Chapter 22, Verse 28

2:198; 3:98.

Important Words:

رجالا (on foot) is the plural of راجل, which means, one who walks on foot, a footman. رجل راجل means, a great walker (Lane). See also 2:240.

ضامر (lean camel) is active participle from ضمر which means, he or it was or became lean or slender and lean or lean and lank in the belly. ضامر means, lean and lank in the belly; a horse in a state of preparation for racing by its having been fed with food barely sufficient to sustain it after having become fat. خیل ضامرة means, horses in that state, i.e. lean and lank horses (Lane).

عمیق (distant) is derived from عمق which means, it was or became deep. عمیق when applied to a road means, remote or far-extending or long. بئر عمیقة means, a deep well (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The Pilgrimage as an institution began with Abraham as the words "and proclaim unto mankind the Pilgrimage" show. It was not an idolatrous institution incorporated into Islam by the Holy Prophet to conciliate the idol worshipping Arabs as some Christian writers have been led to think. From the time of Abraham, Pilgrimage has continued without a break to this day and will continue till the end of time. The Ka‘bah was once the centre of Pilgrimage for the Arabs alone, but now it is the centre of Pilgrimage for the whole Muslim world and is destined to become the spiritual centre for all mankind. It is when Islam will prevail in the world that the Ka‘bah will become a symbol of the Unity of God and of mankind. The time is not far off when there will be only One God, one Religion, one Prophet and one Book with the Ka‘bah as the one spiritual centre for the whole of mankind. That the Ka‘bah was destined one day to come into the possession of the Holy Prophet who was to set free captives "not for price nor reward" and at whose hands it was to become the spiritual centre for the whole of mankind was foretold several hundred years before the advent of the Holy Prophet by the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah’s prophecy is as follows:

I have raised him up in righteousness; and I will direct his ways: He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts... the labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: They shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God (Isaiah 45: 13-14).

The prophecy is too clear to need any explanation. It evidently applies to the Holy Prophet.

The verse also constitutes a mighty prophecy. The proclamation that Ka‘bah would one day become a great centre to which people from distant lands would come to perform Hajj was made at Mecca at a time when the very fate of Islam was hanging in the balance. Life was not safe for the Holy Prophet and his followers. They were being driven away from their hearths and homes and did not know where to go. It was at that time that it was proclaimed to the world, as if with a beat of drum, that to the Ka‘bah would come people from all parts of the earth. The gathering in Mecca every year of many hundreds of thousands of Muslims from very distant lands bears an irrefutable testimony to the remarkable fulfilment of this prophecy.

2:198; 3:98.

The Pilgrimage as an institution began with the Patriarch Abraham as the words, And proclaim unto men the Pilgrimage, show. It was not an idolatrous institution incorporated into Islam by the Holy Prophet to conciliate the idol-worshipping Arabs as some Christian writers have been led to think. From the time of Abraham Pilgrimage has continued without break to this day. The gathering in Mecca every year of many hundreds of thousands of Muslims from very distant lands bears an irrefutable testimony to the fulfilment of this prophecy.