Tafsir for verse: 2:203
۞ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ فِيٓ أَيَّامٖ مَّعۡدُودَٰتٖۚ فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوۡمَيۡنِ فَلَآ إِثۡمَ عَلَيۡهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَآ إِثۡمَ عَلَيۡهِۖ لِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰۗ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّكُمۡ إِلَيۡهِ تُحۡشَرُونَ ٢٠٣ ﴿203
203Recite the name of Allah during the given number of days. Then whoever is early in leaving after two days, there is no sin on him, and whoever leaves later, there is no sin on him, if he is God-fearing. Fear Allah and be sure that you are going to be gathered before Him.
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Commentary

The numbered days. The days of Tashreeq, and Allah mentioned in them: the takbeer at the end of the prayers and at the jamar.

And regarding Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: he used to say takbeer in his tent in Mina, and those around him would say takbeer, until the people would say takbeer on the road and during the tawaf. So whoever hastens, then he hastens in the departure or hastens the departure.

'Ajala and 'ista'jala come as intransitive verbs meaning to hasten. It is said: he hastened in the matter and he hastened it. And the intransitive usage is more suitable for his saying: (And whoever delays) as it is also in his saying:

The deliberate may attain some of his need ... And with the hasty may be error.

And people say to one who encounters good ... what he desires, and to the mother of the one who errs, the loss.

The deliberate may attain some of his need ... And with the hasty may be error.

And perhaps a group may miss their main goal ... due to deliberation, and the correct opinion would have been for them to hasten.

This is for Al-Qatami and it was said to Al-A'sha. And people is the subject. And whoever encounters good, is a condition with the beginning of its response omitted, meaning they say to him, and the sentence is the news of the subject. What he desires, meaning that which he wants in supplication for good or in praise. And it was narrated: what you desire, perhaps its meaning is they say to him: what do you desire, O addressed one? It is also possible that 'what' is interrogative, meaning what do you want, O one who encountered good, but this is distanced by the contrast.

And the woman was bereaved, as she lost her child and grieved for him. That is, it is said to the mother of the one who errs, the bereaved, thus it is a supplication against her for the death of her child. Then he said:

The source may attain some of its purpose ... And with the hasty may be error.

And he hastened it, so he hastened and hastened, and they also come as transitive, it is said: he hastened the matter and he hastened it. Then he said: And a group may miss their main goal due to deliberation, and the correct opinion would have been for them to hasten, so if it were a source. The meaning is that some needs are suitable for delay, and some for haste.

And it is possible that 'if they had hastened' is the subject of 'was' and the opinion is in the accusative as its news. And it was narrated instead of it: the resolution, and the meaning is close. And in the speech is a rhetorical type called inversion and substitution, which is to bring the opposite of the commonly known meaning as here, for praising deliberation is the common view, and praising haste contradicts it. This was indicated by Al-Suyuti in the explanation of 'Aqood Al-Juman.'

For the deliberate on the two days after the day of sacrifice, the day of rest.

The saying 'the day of sacrifice, the day of rest' in the authentic narrations: because the people rest in their homes. (A) And it is the day that the people of Mecca call the day of heads, and the day after it they depart when they finish throwing the jamar as the people do today, and this is the position of Al-Shafi'i and it is narrated from Qatadah. And according to Abu Hanifah and his companions, they depart before dawn. And whoever delays until he throws on the third day. And throwing on the third day is permissible to be advanced before noon according to Abu Hanifah. And according to Al-Shafi'i, it is not permissible.

If you say: how did he say there is no sin upon him in both hastening and delaying? I say: it indicates that both hastening and delaying are optional, as if it were said: so hasten or delay.

If you say: is not delaying better?

I said: Yes, and it is permissible for there to be a choice between the virtuous and the better, just as the traveler was given the choice between fasting and breaking the fast, even though fasting is better. [Mahamud, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "He only negated sin in both cases to indicate the choice between the two matters, the virtuous and the better, just as the traveler was given the choice between fasting and breaking the fast, even though fasting is better." Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: His statement - that the choice occurs between the virtuous and the better - is not correct, for choice necessitates equality in the aim of the chooser, and contradicts the desire for one of the two sides and commanding it. How can it be consistent to combine what necessitates desire and preference with what necessitates equality and choice? Imam al-Haramayn had something similar to this, for he distinguished between obligation and recommendation by stating that recommendation includes the conjunction of the command with the option to abandon, whereas obligation does not. However, this was not accepted by the scholars of the field. Moreover, al-Zamakhshari erred in his interpretation of the verse, thus he was bound by that question posed to him. The explanation of the lack of correspondence between his interpretation and the verse, that is, its content negates sin from both sides, and this degree is common between recommendation, dislike, and permissibility. However, recommendation is distinguished by preferring action over abandonment, while dislike and permissibility are distinguished by the choice between them. Therefore, there is no contradiction between recommending delay and it being better, and between negating sin from the one who abandons it to hasten. At that point, the question that he was bound by does not arise, and he answered it.] It was said: The people of ignorance were of two groups: some considered the one who hastens to be sinful, while others considered the one who delays to be sinful. Thus, the Quran came to negate sin from both of them for the one who fears, meaning that choice.

And the negation of sin from the one who hastens and the one who delays is for the sake of the pious pilgrim: so that nothing of both may enter his heart, thinking that one of them burdens his companion with sins for proceeding upon it, because the one who is pious is cautious and wary of everything that raises suspicion. And because he is the true pilgrim before Allah. Then He said: "And fear Allah so that He may take care of you." It is permissible that this refers to what has been previously mentioned regarding the rulings of pilgrimage and others for the one who fears, for he is the one who benefits from it, unlike others, as in His saying: "That is better for those who seek the Face of Allah."

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Al-ZamakhshariAbū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī
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