrah] |
| ءا | aw | |
| ءي | ay | |
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
Sūrah ĀL ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ ﴿96﴾ فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَكَانُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا ۚ وَأَذَّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُواكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَى كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ ﴿97﴾ لّيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَعْلُومَاتٍ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهُمْ مِّنْ بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنعَامِ ۚ فَكُلُوا مِنهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَائِسَ الْفَقِيرَ ﴿98﴾ ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا نُذُورَهُمْ ۖ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ ﴿99﴾ ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ عِندَ رَبِّهِ ۖ وَأُحِلَّتْ لَكُمُ الْأَنْعَامُ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَاجْتَنِبُوا رِجْسَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ ﴿100﴾
The first House established for mankind was that at Bakkah, a place of blessing and a guidance for all beings. In it are Clear Signs – the Maqām of Ibrāhīm. All who enter it are safe. Hajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind – those who can find a way to do it. But if anyone disbelieves, Allah is Rich Beyond Need of any being.
It is confirmed in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that Abū Dharr said, ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the first mosque established on the earth and he answered, “The Masjid al-Ḥarām.” I asked, “And then?” He said, “Al-Aqṣā.” I asked, “How long was there between them?” “Forty years,” he replied, “and then the whole earth became a mosque for you, so pray wherever you are when the time for prayer comes.”’
Mujāhid and Qaṭādah said, ‘There was no house before it.’ ʿAlī said, ‘There were many houses before it. What is meant is that it is the first house established for worship.’ Mujāhid said, ‘The Muslims and Jews boasted and the Jews said, “The temple of Jerusalem is better and greater than the Kaʿbah because it was the place of the emigration of Prophets and is in the Holy Land.” The Muslims said, “The Kaʿbah is better.” Allah then revealed this āyah. How the House was built has already been dealt with in al-Baqarah. Mujāhid said, ‘Allah created the site of this house two thousand years before the House was built.’
He created any of the earth, and its foundations are in the seventh and lowest earth. As for Al-Aqṣā, Sulaymān built it.’ An-Nasāʾī transmitted this with a sound isnāḍ from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr. The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘When Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd built the temple in Jerusalem, he asked Allah for three things. He asked Allah for judgment corresponding to His judgment and he was given it. He asked Allah for a kingdom which no one after him would have and he was given that. He asked Allah, when he finished building the temple, that anyone who approached it for the sole reason of praying in it would have his errors fall from him so that he would be like he was on the day he was born, and this was granted.’ There is some equivocation between the two hadiths because there was a long period of time between Ibrāhīm and Sulaymān. Historians say that there was more than a thousand years between them. It is said that Ibrāhīm and Sulaymān were the predecessors for what others built after them.
It is related that Ādam was the first to build the House, as was already mentioned. Then it is possible that one of his sons built al-Aqṣā forty years later. It is also possible that the angels built it with Allah’s permission. All of this is possible, and Allah knows best. ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib said, ‘Allah commanded the angels to build a house on the earth and to do tawāf of it before Ādam was created. Then Ādam built what he built of it and did tawāf of it and then the Prophets after him, and then Ibrāhīm completed its construction.’
…that at Bakkah,
Bakkah is the actual site of the House and Makkah is the rest of the town according to Mālik ibn Anas. Muḥammad ibn Shihāb said that Bakkah is the mosque and Makkah is all the Ḥaram, including the houses. Mujāhid said that Bakkah is Makkah. The bāʾ is replaced by the mīm as done in the word for ‘sticking’: lāzim for lāzib. Aḍ-Ḥaḥḥāk and al-Mu’arrij said that.
Then it is also said that Bakkah is derived from the word bakk,
which means crowding and Bakkah takes its name from the fact that the people crowd together in it during tawāf. Bakka means ‘to throttle’ and it is said that it is called that because it crushes the necks of any tyrants if they act unjustly towards it. ‘Abdullāh ibn az-Zubayr said, ‘No tyrant has ever directed evil at it without Allah breaking his neck.’
It is said that the name Makkah comes from its lack of water, and it is said that it is because it sucks (makka) the marrow from the bones through the hardship involved in reaching it. The verb makka is used for a foal suckling from its mother. A poet said:
It suckled (makkat) and no milk remained inside her.
It is said that it is called that because it sucks the one who does injustice in it, in other words destroys him. It is said that it is called that because people used to whistle (makkā) and laugh in it as in Allah’s words: ‘Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping.’ (8:35)
a place of blessing and a guidance for all beings.
Allah made it blessed by multiplying the reward of action in it. Barakah is abundant good. It is in the accusative for the ḥāl modifying what is implied by ‘established’, or an adverb of Bakkah. It is a guidance for all.
In it are Clear Signs – the Maqām of Ibrāhīm
The people of Makkah, Ibn ‘Abbās, Mujāhid and Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr read this as ‘a Clear Sign’ in the singular, meaning a Sign of tawḥīd, referring to the Maqām of Ibrāhīm alone. They said, ‘The mark of his feet in the Maqām is a Clear Sign.’ Mujāhid explained it as referring to the entire Haram and believed that its Signs include Şafā and Marwah, the Corner and the Maqām. The others read it in the plural, meaning the Maqām of Ibrāhīm, the Black Stone, the Ḥaṭīm, Zamzam and all the sacred hallmarks. Abū Ja‘far an-Nahḥās said the reading with the plural is clearer because the Signs certainly
include Ṣafā and Marwah.
Another sign is that the birds do not fly over it when they are healthy and another sign is that when someone is hunting and the game enters the Ḥaram, he leaves it be. Another sign is that when there is abundant rain at the Yemeni Corner, there is plenty in Yemen, and when it is at the Syrian corner, there is plenty in Syria. When rain covers all of the House, there is plenty in all lands. Another aspect of it is that the jamrahs, in spite of what is added to them, remain the same size.
The word Maqām comes from the verb qāma, to stand, and so it is the place where one stands. The Maqām was dealt with in al-Baqarah along with the disagreement about it. It implies: ‘one of them is the Maqām of Ibrāhīm’, as al-Akhfash said. It is related that Muḥammad ibn Yazīd said that ‘Maqām’ is an appositive for ‘Signs’. A third view is that it means: ‘They are the Maqām of Ibrāhīm’ based on a known Arabic usage. [POEM] Abu-l-‘Abbās said that the word ‘maqām’ actually indicates the plural ‘maqāmāt’ because it is a verbal noun. We see in the Qur’an: ‘Allah has sealed up their hearts and hearing’ (92:8) where ‘hearing’ is in the singular. This is strengthened by the hadith which states: ‘Ḥajj is all the Maqām of Ibrāhīm.’
All who enter it are safe.
Qatādah said, ‘That is also one of the signs of the Ḥaram.’ An-Nahhās says that is a good opinion because people are swept away all around it and no tyrant reaches it. They reached Jerusalem and destroyed it but never reached the Ḥaram.’ Allah says: ‘Do you not see what your Lord did with the Companions of the Elephant?’ (105:1) One of the people of meanings said, ‘The form of the āyah is a report while its meaning is a command. It means: “Give security to whoever enters it.”’ The same usage is seen in 2:197. Along these lines, an-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit said, ‘Anyone who commits a wrong action and merits a ḥadd punishment and then takes refuge in the Ḥaram is safe,’ based on this āyah. Allah made security mandatory for those who
enter it. That is related from a group of the early generations, including Ibn Abbās and others.
Ibn al-‘Arabī said, ‘There is weakness in the statements of all who say this for two reasons. One is that they do not understand that the āyah is about the past and does not involve the establishment of a future ruling. The second is that they do not acknowledge that its security has been violated and killing and fighting occurred after that. What Allah states cannot occur differently to that statement. So that indicates that this must have been referring to the past.’ Abū Ḥanīfah disagreed and said, ‘Anyone who seeks refuge in the Ḥaram is not given food or water nor is any business done with him nor is he spoken to until he leaves.’ His being forced to leave is not consonant with security. It is related that he said, ‘Retaliation for limbs takes place in the Haram. There is also no security in this case.’ The majority of scholars say that ḥudūd punishments may be carried out in the Ḥaram. It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ ordered the killing of Ibn Khaṭāl while he was clinging to the drapes of the Ka’bah.
Ath-Thawrī related that Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘If someone commits a crime that merits a ḥadd punishment in the Haram, it is carried out on him. If he commits it outside of the Ḥaram and then seeks refuge in it, he is not spoken to nor is business carried out with him until he leaves the Ḥaram and then the ḥadd is carried out on him.’ This is the position of ash-Sha‘bī. This is also the argument of Kufans. Ibn ‘Abbās understands that this is what the āyah means. He was the scholar of the Community.
What is sound is that by saying that Allah is referring to the many blessings granted to anyone who is there, whoever they are, as Allah also says: ‘Do they not see that We have established a safe haven while people all round them are violently dispossessed?’ (29:67) In the Jāhiliyya, those who entered it and sought sanctuary were safe from attack and killing as will be explained in al-Mā’idah. Qatādah said, ‘In the
Jāhilīyyah, whoever entered it was safe.’
This is good. It is related that an atheist said to one of the scholars, ‘Does the Qur’an not say: “All who enter it are safe”? We have entered it and we have done such-and-such. Is not the one who enters it safe?’ He said to him, ‘Are you not one of the Arabs? What does someone mean when he says that whoever enters his house is safe? Does he not say to those who obey him, “Leave him be”? “Yes, of course,” he replied. He said, ‘That is how it is with His words: “All who enter it are safe”’ Yahyā ibn Ja‘dah said that it means he is safe from the Fire.
This is not universal because we find in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim in the hadith of intercession reported by Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī: ‘By the One Who has my soul in his hand, none of you can be more insistent in asking Allah for his rights than the believers on the Day of Rising who will ask Allah for their brothers who are in the Fire. They will say, “Our Lord, they used to fast with us, pray and perform ḥajj!” They will be told, “Bring out those you recognise.”’ The one who enters it is safe from the Fire by performing the practices connected with it, respecting it, acknowledging its right, and seeking to draw near to Allah Almighty.
Ja‘far as-Ṣādiq said, ‘Whoever enters it with purity, as the Prophets and awliyā’ entered it, is safe from Allah’s punishment.’ This is what is meant by his words ﷺ, ‘Anyone who makes ḥajj to this House and does not engage in sexual activity or wrongdoing emerges from his errors like the day his mother bore him. An accepted ḥajj has no reward but the Garden.’ Al-Ḥasan said, ‘An accepted ḥajj is that he returns abstinent in this world, desiring the Next World.’ He recited:
O Ka‘bah of Allah! The supplication of the one who seeks refuge is the supplication of one calling, in need.
He has bade farewell to those he loves and his home and come hovering between fear and hope.
If Allah generously accepts his striving,
he is saved. Otherwise he is not saved.
You are one of those whose intercession is hoped for.
Be kind to Wāfīd ibn Ḥajjāj!
It is also said that it means whoever entered it in the year of the Fulfilled ʿUmrah with Muhammad ﷺ is safe. The evidence is found in the words of the Almighty: ‘You will enter the Maşjid al-Ḥarām in safety, Allah willing.’ (48:27) It is said that the word ‘man’ (tr. as ‘all’) here refers to the non-sentient and the āyah is about the safety of game. This is odd. We see in the Revelation: ‘Some of them (minhum) go on their bellies.’ (24:45)
Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind
In the phrase ‘owed to Allah’ Allah uses the lām of the obligation and then reinforces it with “ʿalā” which is the strongest preposition in Arabic for making something obligatory. Allah uses the most comprehensive of the expressions of obligation to stress the right it has over us and the esteem owed to it. There is no disagreement about its obligatory nature. It is one of the pillars of Islam and is only obliged once in a lifetime. Some people said that it is obliged once every five years and relate about that a hadith which they trace back to the Prophet ﷺ. The hadith is false and not sound. The consensus invalidates their position.
‘Abd ar-Razzāq related from Sufyān ath-Thawrī from al-‘Alā’ ibn al-Musayyab from his father from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The Lord says, “I have expanded my slave’s provision and yet he does not visit me in iḥrām every four years.”’ It is famous from al-‘Alā’ ibn al-Musayyab ibn Rāfīʿ al-Kāhilī al-Kūfī from the children of hadith scholars. More than one related it from him. They include those who said ‘every five years’. Some said: from al-‘Alā’ from Yūnus ibn Khabbāb from Abū Saʿīd. There is disagreement about all of that.
13
The atheists deny the ḥajj and say that it involves removing garments, which is contrary to modesty, running, which is contrary to gravity, and stoning the jamarahs for no purpose, which is contrary to logic. They say that all these actions are baseless because they do not recognise their wisdom or cause. They are ignorant of the fact that it is not necessary for the Lord to make His slave understand all that He commands him to do nor to acquaint him with the point of the actions He requires of him. It is incumbent on him to obey, and he must obey without seeking benefit nor asking about the goal. This is the meaning of what the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his talbīyah: ‘At Your service, truly, truly in worship and slavehood. At Your service, God of the Truth.’
The imāms related that Abū Hurayrah said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us and said, “People! The Ḥajj has been made obligatory for you, so perform it!” A man asked, “Every year, Messenger of Allah?” He was silent until the man had asked that three times. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said, “Leave me with what I have left you. Those before you were destroyed for asking too many questions and differing from their Prophets. If I command you to do something, do what you can of it. If I forbid you from doing something, then leave it.”’ (Muslim)
This hadith makes it clear that when an obligation is directed to those responsible for doing it, it is enough that they do it once and it does need to be repeated. This differs from the position of Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāyīnī. It is confirmed that his Companions said to the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, is this ḥajj of ours for just this year or for all time?’ He answered, ‘It is for all time.’ This is a text refuting those who say that it is obligatory once every five years. The ḥajj was well known among the Arabs. It was part of what they desired because of its markets, social acceptability and being part of the Ḥanīfiyyah. When Islam came, they were told to do what they
The atheists deny the ḥajj and say that it involves removing garments, which is contrary to modesty, running, which is contrary to gravity, and stoning the jamarahs for no purpose, which is contrary to logic. They say that all these actions are baseless because they do not recognise their wisdom or cause. They are ignorant of the fact that it is not necessary for the Lord to make His slave understand all that He commands him to do nor to acquaint him with the point of the actions He requires of him. It is incumbent on him to obey, and he must obey without seeking benefit nor asking about the goal. This is the meaning of what the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his talbīyah: ‘At Your service, truly, truly in worship and slavehood. At Your service, God of the Truth.’
The imāms related that Abū Hurayrah said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us and said, “People! The Ḥajj has been made obligatory for you, so perform it!” A man asked, “Every year, Messenger of Allah?” He was silent until the man had asked that three times. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said, “Leave me with what I have left you. Those before you were destroyed for asking too many questions and differing from their Prophets. If I command you to do something, do what you can of it. If I forbid you from doing something, then leave it.”’ (Muslim)
This hadith makes it clear that when an obligation is directed to those responsible for doing it, it is enough that they do it once and it does need to be repeated. This differs from the position of Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāyīnī. It is confirmed that his Companions said to the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, is this ḥajj of ours for just this year or for all time?’ He answered, ‘It is for all time.’ This is a text refuting those who say that it is obligatory once every five years. The ḥajj was well known among the Arabs. It was part of what they desired because of its markets, social acceptability and being part of the Ḥanīfiyyah. When Islam came, they were told to do what they
The atheists deny the ḥajj and say that it involves removing garments, which is contrary to modesty, running, which is contrary to gravity, and stoning the jamarahs for no purpose, which is contrary to logic. They say that all these actions are baseless because they do not recognise their wisdom or cause. They are ignorant of the fact that it is not necessary for the Lord to make His slave understand all that He commands him to do nor to acquaint him with the point of the actions He requires of him. It is incumbent on him to obey, and he must obey without seeking benefit nor asking about the goal. This is the meaning of what the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his talbīyah: ‘At Your service, truly, truly in worship and slavehood. At Your service, God of the Truth.’
The imāms related that Abū Hurayrah said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us and said, “People! The Ḥajj has been made obligatory for you, so perform it!” A man asked, “Every year, Messenger of Allah?” He was silent until the man had asked that three times. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said, “Leave me with what I have left you. Those before you were destroyed for asking too many questions and differing from their Prophets. If I command you to do something, do what you can of it. If I forbid you from doing something, then leave it.”’ (Muslim)
This hadith makes it clear that when an obligation is directed to those responsible for doing it, it is enough that they do it once and it does need to be repeated. This differs from the position of Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāyīnī. It is confirmed that his Companions said to the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, is this ḥajj of ours for just this year or for all time?’ He answered, ‘It is for all time.’ This is a text refuting those who say that it is obligatory once every five years. The ḥajj was well known among the Arabs. It was part of what they desired because of its markets, social acceptability and being part of the Ḥanīfiyyah. When Islam came, they were told to do what they
knew and to hold to what they recognised. The Prophet ﷺ performed ḥajj before the obligatory ḥajj. He had stood at ʿArafah and did not change the Law of Ibrāhīm that had been changed by Quraysh when they stood at the Mashʿar al-Harām, saying, ‘We are the people of the Ḥaram and do not leave it. We are the Ḥums.’ This was already explained in al-Baqarah.
One of the oddest claims that I have seen made is that the Prophet ﷺ performed ḥajj twice before the Hijrah and by that the obligation was cancelled for him because he had responded to the summons of Ibrāhīm when it was said: ‘Announce the Ḥajj to mankind.’ (22:27) Aṭ-Ṭabarī said, ‘This is unlikely. When it was announced as part of his Sharīʿah: “Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind,” then it must also have been a duty for him according to that injunction. If it is said that it is only addressed to those who have not yet performed ḥajj, that is arbitrary and specific and there is no evidence for it. If someone claims that those who performed ḥajj in the religion of Ibrāhīm are not addressed by this, it is extremely unlikely.’
The Book and the Sunnah indicate that the ḥajj should be performed in a person’s own good time, not immediately. That is the final position in the school of Mālik as Ibn Khuwayzimandād mentioned, and it is the position of ash-Shāfiʿī, Muḥammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybānī, and Abū Yūsuf in one transmission. Some later Baghdadi Mālikīs believed that the obligation is immediate and it is not permitted to delay it when the ability to perform it exists. That is the position of Dāwūd. The sound view is the first one because Allah says in Sūrat al-Ḥajj: ‘Announce the Ḥajj to mankind’ (22:27) and al-Ḥajj is Makkan. He says: ‘Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by people.’ This sūrah was revealed in the year of Uḥud in Mādīnah in 3 AH and the Prophet ﷺ did not perform ḥajj until 10 AH.
As for the Sunnah, there is the hadith of Dīmām ibn Thaʿlaba as-Saʿdī of the Banū Saʿd ibn Bakr who came to the Prophet ﷺ and
asked him about Islam and he mentioned the shahādah, prayer, zakāt, fasting and ḥajj. Ibn ‘Abbās, Abū Hurayrah and Anas related it. There is a lot of mention of the ḥajj in the Sunnah. It is clearly obligatory. The hadith of Anas is better and more complete. There is disagreement about the date of this hadith. It is said that is 5 AH, 7 AH and 9 AH. Ibn Hishām mentioned from Abū ‘Ubaydah al-Wāqidī that it was in the year of the Ditch after the Confederates left.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said, ‘Part of the evidence that the ḥajj can be delayed is the consensus of scholars that if someone able to go on ḥajj delays it for a year or two, and then performs the ḥajj some years after his ability to perform it exists, then he has performed the obligatory ḥajj in its time. All agree that he is not like someone who misses the prayer until its time has passed and makes it up after its time, or someone who misses fasting Ramadān due to illness or travel and then makes it up, or like someone who invalidates his ḥajj and then makes it up. It is agreed that if someone performs the ḥajj years after he is able to do so, he is not said to be “making it up”. From this we know that there is wide scope for the time of ḥajj and that it is not immediate.’
Abū ‘Umar said, ‘All who say that ḥajj can be delayed put no time limit on that except what is related from Ṣaḥnūn who was asked about a man who had the wherewithal to make ḥajj and delayed it for some years while he was able to do it and whether that meant that he became fāsiq by delaying the ḥajj, causing his testimony to be rejected. He said it did not, even if that delay was up to sixty years. If it was more than sixty years, he was considered fāsiq and his testimony rejected.’ So he made sixty years the limit. Limits are only stipulated in the Sharī‘ah by someone who can legislate.
Ibn al-Khuwayzimandād related this from Ibn al-Qāsim. Ibn al-Qāsim and others said, ‘If he delays it for sixty years, his character is not impaired. If he delays it beyond sixty years, his character is
impaired because the Prophet ﷺ said, “The lifespan of my community is between sixty and seventy. Few exceed it.” It is as if the requirement is made urgent for him in these ten years.
Abu ‘Umar said, ‘Some people, like Saḥnūn, cite as evidence the words of the Prophet ﷺ: “The lifespan of my community is between sixty and seventy. Few exceed that.” There is no proof in that because the words deal with the majority of the ages of the community, if the hadith is sound. It contains evidence for scope for this up to the age of seventy because that is still within the lifespan of the majority. It is not proper to call someone of good character and trustworthiness impious through such a weak interpretation.’ Success is by Allah.
Scholars agree that all are addressed in general. Ibn al-‘Arabī said, ‘Even if people disagree about the application of general terms, they agree that this āyah applies to all people, male and female, except children, who are excluded by the consensus that they are excluded from the obligations of responsibility. The same applies to slaves who are also not included. They are excluded from it by the words: “those who can find a way to do it.”’ A slave lacks the ability because his master can prevent him from doing it by his right of ownership and Allah put the right of the master before His right out of kindness to His slaves. There is no disagreement about this either in the community as a whole or between the imams. We do not hasten to affirm what we do not actually know. The only evidence regarding it is the accepted consensus.’ Ibn al-Mundhir said that most of the people of knowledge agree, with the exception of the odd person whose disagreement is not considered, that if a child or slave has made ḥajj and then the child becomes an adult or the slave is freed, they still owe the ḥajj if they can find a way to do it.
Abū ‘Umar said, ‘Dāwūd disagreed with most of the fuqahā’ of the cities and leaders of tradition about slaves and said that they are required to perform ḥajj. According to the majority of scholars,
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
Sharīʿah are also directed at unbelievers, and there is no disagreement that that is the view of Mālik. The second is that all acts of worship are obliged for him with respect to the prayer and fasting while he is a slave. If he had done them while an unbeliever, they would not be counted. The third is that unbelief is removed by Islam, so its ruling must also be removed. Success is by Allah.
those who can find a way to do it.
Ad-Dāraquṭnī reported that Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It was asked, “Messenger of Allah, should ḥajj be done every year?” “Rather it is one ḥajj,” he replied. He was asked, “What is ‘a way?’” He said, “Provision and a mount.”’ That is related from Anas, Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿUmar, Jābir, ʿĀ’ishah, and ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb from his father from his grandfather. ʿAli ibn Abī Ṭālib related that the Prophet said: ‘Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind—those who can find a way to do it.’ He said that he was asked about that and the Prophet said that it meant, ‘That you have the use of a camel.’
Ibn Mājāh also transmitted the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar in the Sunan as did Abū ʿĪsā at-Tirmidhī in the jāmīʿ. He said that it is a good hadith. According to the people of knowledge, the practice is that when a man has provision and transport, he must perform ḥajj. Things are said by the people of hadith about the memory of Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Khūzī al-Makkī. They transmitted from Wakīʿ and ad-Dāraquṭnī from Sufyān ibn Saʿīd from Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād that Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘A man went to the Prophet and asked, “Messenger of Allah, what makes ḥajj mandatory?” He answered, “Provision and a mount.” He asked, “Messenger of Allah, what is the state of the hājj?” He replied, “Dishevelled, ill-smelling.” Another rose and asked, “What is ḥajj?” He answered, “Clamour and shedding blood.”’ Wakīʿ said that ‘clamour’ is raising the voice with the talbiyah and ‘shedding blood’ is making the sacrifices.
Among those who said that provision and a mount are
preconditions for the hajj were ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, his son ‘Abdullāh, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, ‘Aṭā’ and Mujāhid. That is the position of ash-Shāfī‘, ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Aḥmad, Ishāq, ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Abī Salamah, and Ibn Ḥabīb. ‘Abdūs mentioned something similar from Sahnūn.
Ash-Shāfī‘ says, ‘Ability has two aspects. One is that a person is physically able to do it and has enough money to achieve the hajj. The second is that someone is disabled in his body and unable to ride, but is able to have someone perform hajj on his behalf for a wage or without a wage. This will be explained. The one who is physically able is obliged by Allah’s Book to perform hajj by Allah’s words: “those who can find a way to do it.” The one who is financially able to do it is obliged to perform the hajj by the Sunnah on the basis of the hadith related about the Khath‘amī woman. As for the one who is able to do it himself, he is the strong person who incurs, in riding a mount, no hardship beyond his ability to bear it. If this is the case at a time when he possesses provision and a mount, he is obliged to make hajj himself. If he lacks provision and transport, or either one of them, then the obligation of hajj is cancelled for him. If someone is able to walk and has provision or the ability to earn provision on the way through their skill, such as leather work, cupping or a similar trade, it is recommended that they make hajj on foot, whether man or woman. Ash-Shāfī‘ added, ‘The man has less of an excuse than a woman because he is stronger.’ They consider this to be recommended, not mandatory. If the only way he is able to get provision is by begging from people on the way, it is disliked for him to perform hajj because he becomes a burden on people.
Mālik ibn Anas said, ‘If he is both able to walk and also has provision, he must perform hajj. If he has no mount but is able to walk, there is some question. If he possesses the necessary provision, he is obliged to perform hajj. If he does not possess it, but is able to
preconditions for the hajj were ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, his son ‘Abdullāh, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, ‘Aṭā’ and Mujāhid. That is the position of ash-Shāfī‘, ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Aḥmad, Ishāq, ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Abī Salamah, and Ibn Ḥabīb. ‘Abdūs mentioned something similar from Sahnūn.
Ash-Shāfī‘ says, ‘Ability has two aspects. One is that a person is physically able to do it and has enough money to achieve the hajj. The second is that someone is disabled in his body and unable to ride, but is able to have someone perform hajj on his behalf for a wage or without a wage. This will be explained. The one who is physically able is obliged by Allah’s Book to perform hajj by Allah’s words: “those who can find a way to do it.” The one who is financially able to do it is obliged to perform the hajj by the Sunnah on the basis of the hadith related about the Khath‘amī woman. As for the one who is able to do it himself, he is the strong person who incurs, in riding a mount, no hardship beyond his ability to bear it. If this is the case at a time when he possesses provision and a mount, he is obliged to make hajj himself. If he lacks provision and transport, or either one of them, then the obligation of hajj is cancelled for him. If someone is able to walk and has provision or the ability to earn provision on the way through their skill, such as leather work, cupping or a similar trade, it is recommended that they make hajj on foot, whether man or woman. Ash-Shāfī‘ added, ‘The man has less of an excuse than a woman because he is stronger.’ They consider this to be recommended, not mandatory. If the only way he is able to get provision is by begging from people on the way, it is disliked for him to perform hajj because he becomes a burden on people.
Mālik ibn Anas said, ‘If he is both able to walk and also has provision, he must perform hajj. If he has no mount but is able to walk, there is some question. If he possesses the necessary provision, he is obliged to perform hajj. If he does not possess it, but is able to
āyah and to Allah’s words: ‘Hajj to the house is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind…’ This person lacked the ability because the hajj is enjoined on those responsible for reaching the House themselves and because it is an act of worship which cannot be delegated when the ability is lacking, just as is the case with the prayer.
Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir related from Jābir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘By means of one hajj, Allah will admit three to the Garden: the deceased, the one who takes on hajj for him and the one who carries that out.’ Abu-l-Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ad-Dārāquqnī transmitted this from ‘Amr ibn Ḥuṣayn as-Sadūsī from Abū Ma‘shar from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir. The name of Abū Ma‘shar was Najīḥ. They considered him to be weak.
Ash-Shāfi‘ī said, ‘Regarding someone who is chronically ill, very sickly or very old, who finds someone able to perform the hajj on his behalf, he possesses a certain type of ability. There are two forms of it. One is that he is able to pay someone to perform hajj on his behalf. That person performs his obligatory hajj. This is the view of ‘Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib. It is related that he told a very old man who had not performed hajj, ‘Equip a man to perform hajj on your behalf.’ This position was taken by ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad and Isḥāq. The second is that he is able to find someone to pay on his behalf and represent him in performing hajj on his behalf. According to ash-Shāfi‘ī, Aḥmad and Ibn Rāhawah, hajj is also an obligation for such a person. Abū Ḥanīfah said that the hajj is not obligatory for them. Ash-Shāfi‘ī cited as evidence what Ibn ‘Abbās related about the woman of Khath‘am who asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, Allah has obliged His slaves to perform hajj. My father is a very old man who cannot remain firm on a mount. Can I perform hajj on his behalf?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. That was during the Farewell Hajj. One variant has: ‘He cannot remain upright on a camel.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Perform hajj for him. Do you think that if your father owed a debt,
āyah and to Allah’s words: ‘Hajj to the house is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind…’ This person lacked the ability because the hajj is enjoined on those responsible for reaching the House themselves and because it is an act of worship which cannot be delegated when the ability is lacking, just as is the case with the prayer.
Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir related from Jābir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘By means of one hajj, Allah will admit three to the Garden: the deceased, the one who takes on hajj for him and the one who carries that out.’ Abu-l-Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ad-Dārāquqnī transmitted this from ‘Amr ibn Ḥuṣayn as-Sadūsī from Abū Ma‘shar from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir. The name of Abū Ma‘shar was Najīḥ. They considered him to be weak.
Ash-Shāfi‘ī said, ‘Regarding someone who is chronically ill, very sickly or very old, who finds someone able to perform the hajj on his behalf, he possesses a certain type of ability. There are two forms of it. One is that he is able to pay someone to perform hajj on his behalf. That person performs his obligatory hajj. This is the view of ‘Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib. It is related that he told a very old man who had not performed hajj, ‘Equip a man to perform hajj on your behalf.’ This position was taken by ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad and Isḥāq. The second is that he is able to find someone to pay on his behalf and represent him in performing hajj on his behalf. According to ash-Shāfi‘ī, Aḥmad and Ibn Rāhawah, hajj is also an obligation for such a person. Abū Ḥanīfah said that the hajj is not obligatory for them. Ash-Shāfi‘ī cited as evidence what Ibn ‘Abbās related about the woman of Khath‘am who asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, Allah has obliged His slaves to perform hajj. My father is a very old man who cannot remain firm on a mount. Can I perform hajj on his behalf?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. That was during the Farewell Hajj. One variant has: ‘He cannot remain upright on a camel.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Perform hajj for him. Do you think that if your father owed a debt,
āyah and to Allah’s words: ‘Hajj to the house is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind…’ This person lacked the ability because the hajj is enjoined on those responsible for reaching the House themselves and because it is an act of worship which cannot be delegated when the ability is lacking, just as is the case with the prayer.
Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir related from Jābir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘By means of one hajj, Allah will admit three to the Garden: the deceased, the one who takes on hajj for him and the one who carries that out.’ Abu-l-Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ad-Dārāquqnī transmitted this from ‘Amr ibn Ḥuṣayn as-Sadūsī from Abū Ma‘shar from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir. The name of Abū Ma‘shar was Najīḥ. They considered him to be weak.
Ash-Shāfi‘ī said, ‘Regarding someone who is chronically ill, very sickly or very old, who finds someone able to perform the hajj on his behalf, he possesses a certain type of ability. There are two forms of it. One is that he is able to pay someone to perform hajj on his behalf. That person performs his obligatory hajj. This is the view of ‘Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib. It is related that he told a very old man who had not performed hajj, ‘Equip a man to perform hajj on your behalf.’ This position was taken by ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad and Isḥāq. The second is that he is able to find someone to pay on his behalf and represent him in performing hajj on his behalf. According to ash-Shāfi‘ī, Aḥmad and Ibn Rāhawah, hajj is also an obligation for such a person. Abū Ḥanīfah said that the hajj is not obligatory for them. Ash-Shāfi‘ī cited as evidence what Ibn ‘Abbās related about the woman of Khath‘am who asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, Allah has obliged His slaves to perform hajj. My father is a very old man who cannot remain firm on a mount. Can I perform hajj on his behalf?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. That was during the Farewell Hajj. One variant has: ‘He cannot remain upright on a camel.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Perform hajj for him. Do you think that if your father owed a debt,
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Allah ﷺ was among them and they saw him. It is also possible that this is addressed to the entire Community because His traces and signs and the Qur’an which he was given are among us in the place of the Messenger ﷺ, even if we did not see him.
Qatādah said, ‘There are two clear signs in this āyah: the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah. The Prophet of Allah has passed, and the Book of Allah remains among them as a mercy and a blessing. It contains its lawful and unlawful, and obedience and disobedience.’
The phrase ‘Whoever holds fast’ means someone who is patient and holds to Allah’s dīn and obeys Him. Then he is given success and rightly guided. Ibn Jurayj says that it means he believes in Him. It is said that it means, ‘Whoever holds to the rope of Allah,’ which is the Qur’an. The verbs aʿṣama and iʿtasama mean to hold to something to the exclusion of anything else. Anyone who clings to something is called ‘muʿṣim’ and ‘muʿtasim’. Someone who defends something is called ‘ʿāsim’. Al-Farazdaq said:
I am the son of the defenders (ʿāsimīn) of the Banū Tamīm.
[POEMS] Food is described as defending (ʿasama) someone from being hungry. The Arabs say, ‘the food kept him (ʿasama) from being hungry. That is why they call pottage (sawīq) Abū ʿĀsim.’ Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā said, ‘The Arabs called bread ʿāsim and jābir, and they also called it ʿāmir. [POEMS]
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَلَا يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَأُولَـٰئكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
102 You who believe! have taqwā of Allah with the taqwā due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.
An-Nahhās related from Murrah ibn ‘Abdullāh that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The taqwā due to Him is that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, thanked and not shown ingratitude.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It means not disobeying Him
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Allah ﷺ was among them and they saw him. It is also possible that this is addressed to the entire Community because His traces and signs and the Qur’an which he was given are among us in the place of the Messenger ﷺ, even if we did not see him.
Qatādah said, ‘There are two clear signs in this āyah: the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah. The Prophet of Allah has passed, and the Book of Allah remains among them as a mercy and a blessing. It contains its lawful and unlawful, and obedience and disobedience.’
The phrase ‘Whoever holds fast’ means someone who is patient and holds to Allah’s dīn and obeys Him. Then he is given success and rightly guided. Ibn Jurayj says that it means he believes in Him. It is said that it means, ‘Whoever holds to the rope of Allah,’ which is the Qur’an. The verbs aʿṣama and iʿtasama mean to hold to something to the exclusion of anything else. Anyone who clings to something is called ‘muʿṣim’ and ‘muʿtasim’. Someone who defends something is called ‘ʿāsim’. Al-Farazdaq said:
I am the son of the defenders (ʿāsimīn) of the Banū Tamīm.
[POEMS] Food is described as defending (ʿasama) someone from being hungry. The Arabs say, ‘the food kept him (ʿasama) from being hungry. That is why they call pottage (sawīq) Abū ʿĀsim.’ Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā said, ‘The Arabs called bread ʿāsim and jābir, and they also called it ʿāmir. [POEMS]
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَلَا يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَأُولَـٰئكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
102 You who believe! have taqwā of Allah with the taqwā due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.
An-Nahhās related from Murrah ibn ‘Abdullāh that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The taqwā due to Him is that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, thanked and not shown ingratitude.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It means not disobeying Him
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Allah ﷺ was among them and they saw him. It is also possible that this is addressed to the entire Community because His traces and signs and the Qur’an which he was given are among us in the place of the Messenger ﷺ, even if we did not see him.
Qatādah said, ‘There are two clear signs in this āyah: the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah. The Prophet of Allah has passed, and the Book of Allah remains among them as a mercy and a blessing. It contains its lawful and unlawful, and obedience and disobedience.’
The phrase ‘Whoever holds fast’ means someone who is patient and holds to Allah’s dīn and obeys Him. Then he is given success and rightly guided. Ibn Jurayj says that it means he believes in Him. It is said that it means, ‘Whoever holds to the rope of Allah,’ which is the Qur’an. The verbs aʿṣama and iʿtasama mean to hold to something to the exclusion of anything else. Anyone who clings to something is called ‘muʿṣim’ and ‘muʿtasim’. Someone who defends something is called ‘ʿāsim’. Al-Farazdaq said:
I am the son of the defenders (ʿāsimīn) of the Banū Tamīm.
[POEMS] Food is described as defending (ʿasama) someone from being hungry. The Arabs say, ‘the food kept him (ʿasama) from being hungry. That is why they call pottage (sawīq) Abū ʿĀsim.’ Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā said, ‘The Arabs called bread ʿāsim and jābir, and they also called it ʿāmir. [POEMS]
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَلَا يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَأُولَـٰئكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
102 You who believe! have taqwā of Allah with the taqwā due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.
An-Nahhās related from Murrah ibn ‘Abdullāh that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The taqwā due to Him is that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, thanked and not shown ingratitude.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It means not disobeying Him
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Juz’ 4: Sūrat Āli 'Imrān 96 – 200
& Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
1
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of what it contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
translated by
Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Downloaded via sunniconnect.com.
The Publisher have books from both Authentic and Deviant scholars. The Readers are requested to be careful and differentiate such scholars to make sure about the Authenticity of the knowledge. The sufsim mentioned here refers to early stage sufism which is entirely different from what it is today. We recommend the reader to read the book “Devil’s Deception” by Ibn Jawzi for further clarification on this issue.
© Aisha Bewley
Published by: Diwan Press Ltd.
Website: www.diwanpress.com
E-mail: [email protected]
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers.
By: Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Qurtubi
Translated by: Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley
Edited by: Abdalhaqq Bewley
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN13: 978-1-908892-96-6 (Paperback)
978-1-908892-97-3 (Casebound)
978-1-908892-98-0 (ePub & Kindle)
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
CONTENTS
Translator’s note vii
Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200 1
Sūrat an-Nisā’ – The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 23 155
Table of Contents for Āyats 276
Glossary 279
Table of Transliterations
| Arabic | Latin | Arabic | Latin |
|--------|-------|----------|-------|
| ض | d | ط | t |
| ظ | z | ع | gh |
| ث | t | غ | gh |
| ذ | dh | ف | f |
| ر | r | ق | q |
| ز | z | ك | k |
| س | s | ل | l |
| ش | sh | م | m |
| ح | h | ن | n |
| ت | th | هـ | h |
| خ | kh | و | w |
| د | d | ي | y |
| ص | s | | |
Long vowel | Short vowel
| Arabic | Latin | Examples |
|--------|--------|-------------|
| ا | ā | a [fātih] |
| و | ū | u [damm] |
| ي | i | i [kasrah] |
| ءا | aw | |
| ءي | ay | |
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
The Arabic for the āyats is from the Algerian State edition of the riwāyah of Imam Warsh from the qirā’ah of Imam Nāfī‘ of Madina, whose recitation is one of the ten mutawātir recitations that are mass-transmitted from the time of the Prophet ⌈.⌋
There are minor omissions in the text. Some poems have been omitted which the author quotes to illustrate a point of grammatical usage or as an example of orthography or the usage of a word, often a derivative of the root of the word used in the āyah, but not the actual word used. Often it is difficult to convey the sense in English. Occasionally the author explores a grammatical matter or a tangential issue, and some of these may have been shortened. English grammatical terms used to translate Arabic grammatical terms do not have exactly the same meaning, sometimes rendering a precise translation of them problematic and often obscure.
The end of a juz’ may vary by an āyah or two in order to preserve relevant passages.
Sūrah ĀL ‘Imrān – The Family of ‘Imrān 96 – 200
إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ ﴿96﴾ فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَكَانُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ۖ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا ۚ وَأَذَّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ يَأْتُواكَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَى كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يَأْتِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ ﴿97﴾ لّيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَعْلُومَاتٍ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهُمْ مِّنْ بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنعَامِ ۚ فَكُلُوا مِنهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَائِسَ الْفَقِيرَ ﴿98﴾ ثُمَّ لْيَقْضُوا تَفَثَهُمْ وَلْيُوفُوا نُذُورَهُمْ ۖ وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ ﴿99﴾ ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ حُرُمَاتِ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَهُ عِندَ رَبِّهِ ۖ وَأُحِلَّتْ لَكُمُ الْأَنْعَامُ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَاجْتَنِبُوا رِجْسَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ الزُّورِ ﴿100﴾
The first House established for mankind was that at Bakkah, a place of blessing and a guidance for all beings. In it are Clear Signs – the Maqām of Ibrāhīm. All who enter it are safe. Hajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind – those who can find a way to do it. But if anyone disbelieves, Allah is Rich Beyond Need of any being.
It is confirmed in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that Abū Dharr said, ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the first mosque established on the earth and he answered, “The Masjid al-Ḥarām.” I asked, “And then?” He said, “Al-Aqṣā.” I asked, “How long was there between them?” “Forty years,” he replied, “and then the whole earth became a mosque for you, so pray wherever you are when the time for prayer comes.”’
Mujāhid and Qaṭādah said, ‘There was no house before it.’ ʿAlī said, ‘There were many houses before it. What is meant is that it is the first house established for worship.’ Mujāhid said, ‘The Muslims and Jews boasted and the Jews said, “The temple of Jerusalem is better and greater than the Kaʿbah because it was the place of the emigration of Prophets and is in the Holy Land.” The Muslims said, “The Kaʿbah is better.” Allah then revealed this āyah. How the House was built has already been dealt with in al-Baqarah. Mujāhid said, ‘Allah created the site of this house two thousand years before the House was built.’
He created any of the earth, and its foundations are in the seventh and lowest earth. As for Al-Aqṣā, Sulaymān built it.’ An-Nasāʾī transmitted this with a sound isnāḍ from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr. The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘When Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd built the temple in Jerusalem, he asked Allah for three things. He asked Allah for judgment corresponding to His judgment and he was given it. He asked Allah for a kingdom which no one after him would have and he was given that. He asked Allah, when he finished building the temple, that anyone who approached it for the sole reason of praying in it would have his errors fall from him so that he would be like he was on the day he was born, and this was granted.’ There is some equivocation between the two hadiths because there was a long period of time between Ibrāhīm and Sulaymān. Historians say that there was more than a thousand years between them. It is said that Ibrāhīm and Sulaymān were the predecessors for what others built after them.
It is related that Ādam was the first to build the House, as was already mentioned. Then it is possible that one of his sons built al-Aqṣā forty years later. It is also possible that the angels built it with Allah’s permission. All of this is possible, and Allah knows best. ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib said, ‘Allah commanded the angels to build a house on the earth and to do tawāf of it before Ādam was created. Then Ādam built what he built of it and did tawāf of it and then the Prophets after him, and then Ibrāhīm completed its construction.’
…that at Bakkah,
Bakkah is the actual site of the House and Makkah is the rest of the town according to Mālik ibn Anas. Muḥammad ibn Shihāb said that Bakkah is the mosque and Makkah is all the Ḥaram, including the houses. Mujāhid said that Bakkah is Makkah. The bāʾ is replaced by the mīm as done in the word for ‘sticking’: lāzim for lāzib. Aḍ-Ḥaḥḥāk and al-Mu’arrij said that.
Then it is also said that Bakkah is derived from the word bakk,
which means crowding and Bakkah takes its name from the fact that the people crowd together in it during tawāf. Bakka means ‘to throttle’ and it is said that it is called that because it crushes the necks of any tyrants if they act unjustly towards it. ‘Abdullāh ibn az-Zubayr said, ‘No tyrant has ever directed evil at it without Allah breaking his neck.’
It is said that the name Makkah comes from its lack of water, and it is said that it is because it sucks (makka) the marrow from the bones through the hardship involved in reaching it. The verb makka is used for a foal suckling from its mother. A poet said:
It suckled (makkat) and no milk remained inside her.
It is said that it is called that because it sucks the one who does injustice in it, in other words destroys him. It is said that it is called that because people used to whistle (makkā) and laugh in it as in Allah’s words: ‘Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping.’ (8:35)
a place of blessing and a guidance for all beings.
Allah made it blessed by multiplying the reward of action in it. Barakah is abundant good. It is in the accusative for the ḥāl modifying what is implied by ‘established’, or an adverb of Bakkah. It is a guidance for all.
In it are Clear Signs – the Maqām of Ibrāhīm
The people of Makkah, Ibn ‘Abbās, Mujāhid and Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr read this as ‘a Clear Sign’ in the singular, meaning a Sign of tawḥīd, referring to the Maqām of Ibrāhīm alone. They said, ‘The mark of his feet in the Maqām is a Clear Sign.’ Mujāhid explained it as referring to the entire Haram and believed that its Signs include Şafā and Marwah, the Corner and the Maqām. The others read it in the plural, meaning the Maqām of Ibrāhīm, the Black Stone, the Ḥaṭīm, Zamzam and all the sacred hallmarks. Abū Ja‘far an-Nahḥās said the reading with the plural is clearer because the Signs certainly
include Ṣafā and Marwah.
Another sign is that the birds do not fly over it when they are healthy and another sign is that when someone is hunting and the game enters the Ḥaram, he leaves it be. Another sign is that when there is abundant rain at the Yemeni Corner, there is plenty in Yemen, and when it is at the Syrian corner, there is plenty in Syria. When rain covers all of the House, there is plenty in all lands. Another aspect of it is that the jamrahs, in spite of what is added to them, remain the same size.
The word Maqām comes from the verb qāma, to stand, and so it is the place where one stands. The Maqām was dealt with in al-Baqarah along with the disagreement about it. It implies: ‘one of them is the Maqām of Ibrāhīm’, as al-Akhfash said. It is related that Muḥammad ibn Yazīd said that ‘Maqām’ is an appositive for ‘Signs’. A third view is that it means: ‘They are the Maqām of Ibrāhīm’ based on a known Arabic usage. [POEM] Abu-l-‘Abbās said that the word ‘maqām’ actually indicates the plural ‘maqāmāt’ because it is a verbal noun. We see in the Qur’an: ‘Allah has sealed up their hearts and hearing’ (92:8) where ‘hearing’ is in the singular. This is strengthened by the hadith which states: ‘Ḥajj is all the Maqām of Ibrāhīm.’
All who enter it are safe.
Qatādah said, ‘That is also one of the signs of the Ḥaram.’ An-Nahhās says that is a good opinion because people are swept away all around it and no tyrant reaches it. They reached Jerusalem and destroyed it but never reached the Ḥaram.’ Allah says: ‘Do you not see what your Lord did with the Companions of the Elephant?’ (105:1) One of the people of meanings said, ‘The form of the āyah is a report while its meaning is a command. It means: “Give security to whoever enters it.”’ The same usage is seen in 2:197. Along these lines, an-Nuʿmān ibn Thābit said, ‘Anyone who commits a wrong action and merits a ḥadd punishment and then takes refuge in the Ḥaram is safe,’ based on this āyah. Allah made security mandatory for those who
enter it. That is related from a group of the early generations, including Ibn Abbās and others.
Ibn al-‘Arabī said, ‘There is weakness in the statements of all who say this for two reasons. One is that they do not understand that the āyah is about the past and does not involve the establishment of a future ruling. The second is that they do not acknowledge that its security has been violated and killing and fighting occurred after that. What Allah states cannot occur differently to that statement. So that indicates that this must have been referring to the past.’ Abū Ḥanīfah disagreed and said, ‘Anyone who seeks refuge in the Ḥaram is not given food or water nor is any business done with him nor is he spoken to until he leaves.’ His being forced to leave is not consonant with security. It is related that he said, ‘Retaliation for limbs takes place in the Haram. There is also no security in this case.’ The majority of scholars say that ḥudūd punishments may be carried out in the Ḥaram. It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ ordered the killing of Ibn Khaṭāl while he was clinging to the drapes of the Ka’bah.
Ath-Thawrī related that Ibn ‘Abbās said, ‘If someone commits a crime that merits a ḥadd punishment in the Haram, it is carried out on him. If he commits it outside of the Ḥaram and then seeks refuge in it, he is not spoken to nor is business carried out with him until he leaves the Ḥaram and then the ḥadd is carried out on him.’ This is the position of ash-Sha‘bī. This is also the argument of Kufans. Ibn ‘Abbās understands that this is what the āyah means. He was the scholar of the Community.
What is sound is that by saying that Allah is referring to the many blessings granted to anyone who is there, whoever they are, as Allah also says: ‘Do they not see that We have established a safe haven while people all round them are violently dispossessed?’ (29:67) In the Jāhiliyya, those who entered it and sought sanctuary were safe from attack and killing as will be explained in al-Mā’idah. Qatādah said, ‘In the
Jāhilīyyah, whoever entered it was safe.’
This is good. It is related that an atheist said to one of the scholars, ‘Does the Qur’an not say: “All who enter it are safe”? We have entered it and we have done such-and-such. Is not the one who enters it safe?’ He said to him, ‘Are you not one of the Arabs? What does someone mean when he says that whoever enters his house is safe? Does he not say to those who obey him, “Leave him be”? “Yes, of course,” he replied. He said, ‘That is how it is with His words: “All who enter it are safe”’ Yahyā ibn Ja‘dah said that it means he is safe from the Fire.
This is not universal because we find in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim in the hadith of intercession reported by Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī: ‘By the One Who has my soul in his hand, none of you can be more insistent in asking Allah for his rights than the believers on the Day of Rising who will ask Allah for their brothers who are in the Fire. They will say, “Our Lord, they used to fast with us, pray and perform ḥajj!” They will be told, “Bring out those you recognise.”’ The one who enters it is safe from the Fire by performing the practices connected with it, respecting it, acknowledging its right, and seeking to draw near to Allah Almighty.
Ja‘far as-Ṣādiq said, ‘Whoever enters it with purity, as the Prophets and awliyā’ entered it, is safe from Allah’s punishment.’ This is what is meant by his words ﷺ, ‘Anyone who makes ḥajj to this House and does not engage in sexual activity or wrongdoing emerges from his errors like the day his mother bore him. An accepted ḥajj has no reward but the Garden.’ Al-Ḥasan said, ‘An accepted ḥajj is that he returns abstinent in this world, desiring the Next World.’ He recited:
O Ka‘bah of Allah! The supplication of the one who seeks refuge is the supplication of one calling, in need.
He has bade farewell to those he loves and his home and come hovering between fear and hope.
If Allah generously accepts his striving,
he is saved. Otherwise he is not saved.
You are one of those whose intercession is hoped for.
Be kind to Wāfīd ibn Ḥajjāj!
It is also said that it means whoever entered it in the year of the Fulfilled ʿUmrah with Muhammad ﷺ is safe. The evidence is found in the words of the Almighty: ‘You will enter the Maşjid al-Ḥarām in safety, Allah willing.’ (48:27) It is said that the word ‘man’ (tr. as ‘all’) here refers to the non-sentient and the āyah is about the safety of game. This is odd. We see in the Revelation: ‘Some of them (minhum) go on their bellies.’ (24:45)
Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind
In the phrase ‘owed to Allah’ Allah uses the lām of the obligation and then reinforces it with “ʿalā” which is the strongest preposition in Arabic for making something obligatory. Allah uses the most comprehensive of the expressions of obligation to stress the right it has over us and the esteem owed to it. There is no disagreement about its obligatory nature. It is one of the pillars of Islam and is only obliged once in a lifetime. Some people said that it is obliged once every five years and relate about that a hadith which they trace back to the Prophet ﷺ. The hadith is false and not sound. The consensus invalidates their position.
‘Abd ar-Razzāq related from Sufyān ath-Thawrī from al-‘Alā’ ibn al-Musayyab from his father from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The Lord says, “I have expanded my slave’s provision and yet he does not visit me in iḥrām every four years.”’ It is famous from al-‘Alā’ ibn al-Musayyab ibn Rāfīʿ al-Kāhilī al-Kūfī from the children of hadith scholars. More than one related it from him. They include those who said ‘every five years’. Some said: from al-‘Alā’ from Yūnus ibn Khabbāb from Abū Saʿīd. There is disagreement about all of that.
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The atheists deny the ḥajj and say that it involves removing garments, which is contrary to modesty, running, which is contrary to gravity, and stoning the jamarahs for no purpose, which is contrary to logic. They say that all these actions are baseless because they do not recognise their wisdom or cause. They are ignorant of the fact that it is not necessary for the Lord to make His slave understand all that He commands him to do nor to acquaint him with the point of the actions He requires of him. It is incumbent on him to obey, and he must obey without seeking benefit nor asking about the goal. This is the meaning of what the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his talbīyah: ‘At Your service, truly, truly in worship and slavehood. At Your service, God of the Truth.’
The imāms related that Abū Hurayrah said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us and said, “People! The Ḥajj has been made obligatory for you, so perform it!” A man asked, “Every year, Messenger of Allah?” He was silent until the man had asked that three times. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said, “Leave me with what I have left you. Those before you were destroyed for asking too many questions and differing from their Prophets. If I command you to do something, do what you can of it. If I forbid you from doing something, then leave it.”’ (Muslim)
This hadith makes it clear that when an obligation is directed to those responsible for doing it, it is enough that they do it once and it does need to be repeated. This differs from the position of Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāyīnī. It is confirmed that his Companions said to the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, is this ḥajj of ours for just this year or for all time?’ He answered, ‘It is for all time.’ This is a text refuting those who say that it is obligatory once every five years. The ḥajj was well known among the Arabs. It was part of what they desired because of its markets, social acceptability and being part of the Ḥanīfiyyah. When Islam came, they were told to do what they
The atheists deny the ḥajj and say that it involves removing garments, which is contrary to modesty, running, which is contrary to gravity, and stoning the jamarahs for no purpose, which is contrary to logic. They say that all these actions are baseless because they do not recognise their wisdom or cause. They are ignorant of the fact that it is not necessary for the Lord to make His slave understand all that He commands him to do nor to acquaint him with the point of the actions He requires of him. It is incumbent on him to obey, and he must obey without seeking benefit nor asking about the goal. This is the meaning of what the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his talbīyah: ‘At Your service, truly, truly in worship and slavehood. At Your service, God of the Truth.’
The imāms related that Abū Hurayrah said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us and said, “People! The Ḥajj has been made obligatory for you, so perform it!” A man asked, “Every year, Messenger of Allah?” He was silent until the man had asked that three times. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said, “Leave me with what I have left you. Those before you were destroyed for asking too many questions and differing from their Prophets. If I command you to do something, do what you can of it. If I forbid you from doing something, then leave it.”’ (Muslim)
This hadith makes it clear that when an obligation is directed to those responsible for doing it, it is enough that they do it once and it does need to be repeated. This differs from the position of Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāyīnī. It is confirmed that his Companions said to the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, is this ḥajj of ours for just this year or for all time?’ He answered, ‘It is for all time.’ This is a text refuting those who say that it is obligatory once every five years. The ḥajj was well known among the Arabs. It was part of what they desired because of its markets, social acceptability and being part of the Ḥanīfiyyah. When Islam came, they were told to do what they
The atheists deny the ḥajj and say that it involves removing garments, which is contrary to modesty, running, which is contrary to gravity, and stoning the jamarahs for no purpose, which is contrary to logic. They say that all these actions are baseless because they do not recognise their wisdom or cause. They are ignorant of the fact that it is not necessary for the Lord to make His slave understand all that He commands him to do nor to acquaint him with the point of the actions He requires of him. It is incumbent on him to obey, and he must obey without seeking benefit nor asking about the goal. This is the meaning of what the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his talbīyah: ‘At Your service, truly, truly in worship and slavehood. At Your service, God of the Truth.’
The imāms related that Abū Hurayrah said, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us and said, “People! The Ḥajj has been made obligatory for you, so perform it!” A man asked, “Every year, Messenger of Allah?” He was silent until the man had asked that three times. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Then he said, “Leave me with what I have left you. Those before you were destroyed for asking too many questions and differing from their Prophets. If I command you to do something, do what you can of it. If I forbid you from doing something, then leave it.”’ (Muslim)
This hadith makes it clear that when an obligation is directed to those responsible for doing it, it is enough that they do it once and it does need to be repeated. This differs from the position of Abū Isḥāq al-Isfarāyīnī. It is confirmed that his Companions said to the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, is this ḥajj of ours for just this year or for all time?’ He answered, ‘It is for all time.’ This is a text refuting those who say that it is obligatory once every five years. The ḥajj was well known among the Arabs. It was part of what they desired because of its markets, social acceptability and being part of the Ḥanīfiyyah. When Islam came, they were told to do what they
knew and to hold to what they recognised. The Prophet ﷺ performed ḥajj before the obligatory ḥajj. He had stood at ʿArafah and did not change the Law of Ibrāhīm that had been changed by Quraysh when they stood at the Mashʿar al-Harām, saying, ‘We are the people of the Ḥaram and do not leave it. We are the Ḥums.’ This was already explained in al-Baqarah.
One of the oddest claims that I have seen made is that the Prophet ﷺ performed ḥajj twice before the Hijrah and by that the obligation was cancelled for him because he had responded to the summons of Ibrāhīm when it was said: ‘Announce the Ḥajj to mankind.’ (22:27) Aṭ-Ṭabarī said, ‘This is unlikely. When it was announced as part of his Sharīʿah: “Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind,” then it must also have been a duty for him according to that injunction. If it is said that it is only addressed to those who have not yet performed ḥajj, that is arbitrary and specific and there is no evidence for it. If someone claims that those who performed ḥajj in the religion of Ibrāhīm are not addressed by this, it is extremely unlikely.’
The Book and the Sunnah indicate that the ḥajj should be performed in a person’s own good time, not immediately. That is the final position in the school of Mālik as Ibn Khuwayzimandād mentioned, and it is the position of ash-Shāfiʿī, Muḥammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybānī, and Abū Yūsuf in one transmission. Some later Baghdadi Mālikīs believed that the obligation is immediate and it is not permitted to delay it when the ability to perform it exists. That is the position of Dāwūd. The sound view is the first one because Allah says in Sūrat al-Ḥajj: ‘Announce the Ḥajj to mankind’ (22:27) and al-Ḥajj is Makkan. He says: ‘Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by people.’ This sūrah was revealed in the year of Uḥud in Mādīnah in 3 AH and the Prophet ﷺ did not perform ḥajj until 10 AH.
As for the Sunnah, there is the hadith of Dīmām ibn Thaʿlaba as-Saʿdī of the Banū Saʿd ibn Bakr who came to the Prophet ﷺ and
asked him about Islam and he mentioned the shahādah, prayer, zakāt, fasting and ḥajj. Ibn ‘Abbās, Abū Hurayrah and Anas related it. There is a lot of mention of the ḥajj in the Sunnah. It is clearly obligatory. The hadith of Anas is better and more complete. There is disagreement about the date of this hadith. It is said that is 5 AH, 7 AH and 9 AH. Ibn Hishām mentioned from Abū ‘Ubaydah al-Wāqidī that it was in the year of the Ditch after the Confederates left.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said, ‘Part of the evidence that the ḥajj can be delayed is the consensus of scholars that if someone able to go on ḥajj delays it for a year or two, and then performs the ḥajj some years after his ability to perform it exists, then he has performed the obligatory ḥajj in its time. All agree that he is not like someone who misses the prayer until its time has passed and makes it up after its time, or someone who misses fasting Ramadān due to illness or travel and then makes it up, or like someone who invalidates his ḥajj and then makes it up. It is agreed that if someone performs the ḥajj years after he is able to do so, he is not said to be “making it up”. From this we know that there is wide scope for the time of ḥajj and that it is not immediate.’
Abū ‘Umar said, ‘All who say that ḥajj can be delayed put no time limit on that except what is related from Ṣaḥnūn who was asked about a man who had the wherewithal to make ḥajj and delayed it for some years while he was able to do it and whether that meant that he became fāsiq by delaying the ḥajj, causing his testimony to be rejected. He said it did not, even if that delay was up to sixty years. If it was more than sixty years, he was considered fāsiq and his testimony rejected.’ So he made sixty years the limit. Limits are only stipulated in the Sharī‘ah by someone who can legislate.
Ibn al-Khuwayzimandād related this from Ibn al-Qāsim. Ibn al-Qāsim and others said, ‘If he delays it for sixty years, his character is not impaired. If he delays it beyond sixty years, his character is
impaired because the Prophet ﷺ said, “The lifespan of my community is between sixty and seventy. Few exceed it.” It is as if the requirement is made urgent for him in these ten years.
Abu ‘Umar said, ‘Some people, like Saḥnūn, cite as evidence the words of the Prophet ﷺ: “The lifespan of my community is between sixty and seventy. Few exceed that.” There is no proof in that because the words deal with the majority of the ages of the community, if the hadith is sound. It contains evidence for scope for this up to the age of seventy because that is still within the lifespan of the majority. It is not proper to call someone of good character and trustworthiness impious through such a weak interpretation.’ Success is by Allah.
Scholars agree that all are addressed in general. Ibn al-‘Arabī said, ‘Even if people disagree about the application of general terms, they agree that this āyah applies to all people, male and female, except children, who are excluded by the consensus that they are excluded from the obligations of responsibility. The same applies to slaves who are also not included. They are excluded from it by the words: “those who can find a way to do it.”’ A slave lacks the ability because his master can prevent him from doing it by his right of ownership and Allah put the right of the master before His right out of kindness to His slaves. There is no disagreement about this either in the community as a whole or between the imams. We do not hasten to affirm what we do not actually know. The only evidence regarding it is the accepted consensus.’ Ibn al-Mundhir said that most of the people of knowledge agree, with the exception of the odd person whose disagreement is not considered, that if a child or slave has made ḥajj and then the child becomes an adult or the slave is freed, they still owe the ḥajj if they can find a way to do it.
Abū ‘Umar said, ‘Dāwūd disagreed with most of the fuqahā’ of the cities and leaders of tradition about slaves and said that they are required to perform ḥajj. According to the majority of scholars,
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
however, slaves are not among those addressed by this command. That is because they do not possess freedom of action and cannot perform hajj without their master’s permission. That is the same as slaves not being addressed by the requirement to attend Jumūʻah in 62:9. It is the position of most scholars except for rare exceptions. Slaves are also excluded from the obligation of giving testimony in 2:282. They are not included in that. It is also possible that children are excluded from the command to perform hajj in this āyah even though they are included in “mankind” since the pen [recording responsibility] has been lifted from them. Women are excluded from the words: “You who believe, when the prayer is called…”, despite the fact that they are among those who believe, just as slaves are excluded from this. That is the position of the fuqahāʾ of the Hijaz, Iraq, Syria and the Maghrib. It is not permitted for them to deviate in the interpretation of the Book.
If it is asked, ‘If the slave lives in the vicinity of the Masjid al-Ḥaram and his master gives him permission, why is it not necessary for him to perform hajj?’ The answer is that this question is based on consensus and it may be that there is no reason for that. But since it is confirmed that this ruling is based on consensus, we use it as evidence for the fact that any hajj he performs while still a slave is not counted as the obligatory hajj. It is related from Ibn ʻAbbās that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘If a child performs hajj and then reaches adulthood, he must perform another hajj. If a desert Arab performs hajj and then emigrates, he must perform another hajj. If a slave performs hajj and then is freed, he must perform another hajj.’
Ibn al-ʻArabī said, ‘Some of our scholars are careless and have said, “The hajj is not confirmed for a slave, even if his master has given permission, because originally he was an unbeliever and the hajj of an unbeliever is not counted. When he became a slave perpetually, he was not instructed to perform hajj.” This is unsound in three ways. The first is that we believe that the secondary rulings of the
Sharīʿah are also directed at unbelievers, and there is no disagreement that that is the view of Mālik. The second is that all acts of worship are obliged for him with respect to the prayer and fasting while he is a slave. If he had done them while an unbeliever, they would not be counted. The third is that unbelief is removed by Islam, so its ruling must also be removed. Success is by Allah.
those who can find a way to do it.
Ad-Dāraquṭnī reported that Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It was asked, “Messenger of Allah, should ḥajj be done every year?” “Rather it is one ḥajj,” he replied. He was asked, “What is ‘a way?’” He said, “Provision and a mount.”’ That is related from Anas, Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿUmar, Jābir, ʿĀ’ishah, and ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb from his father from his grandfather. ʿAli ibn Abī Ṭālib related that the Prophet said: ‘Ḥajj to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind—those who can find a way to do it.’ He said that he was asked about that and the Prophet said that it meant, ‘That you have the use of a camel.’
Ibn Mājāh also transmitted the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar in the Sunan as did Abū ʿĪsā at-Tirmidhī in the jāmīʿ. He said that it is a good hadith. According to the people of knowledge, the practice is that when a man has provision and transport, he must perform ḥajj. Things are said by the people of hadith about the memory of Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Khūzī al-Makkī. They transmitted from Wakīʿ and ad-Dāraquṭnī from Sufyān ibn Saʿīd from Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbbād that Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘A man went to the Prophet and asked, “Messenger of Allah, what makes ḥajj mandatory?” He answered, “Provision and a mount.” He asked, “Messenger of Allah, what is the state of the hājj?” He replied, “Dishevelled, ill-smelling.” Another rose and asked, “What is ḥajj?” He answered, “Clamour and shedding blood.”’ Wakīʿ said that ‘clamour’ is raising the voice with the talbiyah and ‘shedding blood’ is making the sacrifices.
Among those who said that provision and a mount are
preconditions for the hajj were ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, his son ‘Abdullāh, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, ‘Aṭā’ and Mujāhid. That is the position of ash-Shāfī‘, ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Aḥmad, Ishāq, ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Abī Salamah, and Ibn Ḥabīb. ‘Abdūs mentioned something similar from Sahnūn.
Ash-Shāfī‘ says, ‘Ability has two aspects. One is that a person is physically able to do it and has enough money to achieve the hajj. The second is that someone is disabled in his body and unable to ride, but is able to have someone perform hajj on his behalf for a wage or without a wage. This will be explained. The one who is physically able is obliged by Allah’s Book to perform hajj by Allah’s words: “those who can find a way to do it.” The one who is financially able to do it is obliged to perform the hajj by the Sunnah on the basis of the hadith related about the Khath‘amī woman. As for the one who is able to do it himself, he is the strong person who incurs, in riding a mount, no hardship beyond his ability to bear it. If this is the case at a time when he possesses provision and a mount, he is obliged to make hajj himself. If he lacks provision and transport, or either one of them, then the obligation of hajj is cancelled for him. If someone is able to walk and has provision or the ability to earn provision on the way through their skill, such as leather work, cupping or a similar trade, it is recommended that they make hajj on foot, whether man or woman. Ash-Shāfī‘ added, ‘The man has less of an excuse than a woman because he is stronger.’ They consider this to be recommended, not mandatory. If the only way he is able to get provision is by begging from people on the way, it is disliked for him to perform hajj because he becomes a burden on people.
Mālik ibn Anas said, ‘If he is both able to walk and also has provision, he must perform hajj. If he has no mount but is able to walk, there is some question. If he possesses the necessary provision, he is obliged to perform hajj. If he does not possess it, but is able to
preconditions for the hajj were ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, his son ‘Abdullāh, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, ‘Aṭā’ and Mujāhid. That is the position of ash-Shāfī‘, ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Aḥmad, Ishāq, ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Abī Salamah, and Ibn Ḥabīb. ‘Abdūs mentioned something similar from Sahnūn.
Ash-Shāfī‘ says, ‘Ability has two aspects. One is that a person is physically able to do it and has enough money to achieve the hajj. The second is that someone is disabled in his body and unable to ride, but is able to have someone perform hajj on his behalf for a wage or without a wage. This will be explained. The one who is physically able is obliged by Allah’s Book to perform hajj by Allah’s words: “those who can find a way to do it.” The one who is financially able to do it is obliged to perform the hajj by the Sunnah on the basis of the hadith related about the Khath‘amī woman. As for the one who is able to do it himself, he is the strong person who incurs, in riding a mount, no hardship beyond his ability to bear it. If this is the case at a time when he possesses provision and a mount, he is obliged to make hajj himself. If he lacks provision and transport, or either one of them, then the obligation of hajj is cancelled for him. If someone is able to walk and has provision or the ability to earn provision on the way through their skill, such as leather work, cupping or a similar trade, it is recommended that they make hajj on foot, whether man or woman. Ash-Shāfī‘ added, ‘The man has less of an excuse than a woman because he is stronger.’ They consider this to be recommended, not mandatory. If the only way he is able to get provision is by begging from people on the way, it is disliked for him to perform hajj because he becomes a burden on people.
Mālik ibn Anas said, ‘If he is both able to walk and also has provision, he must perform hajj. If he has no mount but is able to walk, there is some question. If he possesses the necessary provision, he is obliged to perform hajj. If he does not possess it, but is able to
āyah and to Allah’s words: ‘Hajj to the house is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind…’ This person lacked the ability because the hajj is enjoined on those responsible for reaching the House themselves and because it is an act of worship which cannot be delegated when the ability is lacking, just as is the case with the prayer.
Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir related from Jābir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘By means of one hajj, Allah will admit three to the Garden: the deceased, the one who takes on hajj for him and the one who carries that out.’ Abu-l-Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ad-Dārāquqnī transmitted this from ‘Amr ibn Ḥuṣayn as-Sadūsī from Abū Ma‘shar from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir. The name of Abū Ma‘shar was Najīḥ. They considered him to be weak.
Ash-Shāfi‘ī said, ‘Regarding someone who is chronically ill, very sickly or very old, who finds someone able to perform the hajj on his behalf, he possesses a certain type of ability. There are two forms of it. One is that he is able to pay someone to perform hajj on his behalf. That person performs his obligatory hajj. This is the view of ‘Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib. It is related that he told a very old man who had not performed hajj, ‘Equip a man to perform hajj on your behalf.’ This position was taken by ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad and Isḥāq. The second is that he is able to find someone to pay on his behalf and represent him in performing hajj on his behalf. According to ash-Shāfi‘ī, Aḥmad and Ibn Rāhawah, hajj is also an obligation for such a person. Abū Ḥanīfah said that the hajj is not obligatory for them. Ash-Shāfi‘ī cited as evidence what Ibn ‘Abbās related about the woman of Khath‘am who asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, Allah has obliged His slaves to perform hajj. My father is a very old man who cannot remain firm on a mount. Can I perform hajj on his behalf?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. That was during the Farewell Hajj. One variant has: ‘He cannot remain upright on a camel.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Perform hajj for him. Do you think that if your father owed a debt,
āyah and to Allah’s words: ‘Hajj to the house is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind…’ This person lacked the ability because the hajj is enjoined on those responsible for reaching the House themselves and because it is an act of worship which cannot be delegated when the ability is lacking, just as is the case with the prayer.
Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir related from Jābir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘By means of one hajj, Allah will admit three to the Garden: the deceased, the one who takes on hajj for him and the one who carries that out.’ Abu-l-Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ad-Dārāquqnī transmitted this from ‘Amr ibn Ḥuṣayn as-Sadūsī from Abū Ma‘shar from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir. The name of Abū Ma‘shar was Najīḥ. They considered him to be weak.
Ash-Shāfi‘ī said, ‘Regarding someone who is chronically ill, very sickly or very old, who finds someone able to perform the hajj on his behalf, he possesses a certain type of ability. There are two forms of it. One is that he is able to pay someone to perform hajj on his behalf. That person performs his obligatory hajj. This is the view of ‘Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib. It is related that he told a very old man who had not performed hajj, ‘Equip a man to perform hajj on your behalf.’ This position was taken by ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad and Isḥāq. The second is that he is able to find someone to pay on his behalf and represent him in performing hajj on his behalf. According to ash-Shāfi‘ī, Aḥmad and Ibn Rāhawah, hajj is also an obligation for such a person. Abū Ḥanīfah said that the hajj is not obligatory for them. Ash-Shāfi‘ī cited as evidence what Ibn ‘Abbās related about the woman of Khath‘am who asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, Allah has obliged His slaves to perform hajj. My father is a very old man who cannot remain firm on a mount. Can I perform hajj on his behalf?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. That was during the Farewell Hajj. One variant has: ‘He cannot remain upright on a camel.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Perform hajj for him. Do you think that if your father owed a debt,
āyah and to Allah’s words: ‘Hajj to the house is a duty owed to Allah by all mankind…’ This person lacked the ability because the hajj is enjoined on those responsible for reaching the House themselves and because it is an act of worship which cannot be delegated when the ability is lacking, just as is the case with the prayer.
Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir related from Jābir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘By means of one hajj, Allah will admit three to the Garden: the deceased, the one who takes on hajj for him and the one who carries that out.’ Abu-l-Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ad-Dārāquqnī transmitted this from ‘Amr ibn Ḥuṣayn as-Sadūsī from Abū Ma‘shar from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir. The name of Abū Ma‘shar was Najīḥ. They considered him to be weak.
Ash-Shāfi‘ī said, ‘Regarding someone who is chronically ill, very sickly or very old, who finds someone able to perform the hajj on his behalf, he possesses a certain type of ability. There are two forms of it. One is that he is able to pay someone to perform hajj on his behalf. That person performs his obligatory hajj. This is the view of ‘Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib. It is related that he told a very old man who had not performed hajj, ‘Equip a man to perform hajj on your behalf.’ This position was taken by ath-Thawrī, Abū Ḥanīfah and his people, Ibn al-Mubārak, Aḥmad and Isḥāq. The second is that he is able to find someone to pay on his behalf and represent him in performing hajj on his behalf. According to ash-Shāfi‘ī, Aḥmad and Ibn Rāhawah, hajj is also an obligation for such a person. Abū Ḥanīfah said that the hajj is not obligatory for them. Ash-Shāfi‘ī cited as evidence what Ibn ‘Abbās related about the woman of Khath‘am who asked the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Messenger of Allah, Allah has obliged His slaves to perform hajj. My father is a very old man who cannot remain firm on a mount. Can I perform hajj on his behalf?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. That was during the Farewell Hajj. One variant has: ‘He cannot remain upright on a camel.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Perform hajj for him. Do you think that if your father owed a debt,
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Allah ﷺ was among them and they saw him. It is also possible that this is addressed to the entire Community because His traces and signs and the Qur’an which he was given are among us in the place of the Messenger ﷺ, even if we did not see him.
Qatādah said, ‘There are two clear signs in this āyah: the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah. The Prophet of Allah has passed, and the Book of Allah remains among them as a mercy and a blessing. It contains its lawful and unlawful, and obedience and disobedience.’
The phrase ‘Whoever holds fast’ means someone who is patient and holds to Allah’s dīn and obeys Him. Then he is given success and rightly guided. Ibn Jurayj says that it means he believes in Him. It is said that it means, ‘Whoever holds to the rope of Allah,’ which is the Qur’an. The verbs aʿṣama and iʿtasama mean to hold to something to the exclusion of anything else. Anyone who clings to something is called ‘muʿṣim’ and ‘muʿtasim’. Someone who defends something is called ‘ʿāsim’. Al-Farazdaq said:
I am the son of the defenders (ʿāsimīn) of the Banū Tamīm.
[POEMS] Food is described as defending (ʿasama) someone from being hungry. The Arabs say, ‘the food kept him (ʿasama) from being hungry. That is why they call pottage (sawīq) Abū ʿĀsim.’ Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā said, ‘The Arabs called bread ʿāsim and jābir, and they also called it ʿāmir. [POEMS]
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَلَا يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَأُولَـٰئكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
102 You who believe! have taqwā of Allah with the taqwā due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.
An-Nahhās related from Murrah ibn ‘Abdullāh that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The taqwā due to Him is that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, thanked and not shown ingratitude.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It means not disobeying Him
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Allah ﷺ was among them and they saw him. It is also possible that this is addressed to the entire Community because His traces and signs and the Qur’an which he was given are among us in the place of the Messenger ﷺ, even if we did not see him.
Qatādah said, ‘There are two clear signs in this āyah: the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah. The Prophet of Allah has passed, and the Book of Allah remains among them as a mercy and a blessing. It contains its lawful and unlawful, and obedience and disobedience.’
The phrase ‘Whoever holds fast’ means someone who is patient and holds to Allah’s dīn and obeys Him. Then he is given success and rightly guided. Ibn Jurayj says that it means he believes in Him. It is said that it means, ‘Whoever holds to the rope of Allah,’ which is the Qur’an. The verbs aʿṣama and iʿtasama mean to hold to something to the exclusion of anything else. Anyone who clings to something is called ‘muʿṣim’ and ‘muʿtasim’. Someone who defends something is called ‘ʿāsim’. Al-Farazdaq said:
I am the son of the defenders (ʿāsimīn) of the Banū Tamīm.
[POEMS] Food is described as defending (ʿasama) someone from being hungry. The Arabs say, ‘the food kept him (ʿasama) from being hungry. That is why they call pottage (sawīq) Abū ʿĀsim.’ Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā said, ‘The Arabs called bread ʿāsim and jābir, and they also called it ʿāmir. [POEMS]
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَلَا يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَأُولَـٰئكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
102 You who believe! have taqwā of Allah with the taqwā due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.
An-Nahhās related from Murrah ibn ‘Abdullāh that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The taqwā due to Him is that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, thanked and not shown ingratitude.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It means not disobeying Him
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī
The General Judgments of the Qur’an and Clarification of What it Contains of the Sunnah and Āyahs of Discrimination
Abū ‘Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Farḥ al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī al-Andalusī al-Qurṭubī
Vol. 4
Juz’ 4: Sūrah Āli ‘Imrān 96 – 200 & Sūrat an-Nisā’ 1 – 23
translated by Aisha Bewley
DIWAN PRESS
Classical and Contemporary Books on Islam and Sufism
Founded in 1971
Allah ﷺ was among them and they saw him. It is also possible that this is addressed to the entire Community because His traces and signs and the Qur’an which he was given are among us in the place of the Messenger ﷺ, even if we did not see him.
Qatādah said, ‘There are two clear signs in this āyah: the Book of Allah and the Prophet of Allah. The Prophet of Allah has passed, and the Book of Allah remains among them as a mercy and a blessing. It contains its lawful and unlawful, and obedience and disobedience.’
The phrase ‘Whoever holds fast’ means someone who is patient and holds to Allah’s dīn and obeys Him. Then he is given success and rightly guided. Ibn Jurayj says that it means he believes in Him. It is said that it means, ‘Whoever holds to the rope of Allah,’ which is the Qur’an. The verbs aʿṣama and iʿtasama mean to hold to something to the exclusion of anything else. Anyone who clings to something is called ‘muʿṣim’ and ‘muʿtasim’. Someone who defends something is called ‘ʿāsim’. Al-Farazdaq said:
I am the son of the defenders (ʿāsimīn) of the Banū Tamīm.
[POEMS] Food is described as defending (ʿasama) someone from being hungry. The Arabs say, ‘the food kept him (ʿasama) from being hungry. That is why they call pottage (sawīq) Abū ʿĀsim.’ Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā said, ‘The Arabs called bread ʿāsim and jābir, and they also called it ʿāmir. [POEMS]
ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَلَا يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا ۗ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَأُولَـٰئكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
102 You who believe! have taqwā of Allah with the taqwā due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.
An-Nahhās related from Murrah ibn ‘Abdullāh that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘The taqwā due to Him is that He be obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, thanked and not shown ingratitude.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘It means not disobeying Him
