Surah Al-Hajj (22) — Ayah 26

(Ayah 26) ➊ {وَ اِذْ بَوَّاْنَا لِاِبْرٰهِيْمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ: ’’ بَوَّاْنَا ‘‘} (taf‘īl) means to give a place, to designate a place, that is, remember the time when We designated the place of the House of Allah for Ibrahim (peace be upon him). The House of Allah had already been constructed before this; in fact, the very first house of Allah on earth was this one, and it is obvious that long before Ibrahim (peace be upon him), Adam (peace be upon him) and other prophets (peace be upon them) used to worship Allah Almighty. Now Allah knows best whether the first construction of the House of Allah was done by Adam (peace be upon him) or before him by the angels. Its foundations existed on a mound, upon which Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them) constructed the building of the Ka‘bah. From the long hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Sahih Bukhari, it is also known that the Ka‘bah was constructed on a high place before Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Thus, in this hadith, after the appearance of Zamzam, there is mention of the angel comforting the mother of Ismail (peace be upon them): [ فَقَالَ لَهَا الْمَلَكُ لاَ تَخَافُوا الضَّيْعَةَ فَإِنَّ هٰهُنَا بَيْتَ اللّٰهِ، يَبْنِيْ هٰذَا الْغُلَامُ وَ أَبُوْهُ وَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُضِيْعُ أَهْلَهُ وَ كَانَ الْبَيْتُ مُرْتَفِعًا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ كَالرَّابِيَةِ تَأْتِيْهِ السُّيُوْلُ فَتَأْخُذُ عَنْ يَّمِيْنِهِ وَ عَنْ شِمَالِهِ فَكَانَتْ كَذٰلِكَ حَتّٰی مَرَّتْ بِهِمْ رُفْقَةٌ مِنْ جُرْهُمَ ] [ بخاري، الأنبیاء، باب « یزفون » :۳۳۶۴ ] “So the angel said to her, ‘Do not fear being lost, for here is the House of Allah. This boy and his father will build it, and Allah will not let its inhabitants be lost.’ The House of Allah was elevated from the ground like a mound; floods would come and pass by its right and left sides. The mother of Ismail remained like this until some people from the tribe of Jurhum passed by her.” At the end of this hadith, there is mention of the construction of the House of Allah. From this, it is known that even at the time of the appearance of Zamzam, the House of Allah existed on a mound, but its reconstruction was done by Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them) when Ismail (peace be upon him) grew up. For further details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah (127).

➋ { اَنْ لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِيْ شَيْـًٔا … : ’’ الرُّكَّعِ ‘‘ ’’ رَاكِعٌ ‘‘} is the plural of {’’سُجَّدٌ‘‘}, just as {’’ السُّجُوْدِ ‘‘ ’’سَاجِدٌ‘‘} is the plural of {’’رَاقِدٌ‘‘}, and the plural of {’’جَالِسٌ‘‘ } is {’’ رُقُوْدٌ ‘‘} and {’’جُلُوْسٌ‘‘}. The meaning of tawaf is to go around something, to circle it. That is, lay the foundation of this House purely on monotheism, so that everyone who comes here worships only Allah and does not associate anyone with Him. But the disbelievers of Makkah placed three hundred and sixty idols around it, which they used to circumambulate. Even now, many who call themselves Muslims perform tawaf of graves and shrines, although Allah Almighty has prescribed tawaf only for His one House, which is called the Ka‘bah; it is not permissible to perform tawaf of any other place or person. The honor expressed in calling the Ka‘bah {’’ بَيْتِيَ ‘‘} (My House) cannot be estimated. That is, along with the construction of the House of Allah, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was commanded not to associate anything with Me, and to keep My House pure and clean for those who perform tawaf, stand, bow, and prostrate. Keeping the House of Allah clean means not only general cleanliness but also keeping it free from shirk and idol worship. The intention is to reproach the polytheists, as this condition has existed since the time of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) that idol worship is forbidden in it. Also see the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah (125).

26. 1. That is, the location of the House of Allah was indicated, and there We settled the progeny of Ibrahim (علیہ السلام). From this, it is understood that after the devastation of the flood of Nuh (علیہ السلام), the first construction of the Ka'bah was by the hands of Ibrahim (علیہ السلام). As is also established from an authentic hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said, "The first mosque built on earth was Masjid al-Haram, and forty years after it, Masjid al-Aqsa was constructed." (Musnad Ahmad 5:150, 166, 167 and Muslim, Kitab al-Masajid) 4. The purpose of the construction of the Ka'bah is stated here: that only My worship should be performed in it. This is to indicate that the polytheists who have adorned it with idols and come here to worship them are committing a clear injustice, for where only Allah should have been worshipped, idols are being worshipped.

26. 2. From disbelief, idol worship, and other impurities and filth. Here, only those who perform prayer are mentioned, because both of these acts of worship are specific to the Ka'bah: in prayer, one faces towards it, and tawaf is performed only around it. But the people of innovation have now invented the tawaf of many graves, and for some prayers, they have even chosen another qiblah. May Allah protect us from both.

26. And (remember) when We designated the site of the Sacred House for Ibrahim (Abraham) [33], (saying): "Do not associate anything with Me, and purify My House for those who perform Tawaf, and those who stand (in prayer), and those who bow and prostrate."

[33]
Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) built Makkah only for monotheists:

Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) was the first to build the Ka'bah. Now even its traces had disappeared from the earth. Allah Almighty sent a wind, which blew away the upper layer of soil and sand, exposing and revealing the foundations of the Ka'bah. Upon these very foundations, Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), along with his son Isma'il, began the construction of the Ka'bah. And Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was instructed that the foundations of this house should be laid purely upon monotheism. No one should come here and perform any polytheistic rituals other than the worship of Allah alone. But the polytheists of Makkah, who claimed to follow the religion of Ibrahim, disobeyed this instruction to such an extent that they brought and placed three hundred and sixty idols there. Eventually, on the day of the conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ purified this house of Allah from the filth of idols.

[34]
The cleanliness of mosques does not mean only outward cleanliness, but also cleanliness from shirk:

Keeping the houses of Allah, that is, the mosques, clean and pure is so virtuous that Allah Almighty especially instructed His resolute Prophets to do this work. Cleanliness refers to outward cleanliness as well, and this has also been emphasized in the hadiths. But the real purity and cleanliness of the houses of Allah is that no one other than Allah should be invoked there, nor should the remembrance, mention, or miracles of Allah's beloved ones be continuously recited there instead of Allah.