QURAN CHAPTER - 22
Al-Hajj - The Pilgrimage
Revealed - Medinan
Ruku - 10
Ayat - 78
Theme - The Makkah pilgrimage and some of the rituals connected with it.
This Surah is addressed to: (1) The Mushriks of Makkah (2) The Wavering Muslims (3) The True Believers
(1) The Mushriks of Makkah
- The mushriks have been warned in a forceful manner to this effect: "You have obdurately and impudently persisted in your ideas of ignorance and trusted in your deities instead of Allah, though they possess no power at all and you have repudiated the Divine Messenger. Now you will meet the same end as has been the doom of those like you before. You have only harmed yourselves by rejecting Our Prophet and by persecuting the best element of your own community; now your false deities shall not be able to save you from the wrath of God".
(2) The Wavering Muslims
- The wavering Muslims, who had embraced Islam but were not prepared to endure any hardship in its way, have been admonished to this effect:
"What is this faith of yours? On the one hand, you are ready to believe in Allah and become His servants provided you are given peace and prosperity but, on the other, if you meet with afflictions and hardships in His Way, you discard your Allah and cease to remain His servant. You should bear in mind that this wavering attitude of yours cannot avert those misfortunes and losses which Allah has ordained for you."
(3) The True Believers
- As regards the true Believers, they have been addressed in 2 ways:
(i) In a general way so as to include the common people of Arabia
- The Believers have been told that the mushriks of Makkah had no right to debar them from visiting the Holy Mosque. They had no right to prevent anyone from performing Hajj because the Holy Mosque was not their private property.
- It was built by Prophet Abraham by the Command of Allah and he had invited all the peoples to perform Hajj there. That is why those coming from outside had enjoyed equal rights by the local people from the very beginning.
(ii) In an exclusive way
- The Believers have been officially given the name of "Muslims", saying, "You are the real heirs to Abraham and you have been chosen to become witnesses of the Truth before mankind.
- Therefore you should establish Salat and pay the Zakat dues in order to become the best models of righteous life and perform Jihad for propagating the Word of Allah."
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