سورة الحج

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) — narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him), in a sermon that he delivered to the people, said: ... Allah the Exalted first commanded Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him) with the "call," saying: وَ أَذِّنْ فِي النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ [And proclaim among men the Pilgrimage], and likewise at the end He commanded the Wali with the "call," saying: this is an announcement from Allah and His Messenger (Tawbah/3).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): When Allah (the Mighty and Majestic) commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to summon the people to the Hajj, he stood upon the Maqam (Maqam Ibrahim (peace be upon him)) and it rose with him until it reached the level of Mount Abu Qubays; then he called all the people to the Hajj with a loud voice, and [with this call] he made his voice reach the ears of all those who are in the loins of men and the wombs of women until the Day of Judgement.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) that: أَذِّنْ فِی النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ [Proclaim among men the Pilgrimage], Ibrahim (peace be upon him) took the stone on which the imprint of his two feet now rests — and that is the Maqam Ibrahim — and placed it facing the Kaaba, adhering to it, opposite the position where it stands today. Then he stood upon it and, in a loud voice, called out that which Allah the Mighty and Majestic had commanded him. When he uttered those words, the stone could not bear it and Ibrahim's (peace be upon him) two feet sank into the stone, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) pulled his feet out of the stone with difficulty. When the crowds of people grew and [during the tawaf, because of the presence of this stone] they were put to hardship and difficulty, they gathered around it and decided to place the stone in the location where it stands today, so that the place of tawaf would be clear for those who circumambulate. When Allah chose Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) as a Prophet, he returned the stone to the very place where Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had placed it, and it remained there throughout the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), the time of Abu Bakr, and the beginning of Umar's rule, until Umar said: 'People crowd upon the Maqam Ibrahim (peace be upon him) [and others are put to difficulty during tawaf]; who among you knows the location of this stone in the time of Jahiliyyah?' A man said: 'I have measured its position with a measure.' Umar asked: 'Do you have that measure with you?' He answered: 'Yes.' Umar said: 'Bring it.' He did so, and [after that place was identified] Umar ordered that the Maqam Ibrahim (peace be upon him) be taken and moved to the location in which it stands today.

Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them): Uqbah ibn Bashir narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (peace be upon him) or Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: Allah the Mighty and Majestic commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to build the Kaaba, raise its pillars, and show the people their rites. So Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them) built one course of the wall each day until they reached the place where the Black Stone was to be set. Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Then Mount Abu Qubays called out to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and said: 'A trust of yours is with me.' So it gave Ibrahim (peace be upon him) the Black Stone, and he placed it in its place. Then Ibrahim (peace be upon him) summoned the people to the Hajj. He said: 'O people! I am Ibrahim, Khalilullah, and Allah commands you to come to the Hajj of this House.' So the people went to Hajj, and everyone who goes to Hajj until the Day of Judgement has answered his call, and the first people to answer this command were people from among the people of Yemen.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) stayed in Madinah for ten years without performing the Hajj. Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to him this verse: وَأَذِّن فِی النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ یَأْتُوکَ رِجَالًا وَعَلَی کُلِّ ضَامِرٍ یَأْتِینَ مِن کُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِیقٍ [And proclaim among men the Pilgrimage: they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path]. So the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) commanded the callers to announce with their loudest voices that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) would set out for Hajj that year. The people of Madinah, the inhabitants of the elevated mountainous regions of Madinah, and the desert Arabs learned of it and gathered for the Hajj of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). In this Hajj they merely followed him — that is, they waited for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to give them an instruction so they could obey him in it, or to do something so that they could do the like of it. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) set out four days before the end of Dhu al-Qa'dah.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Allah the Exalted takes pride before the angels in the pilgrims who are at [the plain of] Arafat, saying: "O My angels! Look at My servants, dishevelled and dust-covered, who have come to Me from every remote path. I take you as witnesses that I have answered their supplication, granted their request, forgiven their wrongdoers for the sake of their righteous ones, and given their righteous ones everything they asked of Me, [I have forgiven them all] except the rights owed among the people that they owe to one another." When the pilgrims set out [from Arafat] toward the land of Mina and halt [there] and once again raise their hands to the court of Allah and begin to ask for their needs, Allah says: "O My angels! My servants have halted and have once again begun asking for their needs. I take you as witnesses that I have answered their supplication, granted their request, forgiven their wrongdoers for the sake of their righteous ones, given their righteous ones everything they asked of Me, and I Myself have taken upon Myself the rights owed among the people that they owe to one another."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Halabi said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "What is the reason for the obligation of the talbiyah (saying labbayk at the time of entering ihram)?" He said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed to Ibrahim (peace be upon him): أَذِّنْ فِی النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ یَأْتُوکَ رِجالًا وَ عَلی کُلِّ ضامِرٍ یَأْتِینَ مِنْ کُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِیقٍ [Proclaim among men the Pilgrimage: they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path]. So Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did so, and the people answered him from every direction, uttering the talbiyah [and this act became a sunnah]."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Ja'far said: I asked my brother Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): "What is the reason for the obligation of the talbiyah (saying labbayk at the time of entering ihram)?" He said: "Because when Allah the Blessed and Exalted said [addressing Ibrahim (peace be upon him)]: وَ أَذِّنْ فِی النَّاسِ بِالْحَجِّ یَأْتُوکَ رِجالًا [And proclaim among men the Pilgrimage: they will come to you on foot], Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did so and made [this command] heard by the people; and the people, uttering the talbiyah, hastened toward him from every direction; for this reason the talbiyah was made obligatory."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): When Allah the Mighty and Majestic commanded Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them) to build the Kaaba, and its construction was completed, He commanded Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to climb up on a pillar and call out among the people in this way: "Perform the Hajj, perform the Hajj"; and had he called out: "Hasten towards the Hajj", only those human beings who were alive on that day would have performed the Hajj; but he called out "Perform the Hajj", and even those who were in the loins of men responded to his call and said: "Labbayk, O caller of Allah! Labbayk, O caller of Allah". So whoever [at that time] said labbayk ten times will perform the Hajj ten times, whoever said labbayk five times, five times, and whoever said labbayk more than that, that same number, and whoever said labbayk once will perform the Hajj once, and whoever did not say labbayk will not perform the Hajj.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ عَلی کُلِّ ضامِرٍ; "damir" means "a lean camel". When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) finished building the Kaaba, Allah commanded him to call the people to the Hajj with a loud voice. He said: "O Lord! My voice will not reach the ears of all the people". Allah said: "You call out; your duty is to call out, and I will make it reach the ears of all". Ibrahim (peace be upon him) climbed up on the Maqam, which on that day was attached to the Kaaba, and the Maqam rose up so high that it became taller than the mountains. Ibrahim (peace be upon him), while placing his two fingers in his ears and turning his face to the left and right, called out and said: "O people! It has been made obligatory upon you to set out for the honored House of the Kaaba, so respond to your Lord". And they, from beyond the seven seas, from east and west, from all regions of the earth, and from the loins of men and the wombs of women, responded to him and said: "Labbayk, Allahumma labbayk"; do you not see that pilgrims come from every direction saying labbayk [towards the House of Allah]? So whoever performs the Hajj from that day until the Day of Resurrection is among those who [on that day] responded to the call of Allah.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whenever one of you performs the Hajj, let him conclude his Hajj by visiting us (in Madinah); for this visit brings the Hajj to completion.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The completion of Hajj is that a person [on this journey] attains the meeting of the infallible Imam (peace be upon him).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Fudayl ibn Yasar said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) turned his attention to the people while they were performing tawaf around the Kaaba, and said: In the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era) they also used to perform tawaf like this; the people have been commanded to perform tawaf around the House and then to return to us and accept our wilayah (guardianship) and help us.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): [Thumali reported: I came to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) while he was sitting at the door facing the mosque, watching the people who were performing tawaf. Then he said: 'O Aba Hamza! What have these people been commanded to do?' I said: I did not know what to answer. The Imam (peace be upon him) said:] 'They have been commanded to circumambulate these stones, then come to us and declare to us their love and ikhlas (sincere devotion).'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The land of the Ka'bah said [boastfully]: 'Who is like me! For the House of Allah has been built upon me, and people come to me from every distant path, and I have been made the sanctuary and the safe land of Allah!' Allah revealed to it: 'Stop and be still! The excellence you possess, compared to the excellence given to the land of Karbala, is like a needle dipped into the sea that has taken up with it a little of the sea's water.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): We (the Ahl al-Bayt) are the Ka'bah of Allah and we are the Qiblah of Allah.