Verse 204

See 2:153.

Commentary:

The glorification of God, or the celebration of His praises enjoined in the preceding verses is to be particularly observed in the appointed number of days to be spent in Mina after the Hajj is over. These are the 11th, the 12th and the 13th day of Dhul-Hijjah during which the pilgrims are required, so far as possible, to stay at Mina and pass their time in God’s glorification. In these days they are also required, as a symbol of the driving out of Satan, to cast pebbles daily at the three pillars so long as they stay there. These are called ایام التشریق i.e. the days of beauty and brightness.

The clause, whoso hastens to leave in two days, refers to the stay in Mina. If a pilgrim leaves Mina two days earlier or stays behind for two days more, no sin shall attach to him, provided everything he does is done with good intention, acting righteously and God-fearingly.

The verse ends with the clause, and fear Allah and know that you shall be brought together before Him, to bring home to the reader or the pilgrim that the underlying object of the Pilgrimage is تقوی, the very word with which the Quran began its commandments about Hajj in 2:197, thus emphasizing that mere outward observance of certain rites is nothing unless they are accompanied by تقوی or the spirit of righteousness which must underlie all actions of man.

The clause, واعلموا انکم الیه تحشرون translated above as, know that you shall all be brought together before Him, is also intended to hint that the gathering in Hajj is not meant for the performance of certain rites and ceremonies but, as it were, for meeting God. In this case, the clause would be rendered as, "know that (in Hajj) you are brought together (i.e. the purpose of your gathering is) to meet God" and you must, therefore, behave accordingly. The gathering in Hajj is truly like the حشر (gathering) on the great Day of Judgement.

Now that the description of Hajj as given in these verses has come to an end, it would be appropriate to give here a brief but collective note on the wisdom and the significance of this act of worship and devotion. The Pilgrimage is indeed a great spiritual ordinance. According to the Quran, the Ka‘bah is the first house of worship that was built for mankind (3:97). It dates not from Abraham, who simply rebuilt it, but from Adam. The Quran speaks of it as "the Ancient House" (22:30, 34). A Jewish tradition also says that Abraham built "the altar which Adam had built, which had been destroyed by the waters of the Deluge, which Noah had again builded, and which had, been destroyed in the age of divisions" (The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel translated by J. W. Ethebridge, London, 1862, p. 226). The Ka‘bah is the only altar that answers this description; there is no other place so ancient. It was the purpose of God that men from all quarters should assemble at this central house and thus be reminded of their common humanity and common relation with the Lord of the worlds. Differences which divided one nation from another were to be forgotten and all drawn closer to one another in one common bond. The Hajj provides pilgrims of different lands and diverse nationalities with an excellent opportunity to cultivate acquaintance with one another and discuss matters of common interest. This purpose has been made all the more accessible by ordering pilgrims to pass the days of Hajj, and the days following, not within the four walls of Mecca but out in the open desert at Mina, Muzdalifah and ‘Arafat and back again in Mina.

The different objects and places which play an important part in Pilgrimage are spoken of in the Quran as شعائرالله(2:159; 5:3; 22:33) or the Signs of God, which shows that they are meant by God to serve as symbols to impress upon the minds of pilgrims their inward significance.

The Ka‘bah or the Baitullah (the House of God), the very first house of worship round which thousands of devout pilgrims perform the circuit and towards which they all turn while offering their Prayers wherever they be, recalls to their mind the Unity and Majesty of God upon Whom depends all creation. It also reminds one of the unity of mankind.

The act of running between the Safa and the Marwah calls to the minds of pilgrims the pathetic story of Hagar and Ishmael, reminding them how God provides for his helpless servants even in the solitude of a great wilderness.

Mina is a name derived from the word ’umniyyah which means "an object" or "a desire". This reminds the pilgrim of the fact that he goes there with the "object" or the "desire" of meeting God. From Mina the pilgrim proceeds to Muzdalifah which means "nearness" and reminds him that the object with which he had set out has drawn "near". The other name of Muzdalifah is Mash‘arul-Haram, meaning the sacred symbol. This also hints that the final stage is near. From Muzdalifah, the pilgrim proceeds to ‘Arafat, the root-meaning of which is "to recognize". This reminds him that he has now reached the stage of "recognition" where he has "recognized" or known the One Lord and has met Him.

Again, the place chosen for this great concourse of the Faithful is a barren waste, devoid of all vegetation, as the Quran itself states (14:38). The only things that are met with there are sand, pebbles, rocks and rugged hillocks. Such a place has been chosen to bring home to us the fact that it possesses absolutely no attraction for which one might visit it. If there is anything for which one should go there, it is God and God alone. This is why in the present verse the Quran says, "know that you are being gathered here (not for any worldly object but) to meet Him".

Ihram reminds one of the Day of Resurrection. Like the shroud of a dead body, the pilgrim is covered only with two unsewn sheets, one for the upper part of the body and the other for the lower; and he also has to remain bareheaded. This condition is to remind him that he has here, as it were, risen from the dead. The pilgrims gathered together at ‘Arafat truly present the spectacle of the Day of Resurrection—men suddenly risen from the dead in their white shrouds and assembled in the presence of their Lord.

The casting of pebbles at the three pillars at Mina—known as Dunya, Wusta and ‘Aqabah, is also an interesting representation. It reminds the pilgrim of the three stages through which man has to pass and which have been referred to in the Quran as the three stages of human life, viz. (1) the present world, or Dunya as it is called, which is symbolized by the first pillar, significantly called Jamratud-Dunya, i.e. the pillar situated near; (2) the grave or the middle stage lying between this world and the next, the pillar corresponding to which is called Jamratul-Wusta, i.e. the middle pillar; and (3) the next world (known also as عقبی ‘Uqba) which is symbolized by the third pillar, which is accordingly called Jamratul-‘Aqabah, i.e. the pillar of the distant hillock that comes after the others. The casting of pebbles at these pillars is also symbolic of Satan being pelted. Evil thoughts should be driven out of one’s mind just as God has driven away Satan from His presence.

The animals sacrificed are reminders of the great sacrifice of his son Ishmael offered by Abraham, and teach, in symbolic language, that man should ever be willing not only to sacrifice himself but also his wealth and property and even children in the way of God out of love for Him.

Pilgrims perform seven circuits round the Ka‘bah, run seven times between the Safa and the Marwah and cast seven pebbles at the pillars at Mina. The number seven being regarded by the Arabs as a symbol of perfection (Aqrab), the pilgrim is thereby reminded that in Pilgrimage, as in all other things, he should not be satisfied with half measures. He should always aim at perfection and get it. It is significant that the stages of spiritual progress which lead man to perfection and which have been detailed in 23:2-12 are also seven.

In short, the various rites of the Hajj and the objects that play a part therein are all emblematic and are replete with great and momentous lessons, but only for those who care to meditate.