Surah Al-Hajj (22) — Ayah 27

(Ayah 27) ➊ {وَ اَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ … :} The literal meaning of Hajj is "intention," and what is meant is the intention to visit the House of Allah, with the purpose of performing those verbal, physical, and financial acts of worship that Allah Almighty has prescribed here. {’’ رِجَالًا ‘‘ ’’رَاجِلٌ‘‘} is the plural of {’’نَائِمٌ‘‘}, just as {’’نِيَامٌ‘‘} is the plural of {’’ ضَامِرٍ ‘‘}, meaning those who walk on foot. {’’ ضَامِرٍ ‘‘} is a riding animal that has become thin and weak due to lack of fodder and the exhaustion of travel. {’’ فَجٍّ ‘‘} refers to the open path between two mountains; since the route to Makkah often passes through mountains, its paths are called {’’فَجٍّ ‘‘}. The literal meaning of {’’ عَمِيْقٍ ‘‘} is "deep," and what is meant is a long journey; the distance of travel is likened to the depth of a well. In Punjabi, this is called "donghe painde" (deep journeys).

➋ Before the proclamation of Hajj, there was a command to purify the house for those coming to perform Tawaf, standing, bowing, and prostrating. It is understood from this that the house should be cleaned before the arrival of guests.

➌ After the construction of the Ka'bah, Allah Almighty commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to proclaim Hajj among the people; they will come to you on foot and on numerous lean mounts that will come traversing very deep and distant paths and will have become weak due to the length of the journey. By {’’ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ ‘‘} is meant the abundance of lean mounts, because not every lean mount goes to Makkah. In Arabic, the word {’’كُلٌّ‘‘} is also used for abundance, as in the poetry of Antarah, where the word {’’ كُلٌّ ‘‘} has been used three times in the sense of abundance:
{ جَادَتْ عَلَيْهِ كُلُّ بَكْرَةِ حَرَّةٍ ¤ فَتَرَكْنَ كُلَّ قَرَارَةٍ كَالدِّرْهَمِ ¤ سَحًّا وَ تَسْكَابًا فَكُلَّ عَشِيَّةٍ ¤ يَجْرِيْ عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءُ لَمْ يَتَصَرَّمِ}
(Ibn Ashur)
How did Ibrahim (peace be upon him) make this proclamation? Regarding this, it is mentioned in Tafsir Ibn Kathir: "When Allah Almighty commanded the proclamation for the invitation to Hajj, it is mentioned that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said, 'O Lord! How can I convey this message to the people, for my voice will not reach them?' Allah said, 'You make the call; conveying the message is Our responsibility.' So he stood at his place—some say on a stone, some say on Safa, and some say on Mount Abi Qubais—and proclaimed: 'O people! Your Lord has built a House, so perform Hajj to it.' It is said that the mountains bowed down, so much so that this voice reached the ends of the earth, and even those in the wombs of mothers or in the loins of fathers heard it. Every stone, brick, or tree that heard it, and every person for whom Allah had written Hajj until the Day of Judgment, all responded: {’’ لَبَّيْكَ اَللّٰهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ ‘‘} This is the content of those narrations that have come from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Sa'id bin Jubair, and several of the Salaf. (And Allah knows best) Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim have transmitted them in full detail."

From the statement of Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him), it is clear that nothing about this is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In the above-mentioned narrations, the phrases "it is mentioned," "some said," "it is said," and "And Allah knows best" indicate Ibn Kathir's hesitation regarding the authenticity of these narrations. The Tabi'in who narrated these were not present at the time of this proclamation, nor did they mention their source. As for the narration from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), the researcher of Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Dr. Hikmat bin Basheer, writes that it has been briefly narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah (Musannaf: 11/518) and Hakim (al-Mustadrak: 2/388), both through the chain: Jarir from Qaboos from his father from Ibn Abbas. Hakim declared it Sahih, and Dhahabi agreed with him, but Qaboos is {’’ لَيِّنُ الْحَدِيْثِ ‘‘} (a weak narrator), as mentioned in Taqreeb. Even if this narration from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is established, it is not known from where he took it, because he was not present at that time, nor did he narrate it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). For Allah Almighty, making the voice of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) reach the whole world and all souls is not difficult, but it is necessary for this matter to be established through a reliable source. Ibn Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was {’’رَحَّالَةٌ‘‘}, meaning he used to travel a lot, so he acted upon this command to the best of his ability and proclaimed Hajj at every place he passed or reached during his journeys. Then after him, our Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made this proclamation, and now there is no corner of the world where this proclamation has not reached and from where people do not travel to perform Hajj. The Saudi government estimates that within ten to fifteen years, the number of pilgrims will reach ten million annually. The number of those coming for Umrah throughout the year is much greater than this. From {’’ يَاْتُوْكَ رِجَالًا ‘‘} (they will come to you), it is understood that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) himself used to be present there every year at the time of Hajj, or it means that every person going for Hajj is, in a sense, going to him in response to his invitation.