Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 158

(Ayah 158) ➊ { ”يَطَّوَّفَ“ } This is from the verb form "tafaʿʿul," { ”طَافَ يَطُوْفُ“ } means to perform tawaf, to make rounds. When extra letters were added in the verb form "tafaʿʿul," its meaning became "to perform tawaf thoroughly." { ”شَعَآىِٕرِ“ } This is the plural of { ”شَعِيْرَةٌ“ }, which means "sign." Some people considered Safa and Marwah as symbols of the idols of ignorance and thought that performing tawaf between them was a sin, so it was said that these are among the signs of Allah.

➋ Safa and Marwah are the names of two small hills near the Ka'bah. Performing sa'i (running) between them has been part of the rites (i.e., rulings) of Hajj and Umrah since the time of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), but in the era of ignorance, the polytheists had included many polytheistic customs in the rites of Hajj and Umrah, to the extent that they had installed two idols on Safa and Marwah. One was named "Isaf" and the other "Nailah." Among these polytheists, some used to perform sa'i between them during the era of ignorance and also performed istilam of these idols, i.e., they kissed them. Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that we used to consider the sa'i of Safa and Marwah as an act of ignorance, so when Islam came, we stopped performing sa'i between them, so Allah revealed this verse. [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب قولہ تعالٰی : « إن الصفا والمروۃ …» : ۴۴۹۶] And among these polytheists, there were some who, instead of performing sa'i between Safa and Marwah during the era of ignorance, used to perform tawaf of an idol named "Manat," and upon reaching Makkah, considered the tawaf of Safa and Marwah a sin. This verse was also revealed in response to them. The necessity of sa'i was agreed upon by the Muslims, but the apparent words of the verse caused some people to question whether there was any harm if sa'i was not performed. Thus, Urwah bin Zubair (may Allah have mercy on him) expressed this doubt before his aunt Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), so Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said that if the meaning of the verse was as such, then the Qur'an would have said: {”اَنْ لاَّ يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا“} meaning, "if he does not perform tawaf, there is no sin." Then Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) further clarified that some Arab tribes (Azd, Ghassan) used to worship the idol {’’ مناة الطاغية ‘‘}. They had installed this idol on the hill of Mushallal. When these people went for Hajj, they would say "Labbayk" in the name of this idol and perform its tawaf. Upon reaching Makkah, they considered performing sa'i between Safa and Marwah a sin. After becoming Muslim, they asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about this, so this verse was revealed. [بخاری، الحج، باب وجوب الصفا والمروۃ … : ۱۶۴۳۔ مسلم : ۱۲۷۷] That is, these people considered performing tawaf between Safa and Marwah a sin, so the Qur'an used the words «فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ اَنْ يَّطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا», otherwise, as far as sa'i itself is concerned, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said that this sa'i has been prescribed by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), now no one has the option to abandon it. Also, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ اِسْعَوْا اِنَّ اللّٰہَ کَتَبَ عَلَیْکُمُ السَّعْیَ] [ أحمد : 421/6، ۴۲۲، ح : ۲۷۴۳۵] "Perform sa'i, indeed Allah has made sa'i obligatory upon you." And in the Farewell Hajj, he said: [لِتَاْخُذُوْا مَنَاسِکَکُمْ ] [ مسلم، الحج، باب استحباب رمی…: ۱۲۹۷] "Learn the rites (i.e., rulings) of Hajj from me." Sa'i is also included in these.