The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 329
PT. 2 AL-BAQARAH "the altar which Adam had built, which had been destroyed by the waters of the Deluge, which Noah had again builded, and which had, been destroyed in the age of divisions" (The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel translated by J. W. Ethebridge, London, 1862, p. 226). The Ka'bah is the only altar that answers this description; there is no other place so ancient. It was the purpose of God that men from all quarters should assemble at this central house and thus be reminded of their common humanity and common relation with the Lord of the worlds. Differences which divided one nation from another were to be forgotten and all drawn closer to one another in one common bond. The Hajj provides pilgrims of different lands and diverse nationalities with an excellent opportunity to cultivate acquaintance with one another and discuss matters of common interest. This purpose has been made all the more accessible by ordering pilgrims to pass the days of Hajj, and the days following, not within the four walls of Mecca but out in the open desert at Minā, Muzdalifah and Arafāt and back again in Minā. The different objects and places which play an important part in Pilgrimage are spoken of in the Quran as a (2:159; 5:3; 22:33) or the Signs of God, which shows that they are meant by God to serve as symbols to impress upon the minds of pilgrims their inward significance. The Ka'bah or the Baitullah (the 329 CH. 2 House of God), the very first house of worship round which thousands of devout pilgrims perform the circuit and towards which they all turn while offering their Prayers wherever they be, recalls to their mind the Unity and Majesty of God upon Whom depends all creation. It also reminds one of the unity of mankind. The act of running between the Şafa and the Marwah calls to the minds of pilgrims the pathetic story of Hagar and Ishmael, reminding them how God provides for his helpless servants even in the solitude of a great wilderness. Mina is a name derived from the word 'umniyyah which means "an object" or "a desire". This reminds the pilgrim of the fact that he goes there with the "object" or the "desire" of meeting God. From Mina the pilgrim proceeds to Muzdalifah which means "nearness" and reminds him that the object with which he had set out has drawn "near". The other name of Muzdalifah is Mash'arul- This also hints that the final stage is Ḥarām, meaning the sacred symbol. near. From Muzdalifah, the pilgrim proceeds to 'Arafāt, the root-meaning of which is "to recognize". This reminds him that he has now reached the stage of "recognition" where he has "recognized" or known the One Lord and has met Him. Again, the place chosen for this great concourse of the Faithful is a barren waste, devoid of all vegetation, as the Quran itself states (14:38). The only things that are met