2: 161 Behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and die as deniers of the truth -their due is rejection by God, and by the angels,, and by all [righteous] men.

2: 162 In this state shall they abide; [and] neither will their suffering, be lightened, nor will they be granted respite.

2: 163 AND YOUR GOD is the One God: there is no deity save Him, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace.

2: 164 Verily, in the creation of the heavens and of the earth, and the succession of night and day: and in the ships that speed through the sea with what is useful to man: and in the waters which God sends down from the sky, giving life thereby to the earth after it had, been lifeless, and causing all manner of living creatures to multiply thereon: and in the change of the winds, and the clouds that run their appointed courses between sky and earth: [in all this] there are messages indeed for people who use their reason.

2: 165 And yet there are people who choose to believe in beings that allegedly rival God,* loving them as [only] God should be loved: whereas those who have attained to faith love God more than all else. If they who are bent on evildoing could but see - as see they will when they are made to suffer** [on Resurrection Day] -that all might belongs to God alone, and that God is severe in [meting out] punishment!

2: 166 [On that Day] it will come to pass that those who had been [falsely] adored* shall disown their followers, and the latter shall see the suffering [that awaits them], with all their hopes** cut to pieces!

2: 167 And then those followers shall say: “Would that we had a second chance [in life],*** so that we could disown them as they have disowned us!” Thus will God show them their works [in a manner that will cause them] batter regrets; but they will not come out of the fire.****

2: 168 O MANKIND! Partake of what is lawful and good on earth, and follow not Satan’s footsteps: for, verily, he is your open foe,

2: 169 and bids you only to do evil, and to commit deeds of abomination, and to attribute unto God something of which you have no knowledge.*

2: 170 But when they are told, “Follow what God has bestowed from on high,” some answer, “Nay, we shall follow [only] that which we found our forefathers believing in and doing.” Why, even if their forefathers did not use their reason at all, and were devoid of all guidance?

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2: 151 Even as We have sent unto you an apostle from among yourselves to convey unto you Our messages, and to cause you to grow in purity, and to impart unto you revelation and wisdom, and to teach you that which you knew not:

2: 152 so remember Me, and I shall remember you; and be grateful unto Me, and deny Me not.

2: 153 O YOU who have attained to faith! Seek aid in steadfast patience and prayer: for, behold, God is with those who are patient in adversity.

2: 154 And say not of those who are slain in God’s cause, “They are dead”: nay, they are alive, but you perceive it not.

2: 155 And most certainly shall We try you by means¹²⁵ of danger, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives and of [labour's] fruits. But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adversity -

2: 156 who, when calamity befalls them, say, “Verily, unto God do we belong and, verily, unto Him we shall return.”

2: 157 It is they upon whom their Sustainer’s blessings and grace are bestowed, and it is they, they who are on the right path!

2: 158 [Hence,] behold, As-Safa and Al-Marwah are among the symbols set up by God;¹²⁶ and thus, no wrong does he who, having come to the Temple on pilgrimage or on a pious visit, strides to and fro between these two:¹²⁷ for, if one does more good than he is bound to do-behold, God is responsive to gratitude, all-knowing.¹²⁸

2: 159 BEHOLD, as for those who suppress aught of the evidence of the truth and of the guidance which We have bestowed from on high, after We have made it clear unto mankind through the divine writ - these it is whom God will reject, and whom all who can judge will reject.¹²⁹

2: 160 Excepted, however, shall be they that repent, and put themselves to rights, and make known the truth: and it is they whose repentance I shall accept-for I alone am the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace.

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¹²⁵ Lit., “with something”. 

¹²⁶ Lit., “God’s symbols”. The space between the two low outcrops of rock called As-Safa and AI-Marwah, situated in Mecca in the immediate vicinity of the Ka`bah, is said to have been the scene of Hagar’s suffering when Abraham, following God’s command, abandoned her and their infant son Ishmael in the desert (see note 102 above). Distraught with thirst and fearing for the life of her child, Hagar ran to and fro between the two rocks and fervently prayed to God for succour: and, finally, her reliance on God and her patience were rewarded by the discovery of a spring-existing to this day and known as the Well of Zamzam - which saved the two from death through thirst. It was in remembrance of Hagar’s extreme trial, and of her trust in God, that As-Safa and Al-Marwah had come to be regarded, even in pre-Islamic times, as symbols of faith and patience in adversity: and this explains their mentionen the context of the passages which deal with the virtues of patience and trust in God (Razi).

¹²⁷ It is in commemoration of Hagar’s running in distress between As-$afa and Al-Marwah that the Mecca pilgrims are expected to walk, at a fast pace, seven times between these two hillocks. Because of the fact that in pre-Islamic times certain idols had been standing there, some of the early Muslims were reluctant to perform a rite which seemed to them to be associated with recent idolatry (Raz!, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas). The above verse served to reassure them on this score by pointing out that this symbolic act of remembrance was much older than the idolatry practiced by the pagan Quraysh.

¹²⁸ From the phrase “if one does more good. than he is bound to do”, read in conjunction with no wrong does he who…” (or, more literally, “there shall be no blame upon him who…”), some of the great Islamic scholars - e.g., Imam Abu Hanifah - conclude that the walking to and fro between As-$afa and Al-Marwah is not one of the obligatory rites of pilgrimage but rather a supererogatory act of piety (see Zamakhshari and Razi). Most scholars, however, hold the view that it is an integral part of the pilgrimage.

¹²⁹ Lit., “whom all who reject will reject” - i.e., all righteous persons who are able to judge moral issues. God’s rejection (la`nah) denotes “exclusion from His grace” (Manor II, 50). In classical Arabic usage, the primary meaning of ia’nah is equivalent to ib’dd (”estrangement” or “banishment”); in the terminology of the Qur’an, it signifies “rejection from all that is good” (Lisan al-Arab). According to Ibn `Abbas and several outstanding scholars of the next generation, the divine writ mentioned here is the Bible; thus, the above verse refers to the Jews and the Christians.

2: 141 “Now those people have passed away; unto them shall be accounted what they have earned, and unto you, what you have earned; and you will not be judged on the strength of what they did.”

2: 142 THE WEAK-MINDED among people will say, “What has turned them away from the direction of prayer which they have hitherto observed?”¹¹⁶ Say: “God’s is the east and the west; He guides whom He wills onto a straight way.”¹¹⁷

2: 143 And thus have We willed you to be a community of the middle way,¹¹⁸ so that [with your lives] you might bear witness to the truth before all mankind, and that the Apostle might bear witness to it before you.¹¹⁹ And it is only to the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who follow the Apostle and those who turn about on their heels that We have appointed [for this community] the direction of prayer which thou [O Prophet] hast formerly observed: for this was indeed a hard test for all but those whom God has guided aright.¹²⁰ But God will surely not lose sight of your faith-for, behold, God is most compassionate towards man, a dispenser of grace.

2: 144 We have seen thee [O Prophet] often turn thy face towards heaven [for guidance]: and now We shall indeed make thee turn in prayer in a direction which will fulfil thy desire. Turn, then, thy face towards the Inviolable House of Worship; and wherever you all may be, turn your faces towards it [in prayer]. And, verily, those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime know well that this [commandment] comes in truth from their Sustainer; and God is not unaware of what they do.

2: 145 And yet, even if thou wert to place all evidence¹²¹ before those who have been vouchsafed earlier revelation, they would not follow thy direction of prayer; and neither mayest thou follow their direction of prayer, nor even do they follow one another’s direction. And if thou shouldst follow their errant views after all the knowledge that has come unto thee thou wouldst surely be among the evildoers.

2: 146 They unto whom We have vouchsafed revelation aforetime know it as they know their own children: but, behold, some of them knowingly suppress the truth -

2: 147 the truth from thy Sustainer!¹²²

2: 148) for, every community faces a direction of its own, of which He’is the focal point.¹²³ Vie, therefore, with one another in doing good works. Wherever you may be, God will gather you all unto Himself: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.

2: 149 Thus, from wherever thou mayest come forth, turn thy face [in prayer] towards the Inviolable House of Worship-for,. behold, this [commandment] comes in truth from thy Sustainer; and God is not unaware of what you do.

2: 150 Hence, from wherever thou mayest come forth, turn thy face [in prayer] towards the Inviolable House of Worship; and wherever you all may be, turn your faces towards it, so that people should have no argument against you unless they are bent upon wrongdoing.¹²⁴ And hold not them in awe, but stand in awe of Me, and [obey Me,] so that I might bestow upon you the full measure of My blessings., and that you might follow the right path.

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¹¹⁶ Before his call to prophethood, and during the early Meccan period of his ministry, the Prophet-and his community with him-used to turn in prayer towards the Ka`bah. This was not prompted by any specific revelation, but was obviously due to the fact that the Ka`bah-although it had in the meantime been filled with various idols to which the pre-Islamic Arabs paid homage -was always regarded as the first temple ever dedicated to the One God (cf. 3 : 96). Since he was aware of the sanctity of Jerusalem - the other holy centre of the unitarian faith - the Prophet prayed, as a rule, before the southern wall of the Ka`bah, towards the north, so as to face both the Ka`bah and Jerusalem. After the exodus to Medina he continued to pray northwards, with only Jerusalem as his giblah (direction of prayer). About sixteen months after his arrival at Medina, however, he received a revelation (verses 142-150 of this sarah) which definitively established the Ka`bah as the giblah of the followers of the Quc’an. This “abandonment” of Jerusalem obviously displeased the Jews of Medina, who must have felt gratified when they saw the Muslims praying towards their holy city; and it is to them that the opening sentence of this passage refers. If one considers the matter from the historical point of view, there had never been any change in the divine commandments relating to the giblah: there had simply been no ordinance whatever in this respect before verses 142-150 were revealed. Their logical connection with the preceding passages, which deal, in the main, with Abraham and his creed, lies in the fact that it was Abraham who erected the earliest structure of the temple which later came to be known as the Ka’bah.

¹¹⁷ Or: “He guides onto a straight way him that wills [to be guided]“.

¹¹⁸ Lit., “middlemost community”-i.e., a community that keeps an equitable balance between extremes and is realistic in its appreciation of man’s nature and possibilities, rejecting both licentiousness and exaggerated asceticism. In tune with its oft-repeated call to moderation in every aspect of life, the Qur’an exhorts the believers not to place too great an emphasis on the physical and material aspects of their lives, but postulates, at the same time, that man’s urges and desires relating to this “life of the flesh” are God-willed and, therefore, legitimate. On further analysis, the expression “a community of the middle way” might be said to summarize, as it were, the Islamic attitude towards the problem of man’s existence as such: a denial of the view that there is an inherent conflict between the spirit and the flesh, and a bold affirmation of the natural, God-willed unity in this twofold aspect of human life. This balanced attitude, peculiar to Islam, flows directly from the concept of God’s oneness and, hence, of the unity of purpose underlying all His creation: and thus, the mention of the “community of the middle way” at this place is a fitting introduction to the theme of the Ka`bah, a. symbol of God’s oneness.

¹¹⁹I.e., “that your way of life be an example to all mankind, just as the Apostle is an example to you.”

¹²⁰I.e., “whom He has given understanding” (Razi). The “hard test” (kabirah) consisted in the fact that ever since their exodus to Medina the Muslims had become accustomed to praying towards Jerusalem - associated in their minds with the teachhings of most of the earlier prophets mentioned in the Qur’an -and were now called upon to turn in their prayers towards the Ka`bah, which at that time (in the second year after the hijrah) was still used by the pagan Quraysh as a shrine dedicated to the worship of their numerous idols. As against this, the Qur’an states that true believers would not find it difficult to adopt the Ka`bah once again as their giblah: they would instinctively realize the divine wisdom underlying this commandment which established Abraham’s Temple as a symbol of God’s oneness and a focal point of the ideological unity of Islam. (See also note 116 above.)

¹²¹Lit., “every sign (dyah)”, i.e., of its being a revealed commandment.

¹²²This refers, in the first instance, to the fact that the Ka`bah was Abraham’s giblah, as well as to the Biblical prophecies relating to Ishmael as the progenitor of a “great nation” (Genesis xxi, 13 and 18) from whom a prophet “like unto Moses” would one day arise: for it was through Ishamel’s descendant, the Arabian Prophet, that the commandment relating to the giblah was revealed. (Regarding the still more explicit predictions of the future advent of the Prophet Muhammad, forthcoming from the canonical Gospels, see 61 : 6 and the corresponding note.)

¹²³Lit., “everyone has a direction. . .”, etc. Almost all of the classical commentators, from the Companions of the Prophet downwards, interpret this as a reference to the various religious communities and their different modes of “turning towards God” in worship. Ibn Kathyr, in his commentary on this verse, stresses its inner resemblance to the phrase occurring in 5 : 48: “unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life”. The statement that “every community faces a direction of its own” in its endeavour to express its submission to God implies, firstly, that at various times and in various circumstances man’s desire to approach God in prayer has taken different forms (e.g., Abraham’s choice of the Ka’bah as his giblah. the Jewish concentration on Jerusalem, the eastward orientation of the early Christian churches, and the Qur’anic commandment relating to the Ka`bah); and, secondly, that the direction of prayerhowever important its symbolic significance may be-does not represent the essence of faith as such: for, as the Quean says, “true piety does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west” (2: 177), and, “God’s is the east and the west” (2: 115 and 142). Consequently, the revelation which established the Ka`bah as the giblah of the Muslims should not be a matter of contention for people of other faiths, nor a cause of their disbelief in the truth of the Qur’anic revelation as such (Manor 11, 21 f.).

¹²⁴Lit., “except such among them as are bent upon wrongdoing” (regarding the intent implied in the use of the past tense in expressions like alladhrna zalama or alladhrna kafaru, see note 6 on verse 6 of this sarah). The Qur’an stresses repeatedly that the Muslims are true 1ollowers of Abraham. This claim, however, might have been open to objection so long as they prayed in a direction other than Abraham’s giblah, the Ka`bah. The establishment of the latter as the giblah of the followers of the Quean would invalidate any such argument and would leave it only to “those who are bent upon wrongdoing” (in this case, distorting the truth) to challenge the message of the Qur’an on these grounds.

2: 131 When his Sustainer said to him, “Surrender thyself unto Me!” - he answered, “I have surrendered myself unto [Thee,] the Sustainer of all the worlds.”

2: 132 And this very thing did Abraham bequeath unto his children, and [so did] Jacob: “O my children! Behold, God has granted you the purest faith; so do not allow death to overtake you ere you have surrendered yourselves unto Him.”

2: 133 Nay, but you [yourselves, O children of Israel,] bear witness¹⁰⁷ that when death was approaching Jacob, he said unto his sons: “Whom will you worship after I am gone?” They answered: “We will worship thy God, the God of thy forefathers Abraham and Ishmael¹⁰⁸ and Isaac, the One God; and unto Him wi1l we surrender ourselves.”

2: 134 Now those people have passed away; unto them shall be accounted what they have earned, and unto you, what you have earned; and you will not be, judged on the strength of what they did.¹⁰⁹

2: 135 AND THEY say, “Be Jews” - or, “Christians” - “and you shall be on the right path.” Say: “Nay, but [ours is] the creed of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false,¹¹⁰ and was not of those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God.”

2: 136 Say: “We believe in God, and in that which has been bestowed from on high upon us, and that which has been bestowed upon Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and ,their descendants,¹¹¹ and that which has been vouchsafed to Moses and Jesus; and that which has been vouchsafed to all the [other] prophets by their Sustainer: we make no distinction between any of them.¹¹² And it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.”

2: 137 And if [others] come to believe in the way you believe, they will indeed find themselves on the right path; and if they turn away, it is but they who will be deeply in the wrong, and God will protect thee from them: for He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.

2: 138 [Say: "Our life takes its] hue from God! And who could give a better hue [to life] than God, if we but truly worship Him?”

2: 139 Say [to the Jews and the Christians]: “Do you argue with us about God?¹¹³ But He is our Sustainer as well as your Sustainer - and unto us shall be accounted our deeds, and unto you, your deeds; and it- is unto Him alone that we devote ourselves.

2: 140 “Do you claim that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and their descendants were `Jews’ or `Christians’?”¹¹⁴ Say: “Do you know more than God does? And who could be more wicked than he who suppresses a testimony given to him by God?¹¹⁵ Yet God is not unmindful of what you do.

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¹⁰⁷ I.e., “in the religious traditions to which you adhere”. It is to be noted that the conjunction am which stands at the beginning of this sentence is not always used in the interrogative sense (”is it that … ?”): sometimes -and especially when it is syntactically unconnected with the preceding sentence, as in this case - it is an equivalent of bat (”rather”, or “nay, but”), and has no interrogative connotation.

¹⁰⁸ In classical Arabic, as in ancient Hebrew usage, the term a%6 (”father”) was applied not only to the direct male parent but also to grandfathers and even more distant ancestors, as well as to paternal uncles: which explains why Ishmael, who was Jacob’s uncle, is mentioned in this context. Since he was the first-born of Abraham’s sons, his name precedes that of Isaac.

¹⁰⁹ Lit., “you will not be asked about what they did”. This verse, as well as verse 141 below, stresses the fundamental Islamic tenet of individual responsibility, and denies the Jewish idea of their being “the chosen people” by virtue of their descent, as well as-by implication-the Christian doctrine of an “original sin” with which all human beings are supposedly, burdened because of Adam’s fall from grace.

¹¹⁰ The expression hanif is derived from the verb hanafa, which literally means “he inclined [towards a right state or tendency]” (cf. Lane II, 658). Already in pre-Islamic times, this term had a definitely monotheistic connotation, and was used to describe a man who turned away from sin and worldliness and from all dubious beliefs, especially idol-worship; and tahannuf denoted the ardent devotions, mainly consisting of long vigils and prayers, of the unitarian God-seekers of pre-Islamic times. Many instances of this use of the terms hanif and tahannuf occur in the verses of pre-Islamic poets, e.g., Umayyah ibn Abi ’s-Salt and Juan al-`Awd (cf. Lisdn al-’Arab, art. hanafa).

¹¹¹ Lit., “the grandchildren” (al-asbdt, sing. sibt) - a term used in the Qur’an to describe, in the first instance, Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s immediate descendants, and, consequently, the twelve tribes which evolved from this ancestry.

¹¹² Le., “we regard them all as true prophets of God”.

¹¹³ I.e., about God’s will regarding the succession of prophethood and man’s ultimate salvation. The Jews believe that prophethood was a privilege granted to the children of Israel alone, while the Christians maintain that Jesus - who, too, descended from the children of Israel - was God’s final manifestation on earth; and each of these two denominations claims that salvation is reserved to its followers alone (see 2: 111 and 135). The Quean refutes these ideas by stressing, in the next sentence, that God is the Lord of all mankind, and that every individual will be judged on the basis of his own beliefs and his own behaviour alone.

¹¹⁴ Regarding the term asbat (rendered here as well as in verse 136 as “descendants”), see note I li above. In the above words the Qur’an alludes to thb fact that the concept of “Jewry” came into being many centuries after the time of the Patriarchs, and even long after the time of Moses, while the concepts of “Christianity” and “Christians” were unknown in Jesus’ time and represent later developments.

¹¹⁵ A reference to the Biblical prediction of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (see note 33 on verse 42 of this sarah), which effectively contradicts the Judaeo-Christian claim that all true prophets, after the Patriarchs, belonged to the children of Israel.

2: 121 Those unto whom We have vouchsafed the divine writ [and who] follow it as it ought to be followed⁹⁸-it is they who [truly] believe in it; whereas all who choose to deny its truth -it is they, they who are the losers!

2: 122 O CHILDREN of Israel! Remember those blessings of Mine with which I graced you, and how I favoured you above all other people;

2: 123 and remain conscious of [the coming of] a Day when no human being shall in the least avail another, nor shall ransom be accepted from any of them, nor shall intercession be of any use to them, and none shall be succoured.⁹⁹

2: 124 And [remember this:] when his Sustainer tried Abraham by [His] commandments and the latter fulfilled them,¹⁰⁰ He said: “Behold, I shall make thee a leader of men.” Abraham asked: “And [wilt Thou make leaders] of my offspring as well?” [God] answered: “My covenant does not embrace the evildoers.”¹⁰¹

2: 125 AND LO! We made the Temple a goal to which people might repair again and again, and a sanctuary: ¹⁰² take then, the place whereon Abraham once stood as your place of prayer.”¹⁰³ And thus did We command Abraham and Ishmael: “Purify My Temple for those who will walk around it,¹⁰⁴ and those who will abide near it in meditation, and those who will bow down and prostrate themselves [in prayer].”

2: 126 And, lo, Abraham prayed: “O my Sustainer! Make this a land secure, and grant its people fruitful sustenance - such of them as believe in God and the Last Day.” [God] answered: “And whoever shall deny the truth, him will I let enjoy himself for a short while -but in the end I shall drive him to suffering through fire: and how vile a journey’s end!”

2: 127 And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the Temple, [they prayed:] “O our Sustainer! Accept Thou this from us: for, verily, Thou alone art all-hearing, all-knowing!

2: 128 “O our Sustainer! Make us surrender ourselves unto Thee, and make out of our offspring¹⁰⁵ a community that shall surrender itself unto Thee, and show us our ways of worship, and accept our repentance: for, verily, Thou alone art the Acceptor of Repentance, the Dispenser of Grace!

2: 129 “O our Sustainer! Raise up from the midst of our off spring¹⁰⁶ an apostle from among themselves, who shall convey unto them Thy messages, and impart unto them revelation as well as wisdom, and cause them to grow in purity: for, verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise!”

2: 130 And who, unless he be weak of mind, would want to abandon Abraham’s creed, seeing that We have indeed raised him high in this world, and that, verily, in the life to come he shall be among the righteous?

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⁹⁸Or: “apply themselves to it with true application” -i.e.. try to absorb its meaning and to understand its spiritual design. 

⁹⁹See 2 : 48. In the above context, this refers, specifically, to the belief of the Jews that their descent from Abraham would “ransom” them on the Day of Judgment -a belief which is refuted in the next verse.

¹⁰⁰The classical commentators have indulged in much speculation as to what these commandments (kalimdt, lit., “words”) were. Since, however, the Qur’an does not specify them, it must be presumed that what is meant here is simply Abraham’s complete submission to whatever commandments he received from God.

¹⁰¹This passage, read in conjunction with the two preceding verses, refutes the contention of the children of Israel that by virtue of their descent from Abraham, whom God made “a leader of men”, they are “God’s chosen people”. The Qur’an makes it clear that the exalted status of Abraham was not something that would automatically confer a comparable status on his physical descendants, and certainly not on the sinners among them.

¹⁰²The Temple (al-bayt)-lit., “the House [of Worship]“‘-mentioned here is the Ka`bah in Mecca. In other places the Qur’an speaks of it as “the Ancient Temple” (al-bayt al= atrq), and frequently also as “the Inviolable House of Worship” (al-masjid al-hardm ). Its prototype is said to have been built by Abraham as the first temple ever dedicated to the One God (see 3 : 96), and which for this reason has been instituted as the direction of prayer (giblah) for all Muslims, and as the goal of the annually recurring pilgrimage (hajj). It is to be noted that even in pre-Islamic times the Ka`bah was associated with the memory of Abraham, whose personality had always been in the foreground of Arabian thought. According to very ancient Arabian traditions, it was at the site of what later became Mecca that Abraham, in order to placate Sarah, abandoned his Egyptian bondwoman Hagar and their child Ishmael after he had brought them there from Canaan. This is by no means improbable if one bears in mind that for a camel-riding bedouin (and Abraham was certainly one) a journey of twenty or even thirty days has never been anything out of the ordinary. At first glance, the Biblical statement (Genesis xii, 14) that it was “in the wilderness of Beersheba” (i.e., in the southernmost tip of Palestine) that Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael would seem to conflict with the Qur’anic account. This seeming contradiction, however, disappears as soon as we remember that to the ancient, town-dwelling Hebrews the term “wilderness of Beersheba” comprised all the desert regions south of Palestine, including the Hijaz. It was at the place where they had been abandoned that Hagar and Ishmael, after having discovered the spring which is now called the Well of Zamzam, eventually settled; and it may have been that very spring which in time induced a wandering group of bedouin families belonging to the South-Arabian (Qahtani) tribe of Jurhum to settle there. Ishmael later married a girl of this tribe, and so became the progenitor of the musta `ribah (”Arabianized”) tribes -thus called on account of their descent from a Hebrew father and a Qahtani mother. As for Abraham, he is said to have often visited Hagar and Ishmael; and it was on the occasion of one of these periodic visits that he, aided by Ishmael, erected the original structure of the Ka`bah. (For more detailed accounts of the Abraham’c tradition, see Bukhari’s Sahfh, Kitdb al- ‘11m, Tabari’s Ta’rfkh al-Umam, Ibn Sad, Ibn Hisham, Mas’fidi’s Murai adh-Dhahab, Yaqut’s Mu’jam alBulddn, and other early Muslim historians.)

¹⁰³This may refer to the immediate vicinity of the Ka’bah or, more probably (Manor I, 461 f.), to the sacred precincts (haram) surrounding it. The word amn (lit., “safety”) denotes in this context a sanctuary for all living beings.

¹⁰⁴The seven-fold circumambulation (fawdf) of the Ka’bah is one of the rites of the pilgrimage, symbolically indicating that all human actions and endeavours ought to have the idea of God and His oneness for their centre.

¹⁰⁵The expression “our offspring” indicates Abraham’s progeny through his first-born son, Ishmael, and is an indirect reference to the Prophet Muhammad. who descended from the latter.

¹⁰⁶Lit., “within them”.