Аль-Бакара 2:108–159

When the Meccans asked [the Prophet] to enlarge the size of Mecca and make Safā full of gold, the following was revealed: Or do you desire to question your Messenger as Moses was questioned, by his people, aforetime?, when they asked him to show them God openly among other things; whoever exchanges belief for unbelief, taking the latter in place of the former by refraining from contemplating the clear proofs and by requesting others instead, has surely strayed from the even way, meaning, he has mistaken the proper path (al-sawā‘ essentially means al-wasat, ‘middle way’).

Many of the People of the Scripture long that (law, ‘[if only] that’, represents [the import of] the verbal noun) they might make you disbelievers, after you have believed, from the envy (hasadan is the object denoting reason), being, of their own souls, that is to say, their wicked souls have prompted them to this [attitude]; after the truth, with regard to the Prophet (s), has become clear to them, in the Torah; yet pardon, leave them be, and be forgiving, stay away, and make no encroachments against them, till God brings His command, concerning fighting them; truly God has power over all things.

And perform the prayer, and pay the alms; whatever good, in the way of obedience, such as [observing] kinship and charity, you shall offer for your own souls, you shall find it, that is, its reward, with God; assuredly God sees what you do, and will requite you for it.

And they say, ‘None shall enter Paradise except those who are Jews (hūd is the plural of hā’id) or Christians’: this is what the Jews of Medina and the Christians of Najrān said when they disputed with the Prophet (s), each party separately claiming Paradise for its members exclusively. Such, sayings, are their desires, their false passions. Say, to them: ‘Produce your proof, your evidence for this, if you speak truly’, in this matter.

Nay, but, others will also enter Paradise, namely, whoever submits his purpose to God, that is, adheres to His commands (wajh, ‘face’ [sc. ‘purpose’], is here mentioned because it is the most noble part of the body, so that [when it has submitted] there is all the more reason for the other parts [to follow]), being virtuous, affirming God’s Oneness, his reward is with his Lord, the reward of his deeds being Paradise, and no fear shall befall them, neither shall they grieve, in the Hereafter.

The Jews say, ‘The Christians stand on nothing’, that can be used as support [for their claims], and they rejected Jesus; and the Christians say, ‘The Jews stand on nothing’, that can be used as support [for their claims], and they rejected Moses; yet they, both groups, recite the Scripture, revealed to them: in the Scripture of the Jews there is the confirmation of Jesus, and in that of the Christians there is the confirmation of Moses (yatlūna’l-kitāba, ‘they recite the Scripture’: the sentence is a circumstantial qualifier). Thus, in the way that these have said, the ignorant, from among the Arabs and others, say the like of what these say (this last phrase [mithla qawlihim, ‘the like of what they say’] is the explication of dhālika, ‘that [way]’): that is to say, to every person of religion they would say, ‘You have no basis’; God shall decide between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding their differences, in religion and will admit the confirmer into Paradise and the falsifier into the Fire.

And who does greater evil — that is, none does more evil — than he who bars God’s places of worship, so that His Name be not invoked in them, in prayer and praise, and strives to ruin them?, through destruction and impeding people from them: this was revealed to inform of the Byzantines’ destruction of the Holy House [sc. Jerusalem], or [it was revealed] when the idolaters barred the Prophet (s) from entering Mecca in the year of the battle of Hudaybiyya; such men might never enter them, save in fear (illā khā’ifīna is a predicate, also functioning as a command, that is to say, ‘Frighten them by threats of waging war against them, so that not one of them shall enter it feeling secure’); for them in this world is degradation, debasement through being killed, taken captive and forced to pay the jizya; and in the Hereafter a mighty chastisement, namely, the Fire.

The following was revealed either when the Jews criticised the change of the direction of prayer [qibla], or concerning the supererogatory prayers on animal-back during journeys, which one may pray in any direction: To God belong the East and the West, that is, the entire earth, because these two [directions] represent both sides of it [the earth]; whithersoever you turn, your faces in prayer by His command, there is the Face of God, the direction of prayer with which He is pleased. Lo! God is Embracing, His bounty embracing all things, Knowing, how to manage His creation.

And they, the Jews and the Christians, and those that claim that the angels are God’s daughters, say (read wa-qālū or [simply] qālū) ‘God has taken to Himself a son’; God says: Glory be to Him!, as a way of exalting Himself above this; Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, as possessions, creatures and servants, and this sovereignty contradicts having a child, and is expressed by [the particle] mā, ‘all that’, in order to include all [creation] that is not rational; all obey His will, submitting to that which is required from each one of them: here the emphasis is on rational beings.

Creator of the heavens and the earth, making them exist without any exemplary precedent; and when He decrees, wills, a thing, to exist, He but says to it ‘Be’ and it is, that is to say, it becomes (fa-yakūnu: a variant reading has fa-yakūna, on account of it being the response [in the subjunctive mood] to the jussive statement).

And they, that is the disbelievers of Mecca, who do not know, say, to the Prophet (s): ‘Why does God not speak to us?, [to say] that you are His Messenger; Why does a sign not come to us?’, of the sort we have requested in order to show your sincerity. So, in the same way that these [disbelievers] have spoken, spoke those before them, from among past communities, to their prophets, the like of what they say, in [their] obstinacy and demand for signs; their hearts are much alike, in terms of unbelief and stubbornness: this is meant as consolation for the Prophet (s). Yet We have made clear the signs to a people who are certain, [a people] who know that these are [God’s] signs and so they believe in them, for to request other signs would be obduracy.

We have sent you, Muhammad (s), with the truth, the guidance, a bearer of good tidings, of Paradise, for those who respond to this [guidance], and warner, of the Fire, to those who do not respond to it. You shall not be asked about the inhabitants of Hell-fire, that is, about why the disbelievers did not believe, for your responsibility is only to deliver the Message (a variant reading of lā tus’al is lā tas’al, ‘do not ask’, with the final apocopation of the vowel on account of it being an imperative).

Never will the Jews be pleased with you, neither the Christians, not until you follow their creed, their religion, Say: ‘God’s guidance, that is, Islam, is the true guidance’, besides which there is only error. And if you were (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) to follow their whims, hypothetically speaking, [whims] to which they are calling you, after the knowledge, the Divine revelation, that has come to you, you shall have against God neither friend, to protect you, nor helper, to defend you against Him.

Those to whom We have given the Scripture (this is the subject of the sentence), and who recite it with true recitation, that is, who recite it as it was revealed (haqqa tilāwatihi, ‘its true recitation’, is a circumstantial qualifier; haqqa is in the accusative because it is the object of the verbal noun), they believe in it (this is the predicate): this was revealed concerning a group of Ethiopians that presented themselves [to the Prophet] and accepted Islam; and whoever disbelieves in it, that is, in the revealed Book, by distorting it, they shall be the losers, because they will be destined for the Fire, made everlasting for them.

O Children of Israel, remember My favour wherewith I favoured you, and that I have preferred you over all the worlds: a similar verse has already been mentioned.

And beware of, fear, a day when no soul shall for another, on this [Day] be requited, that is, [when no soul for another] shall be of any avail, and no compensation, no ransom, shall be accepted from it, nor any intercession shall benefit it, neither shall they be helped, against God’s chastisement.

And, mention, when his Lord tested, tried, Abraham (Ibrāhīm: also read Ibrāhām) with certain words, with certain commands and prohibitions with which He charged him: it is said that these included the rituals of the Pilgrimage, the rinsing of the mouth, snuffing up water into the nostrils [to clean them], cleaning of the teeth, trimming facial hair, combing of the hair, trimming the fingernails, shaving armpit and pubic hair, circumcision and washing one’s private parts after elimination; and he fulfilled them, he performed them thoroughly; He, God, exalted, said, to him: ‘I make you a leader, an exemplar in religion, for the people.’ Said he, ‘And of my seed?’, my progeny, make leaders [from among them]; He said, ‘My covenant, of leadership, shall not reach the evildoers’, the disbelievers from among them: this indicates that [the covenant] will reach only those who are not evildoers.

And when We appointed the House, the Ka‘ba, to be a place of visitation, to which they flock from every direction, for the people, and a sanctuary, of safety for them from the injustice and attacks that befall other places: a person could come across his father’s killer there, and yet not act violently against him; and: ‘Take (ittakhidhū is also read ittakhadhū, making it a predicate), O people, to yourselves Abraham’s station, the founding stone he used when building the House, for a place of prayer’, so that you perform two units of prayer for the circumambulation; And We made a covenant with Abraham and Ishmael, We commanded them: ‘Purify My House, of graven images, for those that shall go round it and those that cleave to it, in ritual residence, to those who bow and prostrate themselves’, that is, those who pray: (al-rukka‘ and al-sujūd are the plurals of rāki‘, ‘one bowing’, and sājid, ‘one prostrated’, respectively).

And when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, make this, place, a land secure, in which there is safety: God granted him his request, making it a sanctuary in which no human blood is shed, no injustice is committed towards anyone, no prey is hunted and which is never deserted in any of its parts; and provide its people with fruits: something which actually happened when there came itinerants from as far as Syria, whereas before, it had been devoid of any vegetation or water; such of them as believe in God and the Last Day’ (this phrase stands in place of its people, and they are here singled out for mention in the request in accordance with God’s saying My covenant shall not reach the evildoers); He, exalted, said, ‘And whoever disbelieves, I will also provide with fruits, to him I shall give enjoyment (read either umti‘uhu or umatti‘uhu), by granting him sustenance in this life, a little, the length of his life, but then I shall compel him, I shall drive him in the Hereafter to the chastisement of the Fire, so that he cannot find an escape — how evil a journey’s end!’, a place to which to return.

And, mention, when Abraham raised up the foundations, the supports or the walls, of the House, building it (min al-bayt, ‘of the House’, is semantically connected to yarfa‘u, ‘raises up’), and Ishmael with him (wa-Ismā‘īlu is a supplement to Ibrāhīmu), both of them saying: ‘Our Lord! Receive this, building, from us. Truly You are the Hearing, of words, the Knowing, of deeds.

Our Lord! And make us submissive, compliant, to You and, make, of our seed, our progeny, a community, a people, submissive to You (min [in the phrase min dhurriyyatinā, ‘of our seed’] here is partitive, and is used here in accordance with God’s above-mentioned saying My covenant shall not reach the evildoers); and show us, teach us, our holy rites, our ceremonies for worship or for the pilgrimage, and relent to us. Surely You are the Relenting, the Merciful: they asked Him to turn towards them, despite their [moral] impeccability, out of humbleness and in order to teach their progeny.

Our Lord! And send among them, the people of this House, a messenger, one of them and God granted him this petition with [the sending of] Muhammad (s), who shall recite to them Your signs, the Qur’ān, and teach them the Book, the Qur’ān, and Wisdom, that is, what the former contains of judgments, and purify them, cleanse them of idolatry; You are the Mighty, the Victor, the Wise, in His creation.

Who therefore, meaning ‘none’, shrinks from the religion of Abraham, abandoning it, except he who fools himself?, that is to say, either the one who ignores that his soul has been created for God, and that it is obliged to worship Him, or the one who treats it with frivolity and degrades it. Indeed We chose him, We elected him, in this world, for prophethood and friendship, and in the Hereafter he shall be among the righteous, those of the high stations [al-darajāt al-‘ulā, cf. Q. 20:75].

And mention: When his Lord said to him, ‘Submit’, obey God and devote your religion purely to Him, he said, ‘I have submitted to the Lord of the Worlds’.

And Abraham enjoined (wassā; may also be read awsā) upon his sons this, creed, and [so did] Jacob, upon his sons, saying: ‘My sons, God has chosen for you the [true] religion, the religion of submission [to God] (islām), see that you die not save in submission: he forbade them from abandoning this submission [to God], and enjoined them to adhere firmly to it until death overtook them.

When the Jews said to the Prophet (s), ‘Do you not know that on the day of his death Jacob charged his sons with Judaism?’, the following was revealed: Or, were you witnesses, present, when death came to Jacob? When (idh, ‘when’, substitutes for the preceding idh) he said to his sons, ‘What will you worship after me?’, after I die?; They said, ‘We will worship your God and the God of your fathers Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac (in recognition of the predominant [mention of the father figures] Ishmael is also counted as a father, and also because the status of an uncle is akin to that of a father), One God (ilāhan wāhidan, ‘One God’, substitutes for ilāhaka, ‘your God’), to Him we submit’ (the initial am [of the phrase am kuntum, ‘Or, were you …’] is similar to the hamza of denial [sc. a-kuntum], the sense being, ‘You were not present at his death, so how do you ascribe to him what does not befit him?’).

That (tilka, is the subject of this sentence and denotes Abraham, Jacob and his sons, and is feminine because it agrees with the gender of its predicate) is a community that has passed away, has gone before; theirs is what they have earned, the reward for their deeds (lahā mā kasabat, theirs is what they have earned’, constitutes the commencement of a new sentence) and yours (the Jews are being addressed here) is what you have earned; you shall not be asked about what they did, in the same way that they will not be asked about what you did, this latter statement being an affirmation of the former.

And they say, ‘Be Jews or Christians (the particle aw is for detail; the first of these is the saying of the Medinan Jews, while the second is that of the Christians of Najrān), and you shall be guided’. Say, to them: ‘Nay, we follow, rather the creed of Abraham, a hanīf (hanīfan is a circumstantial qualifier referring to Ibrāhīma, that is to say, one that inclines away from all other religions to the upright religion); and he was not of the idolaters’.

Say: (this address is to the believers) ‘We believe in God, and in that which has been revealed to us, the Qur’ān, and revealed to Abraham, the ten scrolls, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, his sons, and that which was given to Moses, the Torah, and Jesus, the Gospel, and the prophets, from their Lord, of Books and signs, we make no division between any of them, believing in some and disbelieving in others in the manner of Jews and Christians, and to Him we submit’.

And if they, the Jews and the Christians, believe in the like (mithl, ‘the like’ is extra) of what you believe in, then they are truly guided; but if they turn away, from belief in it, then they are clearly in schism, in opposition to you; God will suffice you, O Muhammad (s), against them, and their schisms; He is the Hearer, of their sayings, the Knower, of their circumstances: God sufficed him [with regard to them] by killing Qurayza, expelling Nadīr and exacting the jizya from them.

The mark of God (sibghata’Llāhi: a verbal noun reaffirming the earlier āmannā, and it is in the accusative, because of the verbal construction implied, that is to say, sabaghanā’Llāhu, ‘God has marked us’): this denotes His religion, the one towards which He made human beings naturally inclined, as it leaves its mark on a person, in the same way that a dye leaves its mark on a garment; and who has, that is, none [has], a better mark (sibghatan, ‘marking’, is for specification) than God? And Him we worship: the Jews said to the Muslims, ‘We are the people of the first Book and our direction of prayer (qibla) is more ancient, and prophets were never sent from among the Arabs; if Muhammad were a prophet, he would have been one of us’. Thus, the following was revealed:

Say, to them: ‘Would you then dispute with us concerning God, that He chose a prophet from among the Arabs, and He is our Lord and your Lord?, and so it is for Him to choose whom He will, Our deeds belong to us, for which we will be requited, and to you belong your deeds, for which you will be requited, so that it is not improbable that among our deeds there will be those for which we will deserve to be honoured; and to Him we are sincerely devoted, in religion and in deed, unlike you, hence, we are more worthy to be chosen (the hamza [of a-tuhājjūnanā, ‘would you then dispute’] is for rejection, and the three clauses that follow it are all circumstantial qualifiers).

Or, nay, do you say (taqūlūna, also read yaqūlūna, ‘do they say?’): ‘Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and the Tribes — they were Jews, or they were Christians?’ Say, to them: ‘Have you then greater knowledge, or has God?, that is, God has greater knowledge; He dissociated Abraham from both [groups], when He said, Abraham was not a Jew, nor a Christian [Q. 3:67]; and those mentioned with him [Abraham] are his followers [in not belonging to either group]. And who does greater injustice than he who conceals, hides from people, a testimony, he has, received from God?, that is, there is none more unjust than him: these are the Jews, for they concealed God’s testimony about Abraham’s pure faith in the Torah; And God is not heedless of what you do’: [this is] a threat for them.

That is a community that has passed away; theirs is what they have earned, and yours is what you have earned; you shall not be asked about what they did: a similar [verse] has already been mentioned above.

The fools, the ignorant, among the people, that is, the Jews and the idolaters, will say, ‘What, matter, has turned them, the Prophet (s) and the believers, from the direction they were facing in their prayers formerly?’, this being the Holy House (bayt al-maqdis, sc. Jerusalem); the sīn [of sa-yaqūlu, ‘they will say’] denotes the future tense and informs of the Unseen. Say: ‘To God belong the East and the West, that is, all directions. Thus He commands that they face whichever direction He wills, and there can be no objection. He guides whomever He will, His guidance being, to a straight path’, that is, the religion of Islam, and you are among these [guided ones].

Thus, in the same way that We guided you to it, We appointed you, O community of Muhammad (s), a midmost community, excellent and upright, that you might be witnesses to the people, on the Day of Resurrection, that their messengers delivered [the Message] to them; and that the Messenger might be a witness to you, that he delivered [the Message] to you, and We did not appoint, make, the direction, for you now, the direction, you were facing, that is the Ka‘ba: the Prophet (s) used to face it in prayer, but when he emigrated he was commanded to face the Holy House [of Jerusalem], in order to win the hearts of the Jews. He prayed in this direction for sixteen or seventeen months before he changed direction; except that We might know, [that it become] manifest knowledge, who followed the Messenger, and believed in him, from him who turned on his heels, and returned to unbelief doubting the religion and thinking that the Prophet (s) was confused about this issue; and a number of them apostatised as a result of this— though it, the change of direction, were (wa-in, ‘though’, is softened, and its noun apocopated, originally being: wa-innahā) a grave thing, troublesome for people, save for those, of them, whom God has guided; but God would never cause your faith, that is, your prayers towards the Holy House [of Jerusalem], to be wasted, but He will reward you for them (the reason that this [verse] was revealed was that some had asked about the status of those that had died before the change of direction [of prayer]); truly, God is Gentle with, believing, people, Merciful, when He does not let their deeds go to waste (al-ra’fa means ‘intensity of mercy’, and is mentioned first to allow for the end rhyme of the verse [with the preceding one]).

We have indeed (qad, ‘indeed’, is for affirmation) seen you turning your face about in the, direction of the, heaven, looking around for the Revelation and longing for the command to face the Ka‘ba: he [the Prophet] wished for this because it was the prayer-direction of Abraham and would be more conducive to the submission of the Arabs [to Islam]; now We will surely turn you to a direction that shall satisfy you, that you will love. Turn your face, in prayer, towards the Sacred Mosque, that is, the Ka‘ba, and wherever you are (addressing the [Muslim] community) turn your faces, in prayer, towards it. Those who have been given the Scripture know that it, the change towards the Ka‘ba, is the, fixed, truth from their Lord, on account of the description in their Scripture of how the Prophet (s) would re-orient himself to it; God is not heedless of what you do, O believers, when you obey His command (alternatively, ta‘malūna, ‘you do’, can be read ya‘malūna, ‘they do’, in other words [it would be referring to] the Jews’ denial of the matter concerning the direction of prayer).

Yet if (wa-la-in: the lām is for oaths) you should bring to those who have been given the Scripture every sign, about your truthfulness in the matter of the direction of prayer, they will not follow your direction, out of obduracy, and you are not a follower of their direction (this is a categorical negation of his [the Prophet’s] desire that they become Muslims and of their desire that he return to their direction of prayer; neither are they, the Jews and the Christians, followers of one another’s direction. If you were to follow their whims, the ones to which they summon you, after the knowledge, the revelation, that has come to you, then you, if, hypothetically, you were to follow them, will surely be among the evildoers.

Those to whom We have given the Scripture, they recognise him, Muhammad (s), as they recognise their sons, because of the descriptions of him in their Scripture: [‘Abd Allāh] Ibn Salām said, ‘I recognised him the moment I saw him, as I would my own son; but my recognition of Muhammad (s) was more intense’; even though there is a party of them that conceal the truth, that is, his description, while they know, this [truth] which you [Muhammad (s)] follow.

The truth comes from your Lord; then be not among the doubters, who doubt it, that is to say, ‘[be not] of such a disposition’, which is more eloquent than merely saying, ‘do not waver’.

Every person, of every community, has his direction (wijha), [his] qibla, to which he turns (muwallīhā, ‘he turns to it’, is also read as muwallāhā, ‘he is made to turn to it’), in his prayers, so vie with one another in good works, strive with acts of obedience and acceptance of these. Wherever you may be, God will bring you all together, gathering you on the Day of Resurrection and requiting you for your deeds; surely God has power over all things.

From whatever place you issue, on a journey, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; it is the truth from your Lord. God is not heedless of what you do (ta‘malūna, ‘you do’, may also be read as ya‘malūna, ‘they do’, as already appears above [sc. 2:144]; its repetition is intended to point out that the stipulation applies equally to being on a journey or otherwise).

From whatever place you issue, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you may be, turn your faces towards it (all of which is being repeated for emphasis), so that there be not any argument from the people, the Jews or the idolaters, against you, [so that there be not] any cause for contention regarding the change to a different direction of prayer. In this way, their contentions against you will cease to exist, both [the contentions] of the Jews when they say, ‘He [Muhammad (s)] rejects our religion, but follows our direction of prayer’, and of the idolaters when they say, ‘He [Muhammad (s)] claims to follow the creed of Abraham, but he contravenes his [Abraham’s] qibla’; excepting the evildoers among them, acting in obstinacy, who will say, ‘He [Muhammad (s)] only changed to this direction because of his [natural] inclination towards the [idolatrous] religion of his forefathers’. The exceptive statement [indicated by illā] is a continuous one, the meaning being: ‘No one will have anything to say against you, except for what these people say’; and do not fear them, do not fear their arguing [with you] regarding the change to it [the Ka‘ba], but fear Me, by complying with My command; and that I may perfect My grace upon you, by guiding you to the principal rituals of your religion, and that you may be guided, to the truth (wa-li-utimma, ‘that I may perfect’, is a supplement to li-allā yakūna, ‘that there be not’).

As also We have sent (this [verbal clause ka-mā arsalnā, ‘as We have sent’] is semantically connected to wa-li-utimma [of the previous verse], that is to say, ‘[Also We have sent] by way of perfection’); as it [My grace] has been perfected by Our sending, among you, of yourselves, Muhammad (s), a messenger, to recite Our verses, the Qur’ān, to you and to purify you, to cleanse you from idolatry, and to teach you the Book, the Qur’ān, and wisdom, the rulings therein, and to teach you what you knew not.

So remember Me, through prayer, glorification and the like, I will remember you: this is said to mean, ‘I will reward you’; in a hadīth about God [that He says]: ‘whoever remembers Me in himself, I will remember him in Myself, and whoever remembers Me in an assembly, I will remember him in an Assembly more excellent than his’; and be thankful to Me, for My grace, by being obedient, and be not ungrateful towards Me, through disobedience.

O you who believe, seek help, regarding the Hereafter, through patience, in obedience and afflictions, and prayer (He singles it out for mention on account of its frequency and its greatness); surely God is with the patient, helping them.

And say not of those slain in God’s way, that, ‘They are dead’; rather they are living, their spirits are, according to a hadīth, contained in green birds that take wing freely wherever they wish in Paradise; but you are not aware, [but you] do not know their condition.

Surely We will try you with something of fear, of an enemy, and hunger, by way of drought, and diminution of goods, as a result of destruction, and lives, as a result of slaughter, death and disease, and fruits, by way of crop damage: that is to say, We will try you to see if you practise patience or not; yet give good tidings, of Paradise, to the patient, during calamities;

those who, when they are struck by an affliction, a calamity, say, ‘Surely we belong to God, we are His possession and servants, with whom He does as He pleases; and to Him we will return’, in the Hereafter, whereupon He will requite us: in one hadīth [it is said that], ‘whoever pronounces the istirjā‘ [sc. the formula ‘surely we belong to God and to Him we will return’] when an affliction befalls him, God will reward him and compensate him with what is better’. Similarly, it is said that on one occasion when his lamp blew out, the Prophet (s) uttered the istirjā‘, whereupon ‘Ā’isha said to him, saying: ‘But, it is just a lamp’, to which he replied, ‘Whatever bothers a believer is an affliction [of sorts]’: this is reported by Abū Dāwūd in his [section on] mursal reports.

Upon those rest blessings, forgiveness, and mercy, grace, from their Lord, and those — they are the truly guided, to rectitude.

Truly Safā and Marwa, two mountains near Mecca, are among the waymarks (sha‘ā’ir, plural of sha‘īra) of God, the [ritual] ceremonies of His religion, so whoever makes the Pilgrimage to the House, or the Visitation, that is, whoever prepares to perform the Pilgrimage [hajj] or the Visitation [‘umra]: the original sense of both terms [hajja and i‘tamara] is ‘to aim for’ and ‘to visit’, respectively; he would not be at fault, [it would not be] a sin, if he circumambulates them (the original tā’ [of yatatawwafa, ‘circumambulate’] has been assimilated with the tā’), by pacing quickly (sa‘y) between them seven times: this was revealed when the Muslims were averse to this [circumambulation], because the pagan Arabs used to circumambulate them, and there was an idol atop each mountain which they used to stroke. It is reported from Ibn ‘Abbās that this pacing [between the two] is not obligatory, based on the fact that when no sin can be incurred, the context implies free choice. Al-Shāfi‘ī and others, however, considered it to be a pillar [of the Pilgrimage rituals]. The Prophet made clear its obligatory aspect when he said that, ‘God has prescribed for you the pacing [sa‘y]’, as reported by al-Bayhaqī and others; and he [the Prophet] also said, ‘Begin with what God has begun’, meaning, al-Safā, as reported by Muslim; and whoever volunteers (tatawwa‘a: a variant reading is yattawa‘, the ta’ here being assimilated) good, that is, any good deed such as circumambulation or other, that is not obligatory on him; God is Grateful, for such a deed and rewards that person for it, Knowing, it.

The following was revealed concerning the Jews: Those who conceal, from people, the clear proofs and the guidance that We have revealed, such as the ‘stoning’ verse and the description of Muhammad (s), after We have shown them clearly in the Scripture, the Torah — they shall be cursed by God, that is, He will move them far away from His mercy, and by the cursers, the angels, believers, or by every single thing, when they supplicate that they be cursed.