Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Ibn al-Qasim)

And with the same chain of narration, it is narrated from Urwah bin Zubair (may Allah have mercy on him) that I said to (my maternal aunt and) the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), and at that time I was a small child: What is your opinion about the statement of Allah Almighty? «إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَائِرِ اللَّـهِ فَمَنْ حَجَّ الْبَيْتَ أَوِ اعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا» "Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah, so whoever performs Hajj or Umrah of the House, there is no sin upon him to walk between them (i.e., perform Sa'i)." [البقرة : 158] I think that if someone does not perform Sa'i between them, there is no sin upon him. So the Mother of the Believers, Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), said: Never! If that were the case, the verse would have been revealed as: 'Whoever does not perform the walk, there is no sin upon him.' This verse was revealed about the Ansar, who (before Islam) used to recite Talbiyah for Manat (a goddess), and Manat was near Qudayd (a place). They considered it objectionable to perform Sa'i between Safa and Marwah. Then when Islam came, Allah Almighty revealed this verse: «إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِن شَعَائِرِ اللَّـهِ فَمَنْ حَجَّ الْبَيْتَ أَوِ اعْتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا».