The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 233
PT. 17 AL-HAJJ CH. 22 benefits for them and may لِيَشْهَدُوا مَنَافِعَ لَهُمْ وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ That they may witness its. 29 اللهِ فِى اَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَةٍ عَلَى مَا رَزَقَهُمْ ,mention the name of Allah مِنْ بَهِيمَةِ الْأَنْعَامِ ۚ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا وَأَطْعِمُوا الْبَاسَ الْفَقِيرَة b during the appointed days, over the quadrupeds of the class of cattle that He has provided for them. Then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed, the needy. 2459 "2:199; 5:3. 2:204. hundred years before the advent of the Holy Prophet by the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah's prophecy is as follows: I have raised him up in righteousness; and I will direct his ways: He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. . . the labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: They shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God (Isaiah 45:13-14). The prophecy is too clear to need any explanation. It evidently applies to the Holy Prophet. The verse also constitutes a mighty prophecy. The proclamation that Ka'bah would one day become a great centre to which people from distant lands would come to perform Hajj was made at Mecca at a time when the very fate of Islam was hanging in the balance. Life was not safe for the Holy Prophet and his followers. They were being driven away from their hearths and homes and did not know where to go. It was at that time that it was proclaimed to the world, as if with a beat of drum, that to the Ka'bah would come people from all parts of the earth. The gathering in Mecca every year of many hundreds of thousands of Muslims from very distant lands bears an irrefutable testimony to the remarkable fulfilment of this prophecy. 2459. Commentary: 2147 Apart from the spiritual good that the Pilgrimage does to a Muslim, it possesses great social and political significance. It has great potentialities for welding different Muslim countries into one strong international brotherhood of Islam. Muslims from all parts of the world, who meet at Mecca once a year can exchange views on all sorts of matters of international importance, renew old and establish new contacts. They have opportunities to acquaint themselves with the problems that confront their brethren in faith in