Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 202
202 pleasure of God (37:108). This great sacrifice was that the boy and his mother should be settled in a distant, barren valley, so that the boy should be made an instrument for the purpose of establishing the true worship of God in and around the Sacred House (14:38). The first house consecrated to the worship of God was at Mecca (3:97). It became a resort of pilgrimage and a sanctuary (2:126). Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House (2:128), and Abraham prayed that Mecca should be a town of peace, that its dwellers be provided with fruits, and that God might be pleased to raise up among them a Messenger from among themselves, who should recite to them His Signs and teach them the Book, and wisdom, and should purify them and foster their welfare (2:127, 130). This prayer found its answer and its fulfilment in the advent of the Prophet of Islam (62:3). Abraham was commanded: “Proclaim unto mankind the Pilgrimage. They will come to thee on foot, and on every lean camel, coming by every distant track” (22:28). The object of the pilgrimage was that the participants should derive social benefits therefrom, join in the worship of God, offer sacrifices, fulfil their vows, and perform the circuit of the House while glorifying and praising God (22:29 ⎯ 30).