The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 235
PT. 17 AL-HAJJ CH. 22 good for him with his Lord. ذلِكَ وَمَنْ يُعَظْمُ حُرمتِ اللهِ فَهُوَ -That is God's command. 31 ment. "And whoso honours the خَيْرٌ لَّهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَأُحِلَّتْ لَكُمُ sacred things of Allah, it will be الْأَنْعَامُ إِلَّا مَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَاجْتَنِبُوا And the eating of the flesh الرِّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَ اجْتَنِبُوا قَوْلَ النُّورِة b of all cattle is made lawful to you except that which has already been announced to you in the Quran. Shun, therefore, the abomination of idols, and shun all words of untruth, 2461 a5:3. b5:2; 6:146. that the Ka'bah shall always occupy a position of honour in the world. It has also been described as (the Sacred House) in the Quran. The fact that the Ka'bah is a very ancient House of worship in the world finds corroboration in another verse of the Quran (3:97) where it is said that it is the very first House founded for Divine worship. In 14:38 we find that the Ka'bah was in existence long before Abraham brought his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael to settle in the barren, bleak and arid valley of Mecca. Noah is believed by some to have performed the circuit of the Ka'bah (Tabarī as quoted by Enc. of Islam). Historians of established repute and authority, including even some very hostile critics of Islam, have admitted that the Ka'bah had been held sacred from time immemorial. Diodorus Siculus writing about the region now known as the Hijaz says that there is in this country a temple greatly revered by all the Arabs "to which the neighbouring peoples throng from all 2149 sides. " "These words," says Sir William Muir, "must refer to the Holy House of Mecca for we know of no other which ever commanded the universal homage of Arabia. . . Tradition represents the Ka'bah as from time immemorial the scene of pilgrimage from all quarters of Arabia so extensive an homage must have had its beginning in an extremely remote age" (Muir, p. ciii). The fact seems to be that the Ka'bah was first built by Adam and after that it was washed away by the great Deluge in the time of Noah and was later rebuilt by Abraham. See also 2:128-129. 2461. Commentary: The words, "whoso honours the sacred things of Allah, it will be good for him with his Lord," signify that a Muslim should not treat lightly or with disrespect such things as God has sanctified or held sacred. The words cover all those things and persons that God has honoured. In the last sentence of the verse