Al-Hajj Verse

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The Verse of Hajj is verse 97 of sura Al 'Imran which states the legislation of the obligation of hajj. According to this verse, hajj is obligatory on all people who are Mustati'. Some other verses, such as verse 196 of sura al-Baqara and verse 27 of sura al-Hajj, are also called “Verse of Hajj”. Some faqihs (jurists) have considered this verse as addressing everyone so that its obligation includes all human beings even non-Muslims. They believe that believing in Islam is only a condition for the validity of hajj. The verse shows that hajj is among worships that must be performed with sincerity and with the intention to achieve God’s satisfaction.

Content of the Verse

According to this verse, Allah has made hajj obligatory on those who have Istita'a (who can afford it), and if any one turns away from it and disrespects it, God has no need for the creatures:

Verses related to hajj and its pillars and rulings are numerous and mentioned in different chapters of the Qur'an; but the verse 97 of sura Al 'Imran is known as the "verse of hajj" and many exegetes and researchers have referred to it by this name.[2] In addition, some commentators and faqihs have also called the verse 196 of sura al-Baqara[3] and the verse 27 of sura al-Hajj[4] with the same name.

According to some reports, this verse is the last verse revealed in Medina before the Prophet (s) moved to Mecca to perform the hajj rituals.[5] Based on another report, this verse along with other verses of sura Al 'Imran is revealed in Medina in the third year after Hijra and the Prophet (s) did not go to perform hajj until the tenth year after Hijra.[6]

Teachings of the Verse

When did hajj become obligatory?

Exegetes have different view over the time of legislation of obligation of hajj. Some believe that it was legislated as an obligation in the time of prophet Ibrahim (a), as stated in verse 27 of sura al-Hajj. Ibrahim (a) called people to hajj, and this obligation was practiced until the time of Prophet Muhammad's (s) mission (Bi'tha),[7] and then the phrase of the verse {And it is the duty of mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House} confirmed the same obligation.[8] With the belief that Sura al-Hajj is Makki, another group of scholars have related the implication of the verse {And proclaim the Hajj to all the people} for the obligation of hajj to the pre-emigration era.[9] Others have considered the obligation of hajj to be legislated in the third year after the emigration because sura Al 'Imran and the verse {And it is the duty of mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House} are revealed in the same year.[10] A group of scholars also believe that the revelation of the verse 196 of sura al-Baqara in the sixth year of Hijra[11] or the revelation of verse 96 of sura Al 'Imran is the origin of the obligation of hajj.[12] However, most of commentators have held that the obligation of hajj is due to the verse 97 of sura Al 'Imran or the verse 27 of sura al-Hajj in the tenth year of Hijra.[13] Some hadiths from the Infallibles (a) confirm this idea as well.[14] Some exegetes considered ل (li) in لله (li-Allah) and the preposition عَلَی ('ala) in the sentence "وَلِلَّهِ عَلَی النَّاسِ حِجُّ البَیتِ; and it is the duty of mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House", as well as being a nominal predicative sentence as the reason for the obligation of and the emphasis on the hajj.[15]

Those Whom Hajj Is Obligatory On

Some have claimed a consensus that the verse of hajj gives a general address including all men, women, believers and infidels; but it does not include minors (saghir); for, there is no taklif (injunctive rulings) on them.[16] According to a report, the prophet (s) regarded followers of other religions also as the addressees of the verse and ordered them to perform this pilgrimage; but they refused to fulfill it, so the verse 97 of sura Al 'Imran {and should anyone renege [on his obligation], Allah is indeed without need of the creatures} was revealed.[17] Shiite faqihs and some of the Sunni faqihs believe that according to this verse, hajj is obligatory upon the unbelievers, just like the believers, and Islam is only a condition of its validity, not a condition of its obligation.[18] Others believe that hajj is an act of worship and infidels are not obliged to Islamic worships.[19]

Istita'a (A Requirement for the Obligation of Hajj)

In the phrase {And it is the duty of mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House—for those who can afford the journey to it} the obligation of Hajj is conditional upon Istita'a (ability).[20] Exegetes and faqihs have different opinions on the Istita'a which is a prerequisite for the obligation of hajj.[21] Some have interpreted Istita'a as the ability to afford the travel and the means of transportation; because a narration from the prophet (s) confirms that.[22] Others have interpreted Istita'a as the physical health and ability to walk.[23] According to many Shi'ite jurists as well as some Sunnis,[24] Istita'a has a general meaning in this context which includes abilities regarding finance, health, road and time;[25] as Imam Ali (a) referred to {سَبِيلًا} in the verse as the physical health, cost and means of transportation.[26] Other accounts from the infallibles also confirm the same interpretation.[27]

Hajj Is an Urgent Obligation

Some Sunni commentators have considered the revelation of the verse of hajj in the third year after Hijra and the Prophet's not going to hajj until the tenth year Hijra as a reason for proving that hajj is not an urgent obligation.[28] On the basis of the verse of hajj and also verse 196 of sura al-Baqara, Shiite jurists and many Sunnis have argued on the urgency of performing hajj after achieving Istita'a and other conditions of its obligation.[29] There has also been a claim of consensus in this regard.[30]

Performing Hajj Again

According to the verse of hajj and other related verses, it is obligatory upon every human being to perform hajj once;[31] because the obligation in these verses to perform hajj points to creating the essence of hajj and creation of the essence would be accomplished by at least doing it once.[32] In addition to the consensus on this issue which some have claimed,[33] the respond of the Messenger of God to the questioner in this regard confirms the same thought.[34]

Meaning of "مَن کفَرَ; those who renege" in the verse

Commentators have taken "مَن کفَرَ; those who renege" in the verse of hajj to mean those who deny the obligation of hajj;[35] but one who abandons hajj while believes in its obligation is not considered a non-Muslim.[36] According to some exegetes, the concept "kufr" adopted from "مَن کفَرَ; those who renege" does not mean to deny Islam, but rather it means being ungrateful to [God's] blessings; because disobedience to divine commandment means ungratefulness to blessing and obedience means thankfulness.[37] Regarding the mentioned verse, the noble Prophet (s) has said, “whoever does not perform hajj while he can afford expenses of travel and means of transportation, he dies as a Jewish or a Christian.”[38] Some have said that the hadith does not mean they are really Jews or Christians but just suggests a strict rule about abandonment of hajj.

Sincerity in Hajj

According to verse 97 of sura Al Imran, hajj is among the God's rights upon servants: {and it is the duty of mankind toward Allah to make pilgrimage to the House} and God's servants must perform hajj with sincerity.

Notes

  1. ↑ Qurʾān 3:97, Translated by Qara'i
  2. ↑ Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 17; Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr, vol. 2, p. 70; Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 2, p. 52.
  3. ↑ Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 5, p. 153.
  4. ↑ Rīyāḍ al-masāʾil, vol. 6, p. 31
  5. ↑ Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 3, p. 17-18.
  6. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 144.
  7. ↑ Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 5, p. 64.
  8. ↑ Al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 355.
  9. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 144.
  10. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 144; Al-Munīr, vol. 4, p. 16.
  11. ↑ Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 5, p. 153; Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 51, p. 266, 274.
  12. ↑ Masālik al-Ifhām, vol. 2, p. 119.
  13. ↑ Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, vol. 5, p. 64; Al-Tibyān, vol. 7, p. 309; Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 1, p. 268.
  14. ↑ Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 245.
  15. ↑ Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 1, p. 267.
  16. ↑ Rawḍ al-jinān, vol. 4, p. 447; Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 144; Al-Munīr, vol. 4, p. 18.
  17. ↑ Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 29; Rawḍ al-jinān, vol. 4, p. 50.
  18. ↑ Muntahā al-Maṭālib, vol. 2, p. 652.
  19. ↑ Al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 18; Kashf al-ghiṭāʾ, vol. 2, p. 439.
  20. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 145.
  21. ↑ Masālik al-ifhām, vol. 2, p. 122
  22. ↑ Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 2, p. 22; Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 2, p. 55.
  23. ↑ Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 799; Rawḍ al-jinān, vol. 4, p. 448.
  24. ↑ Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 26; Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 1, p. 264.
  25. ↑ Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 1, p. 264; Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 2, p. 55-56.
  26. ↑ Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 26.
  27. ↑ Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 1, p. 264.
  28. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 144; Al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 102.
  29. ↑ Al-Khilāf, vol. 2, p. 257 ;Al-Majmūʿ, vol. 7, p. 103; Al-Munīr, vol. 4, p. 16; Kashf al-ghiṭāʾ, vol. 2, p. 429.
  30. ↑ Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 17, p. 223.
  31. ↑ Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, vol. 1, p. 163; Irshād al-adhhān, vol. 1, p. 307.
  32. ↑ Tadhkirat al-fuqahāʾ, vol. 7, p. 15; Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 17, p. 220.
  33. ↑ 'Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 17, p. 220.
  34. ↑ Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 144; Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 4, p. 55.
  35. ↑ Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 4, p. 27; Al-Tibyān, vol. 2, p. 538.
  36. ↑ 37Al- Kāfī , vol. 4, p. 266; Al-Tibyān, vol. 2, p. 538; Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 11, p. 16.
  37. ↑ Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 2, p. 799; Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 1, p. 115.
  38. ↑ Jāmiʿ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 113; Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 4, p. 153; Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 2, p. 56.

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