His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And when We designated for Ibrahim the place of the House, that you not associate anything with Me, and purify My House for those who perform Tawaf and those who stand and bow and prostrate﴾ ﴿And proclaim to the people the pilgrimage; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant path﴾ ﴿That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on known days over what He has provided them of sacrificial animals. So eat from them and feed the needy poor﴾

The meaning: And remember when We designated, and "designated" is a transitive verb with emphasis. The meaning of "ba'a" is: he returned. So, it is as if the one who designates returns the designated to the place. The term was used in the meaning of "to dwell," and from it is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿We will dwell in Paradise﴾ [Az-Zumar: 74]. And the poet said:

How many a righteous friend I have designated a grave with my hands.

And the "lam" in His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Ibrahim" some groups said: it is extra. And some groups said: "We designated" is a verb that takes the "lam" like "We made."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

It is more apparent that the first object of "We designated" is omitted, its estimation being: the people or the world. Then he said: "for Ibrahim," meaning: this honor was for him, and by his hands they were designated.

And "the House" is the Kaaba, and it was - as has been narrated - that Allah, exalted and majestic is He, had made it a place of worship for Adam, peace be upon him. Then it was lost in the flood and other events. So when the time of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, came, Allah, exalted and majestic is He, commanded him to build it. He came to its location and began to seek its trace. Allah sent a wind that revealed to him the foundations of Adam, and he established its bases upon it.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿that you not associate anything with Me﴾ is an address to Ibrahim, peace be upon him, according to the saying of the majority, it has been reported to us, meaning it was said to him: "that you not associate anything with Me." And Ikrimah read: "that he not associate anything with Me" with a "ya" meaning the meaning of the saying that was said to him. Abu Hatim said: and it is necessary to have the "ka" in this reading, meaning: so that he does not associate.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

It is possible that "that" in the reading of the majority is explanatory, and it is possible that it is a lightened form of the heavy one.

And in the verse is a reproach against those who associated partners among the inhabitants of the House, meaning: this was the condition upon your father, so after that you, did not fulfill it but rather associated partners. And a group said: the address of His saying: ﴿that you not associate﴾ is to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and he commanded to purify the House and to proclaim the pilgrimage.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the majority hold that this is for Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and it is the correct view.

And "purifying the House" is general for disbelief, innovations, all impurities, blood, and other than that. And "those who stand" are the ones who pray, and Allah, exalted and majestic is He, mentioned among the pillars of prayer the greatest of them, which is: standing, bowing, and prostrating.

The majority of the people read: "And call (to prayer)" with a strong د (dhāl), while Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan and Ibn Muḥaysin read: "And notify (them)" with an elongation and a light د (dhāl). This was a mistake attributed to Ibn Jinni; for he narrated from them both "And he called" as if it were a past tense verb and explained it by making it an addition to "We appointed." It has been narrated that when Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was commanded to call to prayer during Hajj, he said: "O my Lord, when I call, who will hear me?" It was said to him: "Call, O Ibrahim, for the call is upon you and the conveying is upon Us." So he ascended to Abu Qubays - and it was said: to the stone of the standing place - and called: "O people, indeed Allah has commanded you to perform Hajj to this House, so perform Hajj." The narrations differ regarding his words, peace be upon him, but it is necessary that they mention the House and the Hajj. It has been narrated that on the day he called, he was heard by everyone who would perform Hajj until the Day of Resurrection in the loins of men. Everything at that time, from inanimate objects and others, responded: "Here I am, O Allah, here I am." Thus the response continued, as said by Ibn Abbas and Ibn Jubair.

The majority of the people read: "with Hajj" with a فتح (fatḥ) on the ح (ḥāʾ), while Ibn Abi Ishaq read it with a كسر (kasr) throughout the Qur'an. "Men" is the plural of راجل (rājil) like تاجر (tājir) and تجار (tujjār), [and صاحب (ṣāḥib) and أصحاب (aṣḥāb)]. Al-‘Ikrimah, Ibn Abbas, Abu Mujallaz, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad read: "Rujjālan" with a ضم (ḍamm) on the ر (rāʾ) and a strong ج (jīm), like كاتب (kātib) and كتّاب (kuttāb). Al-‘Ikrimah also, and Ibn Abi Ishaq, read: "Rujālan" with a ضم (ḍamm) on the ر (rāʾ) and a light ج (jīm), which is rare in the structures of the plural. It has been narrated from Ibn Mujahid, and Mujahid read: "Rujālī" on the pattern of فُعَالٍ (fuʿāl), similar to كسالى (kusālī).

As for "the lean (ضامِرُ)", a group said: he meant the she-camel.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

This is because it is said: a lean she-camel, and from it is the saying of Al-A'sha:

My promise with her in the tribe has been fulfilled, She is slender like a lean mare.

Thus, His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "They will come" is straightforward according to this interpretation. Another group said: "the lean" refers to anything that possesses that quality, whether it is a camel or a she-camel or otherwise.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

This is the more apparent, but it includes the meaning of groups or companions, so His saying: "They will come" is appropriate. The companions of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "They will come," which is the reading of Ibn Abi Abla and Al-Duhak.

In the precedence of "men" there is a preference for those walking during Hajj. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: I do not regret anything I missed except that I did not perform Hajj walking, for I heard Allah, glorified and exalted is He, say: "They will come to you as men." Ibn Abi Najih said: Ibrahim and Ismail, peace be upon them, performed Hajj walking, and some scholars inferred from the omission of the mention of the sea in this verse that the obligation of Hajj by sea is abrogated.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Malik said in Al-Mawazeen: I do not hear mention of the sea.

And this is a form of companionship, not that the omission of mentioning the sea entails the omission of the obligation. This is because Mecca is not on the bank of a sea, so people do not come to it by ships. It is necessary for anyone who rides the sea to arrive in Mecca either on foot or on a mount. Thus, the two conditions of arrival have been mentioned. The dropping of the obligation of Hajj merely due to the [lack of mention of] the sea is not significant or strong. However, if it is accompanied by an enemy, fear, a severe horror, or an illness that affects a person, then Malik, Ash-Shafi'i, and the majority of people agree on the dropping of the obligation in that case, and that it is not a path that can be traveled. The author of the book (Al-Istidhhar) mentioned in this regard words that imply that the obligation is not lifted by any of these excuses.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is weak.

And "Al-Fajj" means the wide path, and "Al-Amik" means the distant one. The poet said:

If the horses come from deep paths ∗∗∗ the disheveled pale one extends in the journey.

And the "benefits" in this verse refer to trade according to the majority of the interpreters, including Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and others. Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali said: He meant the reward and the benefits of the Hereafter. Mujahid said it encompasses both meanings.

And His saying, the Exalted, "the name of Allah," it is correct that by the name here he means the named, meaning: and they mention Allah, in a figurative sense in this phrase, unless the mention of the hearts is intended. It is possible that he means by the name the designations, and the mention of Allah, the Exalted, is indeed by mentioning His names. Then the heart mentions the Sovereign and the attributes. All of this is on the condition that the mention means praising Him and glorifying Him in gratitude for His blessing in provision. This is supported by His saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Indeed, these are days of eating, drinking, and mentioning Allah." Some people have gone to the meaning of mentioning the name of Allah, the Exalted, at the slaughtering and the sacrifice. They said: The mention of the days indicates that slaughtering at night is not permissible, and this is the view of Malik and the people of opinion. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The known days" are the days of the ten and the day of sacrifice and the days of Tashriq. Ibn Sirin said: They are only the days of the ten. A group said: Rather, they are the days of Tashriq. Al-Qutaybi mentioned this. A group including Malik and his companions said: Rather, the known days are the day of sacrifice, and two days after it, and the three days of Tashriq are the counted ones. Thus, the day of sacrifice is known but not counted, and the two days after it are known and counted, while the fourth is counted but not known.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And these took this detail to mean that they understood "the mention of the name of Allah" here regarding the slaughtering for the sacrificial animals and the offerings and others. Therefore, on the fourth day, there is no sacrifice according to Malik and the group. They took the hastening and delaying in the departure during the counted days. So reflect on this, it will clarify their intention for you. It appears that the "known" and "counted" refer to a meaning, that is, those virtuous days are all included. The matter of slaughtering and the matter of hastening are not related to a count or to something known. The benefit of His saying: "known" and "counted" is to encourage on these days and to seize their virtue; for they are not like others. It is as if He said: they are specific, so let them be seized.

And His saying, the Exalted: "So eat" is a recommendation. The people of knowledge have preferred for a man to eat from his offering or sacrifice while also giving charity from most of it, permitting them to give charity from all of it and to eat all of it. And "the needy" is one who has been touched by the hardship of poverty and its misery. It is said: the man is in hardship, he suffers. It may also be used for one who has encountered a calamity of time even if it is not poverty. From this is his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "But the needy is Sa'd ibn Khawlah." The intended meaning in this verse is the people in need.