Appearance
Verse 158
إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنْ حَجَّ الْبَيْتَ أَوِ اعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا ۚ وَمَنْ تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ ١٥٨
(2:158) Surely the Ṣafā and the Marwah are among the signs of Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or performs ʿumrah thereof, there is no blame on him to go round them both; and whoever on his own accord does good, then surely Allah is Grateful, All-knowing.
Introduction
The Ṣafā and the Marwah are two places in Mecca between which a pilgrim has to perform al-saʿy (the ceremony of walking quickly seven times between the Ṣafā and the Marwah, during the ḥajj and the ʿumrah; literally to move quickly, to run). These are two hills, the distance between them reportedly being 760½ arm. al-Ṣafā (hard smooth rock); al-Marwah (hard stone). al-Shaʿā’ir (is the plural of al-shaʿīrah, sign); from it is derived the word al-mashʿar (the ḥajj station, east of Mecca); also they say, ashʿar al-hady (he marked or branded the sacrifical animal). Al-Ḥajj literally means repeated intention; in Islamic terminology it refers to the special rites collectively known as Pilgrimage of Mecca. al-Iʿtimār means to visit; it is derived from al-ʿimarah (building) because buildings thrive by visits; in Islamic language it refers to the so-called “lesser pilgrimage” to the Kaʿbah, which unlike the ḥajj, need not be performed at a particular time and whose performance involves fewer ceremonies. al-Junāḥ is deviation from truth and justice; it is used for sin and misdemeanor; thus, negation of sin or blame implies permission. al-Taṭawwuf is derived from al-ṭawf, that is, to make the rounds; it denotes a round trip, that is, a journey or walk that ends at its starting point; it need not necessarily be a circumambulation around something (although circumambulation is more obvious application of the word); it is the former meaning in which it has been used in this verse—it refers to al-saʾy, that is, walking between the Ṣafā and the Marwah seven times consecutively.
al-Taṭawwuʿ is derived from al-ṭawʿ (to do a walk willingly and gladly). Some people differentiate between al-taṭawwuʿ and al-iṭāʿah and say that the former, unlike the latter, is exclusively used for voluntarily done good deeds. If correct, this assertion might be based on the view that the obligatory deeds—because of their obligation—are probably not done willingly, unlike the voluntary and recommended actions which are done willingly by one’s own accord. But it is a far-fetched interpretation. In fact, al-ṭawʿ is opposite of al-kurh (dislike), and is not irreconcilable with obligatory deeds. God says: … so He said to it (that is, the heaven) and to the earth: Come both, willingly or unwillingly (). The characteristic meaning of the paradigm al-tafaʿul is to take to oneself, for example, tamayyaza (he took on distinguishing), taʿallama (he took on learning); in the same way taṭawwaʿa means, he took on doing good willingly. In short, al-taṭawwuʿ is not reserved, from the linguistic point of view, for voluntary, non-obligatory good deed—unless credit is given to the usage of the common people.
Commentary
Surely the Ṣafā and the Marwah are among the signs of Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or performs ʿumrah thereof, there is no blame on him to go round them both: The two hills are marked by the signs of God; they lead accordingly to Him and remind one of Him. They have been especially counted “among the signs of God” to the exclusion of other things; it shows that the word, “the signs” has not been used here in the sense in which every created thing is a sign of the Creator. They are the Divine Signs because God has made them so, by appointing them as the places of His worship; thus they remind one of God, the Creator. They are the signs for which God has prescribed especial rites of worship.
Then comes the next sentence: “so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or performs ʿumrah thereof, there is no blame on him to go round them both. The word “so” in the beginning shows that it is an offshoot of the preceding sentence. Its import is to show that walking quickly between these two hills is a part of the Islamic shariah—it does not imply that the said walking is voluntary or non-obligatory. If God had wanted to declare it being voluntary, it would have been more appropriate to praise and extol al-saʾy, rather than saying that there was no blame in it. The gist of the meaning is that—because the Ṣafā and the Marwah were among the places of the worship of God—it would do you no harm to worship Him therein. And it is the language of legislation. If God had wanted to show only its desirability, He would have said that, because the two hills were among the signs of God, He likes you to go round them.
Frequently, when the Qur’an wants to ordain an obligatory law, it uses such expressions which by themselves do not show obligation. For example, God says regarding jihād; that is better for you (); regarding fast: and that you fast is better for you (), and regarding shortening of prayer: And when you journey in the earth, there is no blame on you if you shorten the prayer ().
… and whoever on his own accord does good, then surely Allah is Grateful, All-knowing: The conjunctive “and” may be joining this sentence to any of the three phrases in the preceding one:
(1) It may connect it with “so whoever makes a pilgrimage …” In that case it would show a more general reason for the legislation of the walking between the two hills, after giving the particular reason, that is, “Surely the Ṣafā and the Marwah are among the signs of God.” According to this interpretation, “doing good on one’s own accord” would mean “obedience” in general term, and not a voluntary deed.
(2) It may be starting a new sentence, joining it to the words in the beginning of the verse. In that case, “doing good on one’s own accord” would refer to the “going round the two hills.” Thus it would show only the desirability of al-saʾy (walking quickly seven times between Ṣafā and the Marwah).
(3) Alternatively, the phrase “doing good on one’s own according” may be referring to the ḥajj and the ʿumrah, and the phrase would show the desirability of these two rites of worship.
al-Shākir (Grateful) and al-ʿAlīm (All-knowing) are two of the beautiful names of God. al-Shukr (gratefulness, thankfulness). When a beneficiary returns the benevolence of the benefactor by announcing it in words and/ or deeds, it is called gratefulness.
Someone gives you a property, and in return you praise him mentioning his benevolence, or use that property in a way he likes—and thus you show your gratefulness to him.
Now, God is the Beneficent; His beneficence is eternal and all beneficence begins from Him; none can oblige Him in any way so that He would be grateful to that person. Yet, He, in His benevolence, looks at His creatures’ good deeds as though the creatures have been beneficent to Him by doing those deeds (although, in reality the case is diametrically different; the creatures’ good deeds are actually His benefaction to them). And thus he repays those good deeds with gratefulness and benevolence, which in fact is a double benevolence. God says: Is the reward of goodness aught but goodness? (); Surely this is a reward for you, and your striving shall be recompensed (). Thus, the name “Grateful” is used for God in its real, not allegorical sense.
Examining Narrations
- One of our companions has narrated this tradition from Imam al-Ṣādiq. He says: “I asked him about walking between the Ṣafā and the Marwah whether it was obligatory or voluntary. He said: ‘Obligatory.’ I said: ‘Does not God say: so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or performs ʿumrah thereof, there is no blame on him to go round them both?’ He said: ‘It was in the ʿumrah of Qaḍāʾ; that is, the Messenger of God had stipulated with them (that is, the pagans of Mecca) that they would remove the idols (for the period of ʿumrah); and one of his companions was engaged otherwise until the idols were returned (to their places): (The Imam) said: ‘Then God revealed: Surely the Ṣafā and the Marwah are among the signs of Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or performs ʿumrah thereof, there is no blame on him to go round them both, that is, even when there were idols on them.’ ” (al-ʿAyyāshī)
Author’s comment: A nearly similar tradition is found in al-Kāfī.
- Imam al-Ṣādiq says describing the ḥajj of the Prophet: “After circumambulating around the House and praying its two rakahs, (the Prophet) recited: Surely the Ṣafā and the Marwah are among the signs of Allah. (Then he said:) ‘So I shall begin with that which God, the Mighty, the Great, has begun with (that is, from the Ṣafā).’ And verily the Muslims used to think that walking between the Ṣafā and the Marwah was something invented by the polytheists; so God revealed: Surely the Ṣafā and the Marwah are among the signs of Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage or performs ʿumrah thereof, there is no blame on him to go round them both.” (al-Kāfī)
Author’s comment: Obviously, there is no contradiction between the two traditions regarding the reason of the revelation of the verse. The words of the Prophet, “I shall begin with that which God, the Mighty, the Great, has begun with,” show the basis of legislation. We have narrated, in the story of Hagar and her running seven times between the Ṣafā and the Marwah, that the ritual of al-saʾy started from that.
- ʿĀmir al-Shaʿbī said: “There was an idol, called Asāf, on the Ṣafā, and another, called Nāʾilah, on the Marwah. The people of (the days of) ignorance, after circumambulating the House, used to walk between the two (hills) and touch and wipe the two idols. When the Messenger of God (peace be on him) arrived at Mecca, they (that is, the Muslims) said: ‘O Messenger of God! (As for) the Ṣafā and the Marwah, surely the walking around them was done because of the two idols, and walking around them is not among the signs (of God).’ Then God revealed: Surely the Safā and the Marwah … Thus, He (especially) mentioned the Ṣafā because of the idol that was on it, and affirmed the Marwah because of the idol that rose from it.” (al-Durr al-manthūr)
Author’s comment: Both sects have narrated numerous traditions having the above-mentioned themes. Their implication is that the verse was revealed in the year when the Muslims performed the ḥajj, while the Chapter of the Cow is the first one revealed at Medina. It may therefore be inferred that the verses are unconnected with the preceding verses (of the qiblah) which were revealed, as described earlier, in the second year of hijrah; nor are they related to the verses in the beginning of the chapter which were revealed in the first year of hijrah. It shows that the verses were revealed in various contexts, not in one.
In the 7th year of hijrah. (Trans.) ↩︎