ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Al-Mizan An Exegesis of the Qur'an, vol 2 Suratul Baqarah: Verse 158 (١٥٨) إِنَّ ٱلصَّفَا وَٱلمَرۡوَةَ مِن شَعَآئرِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ فَمَنۡ حَجَّ ٱلبَيتَ أَوِ ٱعتَمَرَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيهِ أَن يَطَّوَّفَ بِهِمَا‌ۚ وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيرً۬ا فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ Surely the Safa and the Marwah are among the signs of Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or per-forms 'umrah thereof, there is no blame on him to go round them both; and whoever on his own accord does good, then surely Allah is Grateful, All-knowing (158).

General Comment The Safa and the Marwah are two places in Mecca between which a pilgrim has to perform as-sa'y اَلسـَّعْيُ ) = the ceremony of walking quickly seven times between the Safa and the Mar­wah, during the hajj and the 'umrah; literally to move quickly, to run). These are two hills, the distance between them reportedly being 760½ arm. as-Safa الصَّفَا )= hard smooth rock); al-Marwah ( اَلمَرْوَة ُ = hard stone).

ash-Sha'a'ir ( اَلشـَّعَائـِرُُ ) is the plural of ash-sha'irah اَلشـَّعِيرَةُُ ) = sign); from it is derived the word al-mash'ar المَشْعَرُ ) = the hajj station, east of Mecca); also they say, ash'ara '1-hady أشْعَرَ الهَدْيَ ) = he marked or branded the sacrifical animal). Al-Hajj ( الحَـجُّ ) literally means repeated intention; in Islamic terminology it refers to the special rites collectively known as Pilgrimage of Mecca.

al-I'timar ( اَلإعْتِمَارُُ ) means to visit; it is derived from al- 'imarah العِمَارَةُ ) = building) because buildings thrive by visits; in Islamic language it refers to the so-called “lesser pilgrimage” to the Ka'bah, which unlike the hajj, need not be performed at a particular time and whose performance involves fewer ceremonies. al-Junah ( الجُنَاحُ ) is deviation from truth and justice; it is used for sin and misdemeanour; thus, negation of sin or blame implies permission.

at-Tatawwuf ( اَلتـَّطـَوُّفُُ ) is derived from at-tawf ( اَلطـََّوْفُُ ), that is, to make the rounds. It denotes a round trip, that is, a journey or walk that ends at its starting point; it need not necessarily be a circumambulation around something (although circumambulation is more obvious ap­plication of the word); it is the former meaning in which it has been used in this verse - it refers to as-sa'y, that is, walking between the Safa and the Marwah seven times consecutively.