'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Indeed, as-Safa and al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allah. So whoever performs Hajj to the House or performs 'Umrah, there is no sin upon him to perform Tawaf between them. And whoever volunteers good, then indeed, Allah is Appreciative and Knowing." "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We have made it clear to the people in the Book, those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse." "Except for those who repent, reform, and make evident. For them, I will accept repentance, and I am the Accepting of Repentance, the Most Merciful." As for "as-Safa and al-Marwah": they are two hills in Mecca. And "as-Safa" is the plural of Safa, and it is said to be a singular noun whose plural is Safa and Asfyaa. It is the great rock. The poet said: (p-389) "... the locations of birds on as-Safa." And it is said that among the conditions of as-Safa are its whiteness and hardness. And "al-Marwah": it is a singular of al-Marwah, and it refers to the small stones that have softness in them. From this is the saying of the one whose sheep died among the Companions: 'So I slaughtered it with al-Marwah.' And from this is the saying of the trustworthy one: 'Take me to my brother, for if he kills me, then al-Marwah has broken al-Marwah, and a sword has cut a sword.' And it has been said regarding al-Marwah: that it is the hard stones. The poet said: "And he turned to the land, a withered foot... So when he encountered al-Marwah, he crushed it." And the hill of as-Safa in Mecca is hard, and the hill of al-Marwah is soft. Thus, they were named. Some people said: as-Safa was mentioned because Adam stood upon it, and Hawwa stood upon al-Marwah, and for this reason, it is feminine. (p-390) And al-Sha'bi said: there was an idol on as-Safa called Isaf, and on al-Marwah an idol called Na'ilah. Thus, this was established in the masculine and feminine, and the masculine was given precedence. And "among the symbols of Allah" means: among His signs and places of worship. It is the plural of Shu'ayrah or Shu'aarah. Mujahid said: this refers to the saying, meaning: from what Allah has made you aware of His grace, taken from 'Tash'aratu' meaning 'I felt.' And 'Sha'arat' is taken from al-Shi'ar, which is what is close to the body from clothing, and al-Shi'ar is taken from al-Shi'r. And from this word is the poet. And "Hajj" means: to intend and to repeat. From this is the saying of the poet: "And I witness from 'Awf many arrivals... they perform Hajj, the one who insults al-Zabraqani." And from this is the saying of another: "He performs Hajj, a follower in its depth..." And "'Umrah" means: to visit and to repeat, taken from 'Amartu' the place. And "the sin": it is the wrongdoing and deviation from the truth and obedience. And from the word 'junah' because it is in a side, and from this it is said to the tent: 'junah' because of its leaning and being like one with wings. And from this: "And if they incline to peace, then incline to it." [Al-Anfal: 61]

(p-391) And "he will circumambulate" its origin is "he circumambulates". The ت (ta) was made silent and was assimilated into the ط (ta). Abu al-Samali read: "that he may be circumambulated", and its origin is "he circumambulates". The و (waw) moved and what preceded it opened, so it turned into an ا (alif), thus it came as "he circumambulates". The ت (ta) was assimilated after being made silent into the ط (ta) according to the view of those who permitted the assimilation of the second into the first, as it came in "Muddakir". Those who did not permit this said: The ت (ta) was turned into ط (ta), then the ط (ta) was assimilated into the ط (ta). In this, there is a consideration, because the original was assimilated into the additional, and that is weak.

It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, Anas ibn Malik, and Shahr ibn Hawshab that they read: "that he may not circumambulate". Likewise, in the Mushaf of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "that he may not circumambulate". It was said: "that he may not circumambulate" with a د (dhamma) on the ط (ta) and a silent و (waw).

And His saying: ﴿Indeed, the Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah﴾ is a report that necessitates the command regarding what has been established of circumambulating between them. And His saying: ﴿So there is no sin﴾, the intent of it is not the permissibility of circumambulating for whoever wishes, because that after the command does not stand. Rather, the intent of it is to lift what had occurred in the hearts of some of the Arabs that circumambulating between them is a burden, and to inform them that what had occurred in their hearts is incorrect.

And there has been a difference regarding how that was. It has been narrated that the jinn used to know and circumambulate between them in the pre-Islamic period. There was a group from Tihamah that did not circumambulate between them in the pre-Islamic period because of that. So when Islam came, they felt burdened by circumambulating. It has been narrated from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that this was among the Ansar, and that they used to declare the pilgrimage to Manat, which was in al-Mushallal near Qadid, and they honored her. (p-392) So they would not circumambulate between Isaf and Naila out of respect for her. When Islam came, they felt burdened, so this verse was revealed. It has been narrated from al-Shabi that the Arabs who used to circumambulate there believed that this act of running was out of respect for Isaf and Naila, and the one running would touch Isaf, and when he reached Marwah, he would touch Naila, and likewise until he completed his rounds. So when Islam came, they disliked running there because it was due to the two idols, and the scholars differed regarding the running between Safa and Marwah.

The view of Malik and al-Shafi'i is that this is an obligatory pillar of the pillars of Hajj, and the one who neglects it or forgets it is not excused except by returning. The view of al-Thawri and the companions of opinion is that a sacrifice suffices for the one who neglects it, and if he returns, it is good; for them, it is recommended.

It has been narrated from Abu Hanifa: If he neglects more than three rounds, then he must offer a sacrifice, and if he neglects three or fewer, then he must feed a poor person for each round. And 'Ata said: There is nothing upon the one who neglects it, neither a sacrifice nor anything else. 'Ata argued with what is in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud: "that he may not circumambulate between them", and this is a reading that contradicts the Mushafs of Islam. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, denied it in her words to Urwah when he said to her: Did you not see the saying of Allah: ﴿So there is no sin upon him to circumambulate between them﴾? So we do not see anything upon anyone that he should not circumambulate (p-393) between them. She said: O Urwah, no, if that were the case, it would have been said: So there is no sin upon him not to circumambulate between them.

And also, what is in the Mus'haf of Ibn Mas'ud refers to the meaning of "to circumambulate" and the "no" is an additional connection in the speech, like His saying: ﴿What prevented you from prostrating?﴾ [Al-A'raf: 12], and like the saying of the poet:

What the Messenger of Allah would not approve of their actions ∗∗∗ and the two good ones, Abu Bakr and Umar.

Meaning: and Umar.

And like the saying of another:

And I do not blame the white ones for not mocking ∗∗∗......................................

And the view of Malik and his companions regarding Umrah is that it is a Sunnah, except Ibn Habib, for he said it is obligatory.

And a group from the seven reciters and others read: "And whoever volunteers" with the "ya" from below, in the future tense and conditional, and the response is in His saying: "So indeed."

And Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu 'Umar, and 'Asim read: "He volunteered" in its form in the past tense, so "from" in this reading means "which." And the "fa" in His saying: "So indeed" indicates the ambiguity in "from." This was reported by Makki, and Abu Ali said: It is possible that "He volunteered" is in a jussive position and "whoever" is conditional, and it is possible that "whoever" means "which" and the verb is a connection that has no place for it in the grammar, and the "fa" indicates that the second is obligatory for the obligation of the first.

And whoever said that the running is obligatory said: The meaning of "He volunteered" is that he added goodness after the obligatory, making it general in deeds, and some of them said: Its meaning is: Whoever volunteers with Hajj or Umrah after the obligatory Hajj.

And whoever did not make the running obligatory said: The meaning is whoever volunteered with the running between them. And in the reading of Ibn Mas'ud: "So whoever volunteers with goodness."

And the meaning of "Grateful": is that he gives reward and recompense, "Knowing" of intentions and deeds, no good deed - and no other - is lost with Him.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Indeed, those who conceal﴾, the intended ones are: the scholars of the Jews and the monks of the Christians who concealed the matter of Muhammad ﷺ. Al-Tabari said: It has been narrated that two of them were asked by a group from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ about what is in their books regarding him, and they concealed it, so it was revealed.

And the verse then encompasses everyone who conceals knowledge of the religion of Allah that needs to be disseminated, and this is explained in the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "Whoever is asked about knowledge and conceals it will be bridled on the Day of Resurrection with a bridle of fire." This is if he does not fear or there is no harm to him in disseminating it. And this verse was intended by Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, in his saying: If it were not for a verse in the Book of Allah, I would not have narrated to you a narration, and Abu Huraira left that when he feared and said: I have preserved from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ two containers: As for one of them, I have disseminated it, and as for the other, if I had disseminated it, this throat would have been cut. And this verse was intended by 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, in his saying: I will certainly narrate to you a narration, if it were not for a verse in the Book of Allah, I would not have narrated it to you. And whoever narrated in the speech of 'Uthman: If it were not for it being in the Book of Allah. So the meaning is different from this.

And ﴿the clear signs and guidance﴾ refer to the matter of Muhammad ﷺ. Then it encompasses after that everything that is concealed from good.

And Talhah ibn Musarif read: "After what He has made clear" in the singular.

And "in the Book" refers to the Torah and the Gospel by the ruling of the reason for the verse, and that it is regarding the matter of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Then the Quran enters with the generalization of the verse. The meaning of the curse has already been mentioned, and there is a difference regarding those who curse. Qatadah and Al-Rabi' said: The angels and the believers. This is a clear apparent statement that aligns with the implications of the words. Mujahid and Ikrimah said: They are the creatures and the animals that are afflicted by drought due to the sins of the evil scholars who conceal the truth, and they curse them. They mentioned with the conjunction 'and' and the pronoun 'they' as those who can reason, because the action of those who can reason has been attributed to them, as He said: "I saw them prostrating to me" [Yusuf: 4]. Al-Bara' ibn Azib said: The ones who curse are all creatures except for the two weighty ones, the jinn and mankind. This is because the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "When the disbeliever is struck in his grave and screams, all hear him except for the two weighty ones, and every listener curses him." Ibn Mas'ud said: What is meant by it is what the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, every two who curse each other, if they deserve the curse, otherwise it will return upon the Jews." These three statements are not necessitated by the wording, nor are they established except by a chain that cuts off the excuse.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, excluded the repentant. The meaning of repentance has already been mentioned.

And "they amend" means in their actions and words. "And they clarify," said those who interpreted the verse generally: Its meaning is that they clarify their repentance by manifesting the action and excelling in it. And those who interpreted it as being regarding those who conceal the matter of Muhammad said: The meaning is that they clarify the matter of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, so the verse applies to those who have embraced Islam from the Jews and Christians. The meaning of Allah's repentance upon His servant has already been mentioned, which is his returning from disobedience to obedience.