Mukhtasar Bukhari

‘From Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her), her nephew Urwah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) asked her about the saying of Allah Almighty: “Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever performs Hajj to the House or performs Umrah, there is no blame upon him for walking between them.” (Surah Al-Baqarah: 158), and he said, “By Allah! From this it seems (to me) that there is no sin upon anyone if he does not perform Sa’i between Safa and Marwah?” Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) replied, “O nephew! You have stated a very wrong meaning. If the meaning was as you have stated, then the verse would have been: ‘Indeed, there was no sin upon anyone for not walking between them.’ Rather, this verse was revealed about the Ansar. Before accepting Islam, they used to assume Ihram for ‘Manat’ (an idol) kept near Mushallal, and people used to worship it. And those among the Ansar who assumed Ihram for Hajj or Umrah used to consider it a sin to perform Sa’i between Safa and Marwah. So when they became Muslims, they asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about this and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! We used to consider it objectionable to perform Sa’i between Safa and Marwah.’ So Allah Almighty revealed this verse: ‘Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah...’ until the end of the verse.” Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) said, “Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) established the practice of Sa’i between them, so no one has the option to abandon Sa’i between them.”