So, if those who visit the House in the Hajj Season or at...

So, if those who visit the House in the Hajj Season or at other times should compass them round, there is no sin in it. And if any one obeys his own impulse to good, be sure that Allah is He Who recognizes and knows. (2:158) Historically, running seven times between Safa and Marwah, as a ritual, is a repetition of the running of Hajar, Prophet Ishmael’s mother, between these two hills in order to save her child from thirst, which culminated in gaining the water of the Zamzam Spring.

Shaykh al-Kulayni has reported through a valid chain of authority that Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) said: When (Prophet) Abraham (S) left behind him his child Ishmael (‘a) at Makkah, the child felt terribly thirsty. His mother walked towards Safa and climbing it, cried out, “Is there any friend in these deserts?” As she received no answer, she walked towards Marwah and repeated the same words. She received no answer.

She then returned to Safa and continued running between these two places, which were full of trees, seven times. Accordingly, Almighty Allah determined running back and forth seven times at this site as a religious tradition. [^2]…