Surah Al-Hajj (22) — Ayah 37

(Ayah 37) ➊ {لَنْ يَّنَالَ اللّٰهَ لُحُوْمُهَا وَ لَا دِمَآؤُهَا … :} That is, neither the meat of the sacrifices, which has been eaten, nor their blood, which has been shed, will reach Allah. All of this will remain here. Allah is free of need from them; what reaches Him is taqwa, that is, the fear in your heart that saves you from Allah’s displeasure, which becomes dominant over the heart so that a person obeys every command of Allah and refrains from every forbidden act. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلٰی صُوَرِكُمْ وَ أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلٰكِنْ يَّنْظُرُ إِلٰی قُلُوْبِكُمْ وَ أَعْمَالِكُمْ ] [ مسلم، البر والصلۃ، باب تحریم ظلم المسلم و خذلہ… : 2564/34 ] “Allah does not look at your forms or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.” From this verse and hadith, the importance of taqwa of the heart and sincerity of intention is evident, so the sacrifice should be purely for the pleasure of Allah, not for show, nor for fame, nor pride, nor the thought that since people are sacrificing, we should also do it. Without intention, the deed is of no benefit. If the intention is pure, sometimes it can elevate a person to high ranks even without action. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from Tabuk and when he approached Madinah, he said: [ إِنَّ بِالْمَدِيْنَةِ اَقْوَامًا مَا سِرْتُمْ مَسِيْرًا وَلَا قَطَعْتُمْ وَادِيًا إِلَّا كَانُوْا مَعَكُمْ قَالُوْا يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! وَهُمْ بِالْمَدِيْنَةِ ؟ قَالَ وَهُمْ بِالْمَدِيْنَةِ حَبَسَهُمُ الْعُذْرُ ] [ بخاري، المغازی، باب : ۴۴۲۳ ] “There are some people in Madinah that you did not travel any road or cross any valley except that they were with you.” The people said: “O Messenger of Allah! While they were in Madinah?” He said: “Yes! While they were in Madinah, they were held back by an excuse.” The importance of intention can also be gauged from the fact that a person’s life, however long, is limited, that is, only a few years; if he does good deeds in it, he will be in Paradise forever, and if he does evil deeds, he will be in Hell forever. The unlimited reward for limited deeds is due to intention, that the intention of the righteous was to always do good, and the intention of the wicked was to always do evil. See Surah Al-An’am (27, 28).

➋ {كَذٰلِكَ سَخَّرَهَا لَكُمْ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللّٰهَ عَلٰى مَا هَدٰىكُمْ :} Here, to emphasize, the favor of subjugating sacrificial animals is reminded again, and the mention of proclaiming the greatness of Allah by saying “Allahu Akbar” is stated; before this, the command to mention Allah’s name at the time of sacrifice was given. It is clear that saying {’’ بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَاللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ ‘‘} when slaughtering the sacrificial animal is required by Allah. That is why Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) would recite {’’بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَاللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ‘‘} while performing ishaar (making a wound on one side of the camel’s hump). [ الموطأ لإمام مالک : ۸۴۵ ] Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificed two speckled rams, slaughtered them with his own hand, recited {’’بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ وَاللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ‘‘}, and placed his foot on their sides. [ بخاري، الأضاحي، باب التکبیر عند الذبح : ۵۵۶۵ ] Due to the generality of the word {’’ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللّٰهَ عَلٰى مَا هَدٰىكُمْ ‘‘}, one should proclaim the greatness of Allah for the blessing of subjugating livestock at other times as well, as Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would set out on a journey and mount his camel, he would say “Allahu Akbar” three times, then recite {’’سُبْحَانَ الَّذِيْ سَخَّرَ لَنَا هٰذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِنِيْنَ‘‘} (the complete supplication for travel is mentioned ahead). [ مسلم، الحج، باب استحباب الذکر إذا رکب دابتہ… : ۱۳۴۲ ]

➌ After the command to give glad tidings to {وَ بَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ:’’ الْمُخْبِتِيْنَ ‘‘}, the command to give glad tidings to {’’ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ ‘‘} is given. Ihsan is related to {’’ وَ لٰكِنْ يَّنَالُهُ التَّقْوٰى مِنْكُمْ ‘‘}. Taqwa is to act upon Allah’s commands and avoid His disobedience at all times out of fear of Him. Ihsan is also that one should always keep in mind that my Lord is watching me. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that in the Hadith of Jibril, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the meaning of ihsan: [ أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللّٰهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ فَإِنْ لَّمْ تَکُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ ] [ بخاري، الإیمان، باب سؤال جبریل… : ۵۰ ] “Ihsan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then indeed He sees you.” For those who possess humility and the qualities of ihsan, there is glad tidings of all good in this world and the Hereafter. See Surah Al-Baqarah (112), An-Nisa (125), and Luqman (22). May Allah, by His grace and mercy, include us among these fortunate ones. (Ameen)

➍ The commentator Al-Biqa’i has mentioned a point about the waw (and) in {’’ وَ بَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ ‘‘}, that the foundation of religion is on both warning and glad tidings. At this place, since Hajj and its acts such as sacrifice are mentioned, which are more related to glad tidings, warning is omitted and after the conjunction waw, glad tidings are mentioned explicitly. As if the original phrase was: {’’ فَأَنْذِرْ أَيُّهَا الدَّاعِي ! الْمُسِيْئِيْنَ وَ بَشِّرِ الْمُحْسِنِيْنَ ‘‘} “O caller! Warn the evil-doers and give glad tidings to the doers of good.”

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

37. Neither their meat nor their blood reaches Allah, but what reaches Him is your piety [61]. Thus We have subjected them to you so that you may magnify Allah (as a form of gratitude) for having guided you [62]. And (O Prophet), give glad tidings [63] to those who do good.

[61] It was the habit of the polytheists that when they slaughtered a sacrificial animal in the name of an idol, they would place its meat before the idol and smear its blood on the body of the idol. The meat placed before the idols would be used by the caretakers of those idols, and they would also clean those idols afterward. And when they sacrificed in the name of Allah, they would also place the meat before the Ka'bah and smear its blood on the walls of the Ka'bah or sprinkle its blood upon it. In their view, the purpose of sacrifice was to present its meat and blood. In this verse, Allah Almighty refutes this ignorant belief, stating that Allah has no need for the meat or blood of your sacrificial animals. Blood is, in any case, a forbidden and impure thing, and the meat you may eat yourselves and feed to others. Allah only looks at the intention, sincerity, and love with which you present this sacrifice before Him. The more sincerity and piety there is in your intention, that is the value and worth of the sacrifice in the sight of Allah.

Conditions for the Acceptance of Sacrifice and Forms of Deficiency in Intention:

Some people perform the sacrifice merely as a ritual. Some do it so that their children do not have to wait for meat from others. Some wealthy people do it so that others do not reproach them. And some sacrifice a fat, fine, and expensive animal so that they may gain fame among the people. And some, out of miserliness, sacrifice a weak and defective animal. All such people should keep this in mind: Allah Almighty only looks at whether the servant has performed the sacrifice out of gratitude and thankfulness to Allah, with eagerness and love, or not. If someone's intention is flawed, then even if he sacrifices a fat and healthy animal, how much benefit will he get from it?

[62] One meaning of proclaiming greatness is that at the time of slaughter, one should recite ﴿بسم الله الله اكبر﴾ or ﴿بسم الله والله اكبر﴾, and for expressing gratitude: ﴿اللهم منك ولك﴾ (that is, O Allah! This sacrificial animal was granted by You, and I am sacrificing it for Your pleasure).

[63]
Rulings of Resemblance to Pilgrims for Those Not Performing Hajj:

When the oppressed Muslims migrated from Makkah to Madinah, they were afflicted with various sorrows and worries. The grief of leaving their homes and beloved homeland, the discomfort of the climate in Madinah, concern for livelihood, and memories of the persecutions by the disbelievers of Makkah, which would make them restless. Furthermore, even after coming to Madinah, the disbelievers of Makkah did not leave them alone. In addition, a great sorrow for the Muslims was being distanced from the Sacred House (the Ka'bah), which they could no longer even see. Performing the rites of Hajj and Umrah was out of the question. In these circumstances, Allah Almighty comforted the Muslims by saying that Allah Himself is defending them against the disbelievers and will gradually create such conditions that all paths will open for the Muslims, and their enemies will ultimately be disappointed and ruined. In addition, Muslims were given several rulings by which their longing to perform the rites of Hajj and Umrah could be somewhat alleviated, and in these rulings, there is also a resemblance to those performing Hajj. For example, Muslims were commanded that every person of means among them should offer a sacrifice on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah; thus, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered sacrifice in Madinah for ten years. Also, Muslims were instructed that whoever intends to offer a sacrifice should not have a haircut or trim their nails from the sighting of the moon of Dhul-Hijjah until the sacrifice is performed. Furthermore, Muslims may send their sacrificial animals to the Sacred House through someone else. Also, during the days of Tashreeq, they should recite the Takbeerat just as the pilgrims remember Allah during those days.