سورة الحج

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ إِذْ بَوَّأْنا لِإِبْراهِیمَ مَکانَ الْبَیْتِ [And when We assigned to Ibrahim the place of the House] — that is, We made [the place of the House of the Ka'bah] known to Ibrahim (peace be upon him).

Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them): Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to build the Ka'bah, to raise its foundations, and to show the people their rites of hajj. So Ibrahim (peace be upon him), with the help of Isma'il (peace be upon him), built one course of the stonework of the Ka'bah's wall each day, until the work reached the place where the Black Stone was to be set. At that point [the mountain of] Abu Qubays called out: 'O Ibrahim (peace be upon him)! You have a trust with me,' and he handed him the Black Stone; Ibrahim (peace be upon him) then placed it in its position. Then Ibrahim (peace be upon him) issued a general call to the people for hajj and said: 'O people! I am Ibrahim, the Khalil of Allah (peace be upon him); Allah commands you to make for this House and to perform the hajj. So, O people, make for this House and perform the hajj.' As a result, everyone who performs the hajj until the Day of Resurrection has answered the call of Ibrahim (peace be upon him); and the first person to answer his call was a man from the people of Yemen.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Husayn ibn Mukhtar said: Ismail ibn Jabir narrated to me that Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "When Tubba' (the king of Yemen), together with the scholars and the sons of the prophets, came from the direction of Iraq and reached this land (Makkah), which belonged to [the tribe of] Hudhayl, people from other tribes came to him and said: 'You have come among a people who have for years been toying with humankind, treating their lands as a sanctuary and their prophet as a "god" or "goddess."' Tubba' said: 'If what you say is true, I shall kill their warriors, take their children captive, and destroy their houses.' At that moment his eyes came out of their sockets and fell upon his cheeks. So he summoned the scholars and the sons of the prophets (peace be upon them) and said: 'Look at my condition and tell me why such a calamity has befallen me.' They refused to tell him the truth until he adjured them; then they said: 'Tell us what you had resolved in yourself.' He said: 'I resolved to kill their warriors, take their children captive, and destroy their houses.' They said: 'In our view, this very resolve is what has caused this state to come upon you.' He asked: 'How so?' They replied: 'Because this land is the sanctuary of Allah, this House is the House of Allah, and its inhabitants are of the progeny of Ibrahim Khalil al-Rahman (peace be upon him).' He said: 'You have spoken the truth; now how can I be delivered from this state?' They said: 'You must change your resolve, [in which case] it is hoped that Allah will restore you to your former state.' So he formed a good intention in his mind, and shortly afterwards his eyes returned to their former state and settled back in their place. Then he summoned those who had incited him to destroy that land and put them all to death. Then he came to the House of Allah and covered it [with a cloth], and for thirty days, each day, he had a hundred camels [slaughtered and served as food to the people there]; and [so abundant was the food that] vessels of food were carried to the wild beasts on the tops of the mountains, and fodder was scattered in the valleys for the beasts of the wilderness. Then he went from Makkah to Madinah and settled there a people from the folk of Yemen, from the tribe of Ghassan, and the Ansar (the inhabitants of Madinah at the time of the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family), who believed in him and aided him) are of their progeny." And in another narration it has come that Tubba' covered the House of Allah with a carpet and perfumed and scented it.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): [One day during the Hajj rites,] Imam Ali (peace be upon him) [by the command of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] addressed the people, drew his sword from its sheath and said: "[From now on] no one has the right to circumambulate the House of Allah naked (as was customary among the polytheists), and no polytheist has the right to take part in the Hajj rites; and those whose covenant with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) has a fixed term shall be honoured until the end of that term, and those whose covenant has no fixed term, their term shall be four months." In the book Musnad al-Mawsili (Abu Ya'la), these sentences are also added: "No one shall enter Paradise except a believing soul, and this is the command which Allah gave to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) when He said: وَ طَهِّرْ بَیْتِیَ لِلطَّائِفِینَ وَ الْقائِمِینَ وَ الرُّکَّعِ السُّجُود [And purify My House for those who make the circuit and stand to pray and bow and prostrate themselves]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imran al-Halabi said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Should women perform ghusl when they wish to go to visit the House of Allah?" He said: "Yes! Allah the Exalted says: وَ طَهِّرْ بَیْتِیَ لِلطَّائِفِینَ وَ الْقائِمِینَ وَ الرُّکَّعِ السُّجُود [And purify My House for those who make the circuit and stand to pray and bow and prostrate themselves]; it is fitting for a servant to enter the House of Allah in a state of purity, in such a way that he first washes the sweat and filth from his body and then performs ghusl."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah the Blessed and Exalted has one hundred and twenty mercies around the Ka'ba: sixty of them are for those who make the circuit, forty for those who pray, and twenty for those who look at the Ka'ba.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim said: "I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about what people say — that Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) in His own image." He said: "Adam's (peace be upon him) form was a new form which Allah created and chose and preferred over other various forms, and [to show its high station] He attributed it to Himself, just as He attributed the Ka'ba to Himself and the spirit to Himself, and said: بَیْتِی [My House] and [said:] وَ نَفَخْتُ فِیهِ مِنْ رُوحِی [And I breathed into him of My spirit] (Hijr/29)."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): وَ طَهِّرْ بَیْتِیَ لِلطَّائِفِینَ وَ الْقائِمِینَ وَ الرُّکَّعِ السُّجُودِ [And purify My House for those who make the circuit and stand to pray and bow and prostrate themselves]; what Allah means by them (those who circumambulate, etc.) is the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).