Surah Ale-Imran (The Family Of Imran ) 3 : 95

Overview (Verses 95 -97)

The First House for Human Worship

Say: “God speaks the truth. Follow, then, the creed of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false and was not one of those who associate partners with God. “The first House [of worship] ever set up for mankind was indeed the one at Bakkah: rich in blessing, and a source of guidance to all the worlds, full of clear messages. (Verses 95-96)

The Jews also sought constantly to exploit the question of changing the direction of Muslim prayer which meant that the Muslims faced the Ka`bah in prayer instead of turning towards Jerusalem. The Prophet and his Companions faced Jerusalem in their prayer for 16 or 17 months after the Prophet’s emigration to Madinah. This topic has been discussed at length in the preceding sūrah. That discussion explained that to choose the Ka`bah as the qiblah (or direction in prayer) is to opt for the most natural and preferable alternative. When Jerusalem was chosen for a certain period, this was done for a specific reason explained by God. The Jews, nevertheless, continued to exploit this issue, trying to raise doubts and confusion and covering truth with falsehood, in the same way as the enemies of Islam do today. God, however, foils their schemes with a new explanation: “Say: ‘God speaks the truth. Follow, then, the creed of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false and was not one of those who associate partners with God.’ The first House [of worship! ever set up for mankind was indeed the one at Bakkah: rich in blessing; and a source of guidance to all the worlds, full of clear messages. It is the place whereon Abraham once stood; and whoever enters it finds inner peace. Pilgrimage to this House is a duty owed to God by all people who are able to undertake it. As for those who disbelieve, God does not stand in need of anything in all the worlds.” (Verses 95-97)

This verse explains that to face the Ka`bah is the proper choice. The Ka`bah is the first House ever set up for the exclusive purpose of worship. God commanded Abraham to build it and to consecrate it for worshippers who either walk round it, spend periods of time worshipping in it and who bow and prostrate themselves there in total submission to God. God has blessed this House and made it like a beacon for mankind where they find guidance showing them the true faith acceptable to God, which is indeed the creed of Abraham himself. There are indeed clear signs in the Ka`bah which show that it is the place where Abraham stood in his worship. Some scholars suggest that the Arabic term, Maqām Ibrāhīm, which is used in this verse and rendered in our translation as “the spot where Abraham stood”, refers to the ancient stone on which Abraham stood when he built the Ka`bah. It used to be stuck to the wall of the Ka`bah, but the second Caliph, `Umar, moved it back so that people doing the ţawāf (i.e. walking round the Ka`bah) did not disturb those who prayed behind it. We are commanded by God to make that spot a place where we pray: “Establish the spot where Abraham stood as a place of worship.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 125)

One of the virtues of this House is highlighted here, namely, the sense of security it imparts to anyone who goes there. It is a refuge for anyone who is overtaken by fear, where he can find peace and security. In this particular aspect, this place is absolutely unique. It shares this quality with no other place on earth. It has remained so ever since it was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. Even in the dark ages of Ignorance in Arabia, when the Arabs deviated far away from Abraham’s faith and no longer believed in the oneness of God, the sanctity of this House continued to be observed. Al-Ĥasan al-Başrī and other renowned scholars explain that in that period of Ignorance, a man might commit a murder and go into the sanctuary of the House, having put a piece of wool around his neck. He might be met there by the son of the man he murdered but he would not be disturbed there until he had left the House.

This is part of the honour and blessings God has given to this House of His, even when people around it lived in total ignorance. He reminds the Arabs of this great favour He has done them: ‘Are they not aware that We have set up a secure sanctuary while people are snatched away all around them?” (Al-`Ankabūt 29: 67) Its sanctity is even extended to animals. Hunting is forbidden in its vicinity and no animals are scared out of their abodes in order to be captured. It is also forbidden to cut down the trees in its vicinity. An authentic ĥadīth, related by Al-Bukhārī and Muslim on the authority of Ibn `Abbās, mentions that the Prophet (peace be upon him), said on the day when Makkah was liberated by the Muslims: “God has made this city a sacred one ever since the day He created the heavens and the earth. It remains, therefore, inviolable by virtue of the sanctity imparted to it by God till the Day of Resurrection. Fighting in this city was never made lawful to anyone before me. It has only been made lawful to me for an hour of one day. It continues to be sanctified by God’s order till the Day of Resurrection. Its plants may not be cut, its game may not be scared. No one may pick up something dropped by other people unless he recognizes its owner, etc.”

This is, then, the House God has chosen to be the qiblah, or direction of Prayer, for Muslims. It is God’s House which He has made so rich in blessings. It is the first House ever set up for men to worship in. Moreover, it is the House of Abraham, containing clear signs that it was Abraham himself who built it. Islam, or submission to God, is the creed of Abraham. Hence, the House he built is the one which deserves to serve as the direction of Prayer for Muslims. Moreover, it represents security and peace on earth. Since it is the focal point of Islam, it represents guidance for mankind.

The sūrah moves on to state that God has imposed a duty on mankind to make pilgrimage to this House once they are able to do so. Otherwise, they let themselves fall into disbelief which causes God no harm: “Pilgrimage to this House is a duty owed to God by all people who are able to undertake it. As for those who disbelieve, God does not stand in need of anything in all the worlds.”

One thing which attracts our attention when we read this verse is the fact that the duty of pilgrimage is made in absolutely general terms: “... a duty owed to God by all people.” This suggests, first of all, that the duty of pilgrimage is also required of the Jews who disputed the validity of the Muslims turning to the Ka`bah in their Prayer. Their argument fails completely when it is realised that they themselves are required to make the pilgrimage to this House, since it is the House built by their father, Abraham, and the first one ever to be set up for worship by mankind. In this light, the Jews appear to be the deviant and disobedient ones. We may also infer from the way this verse is phrased that all mankind are required to accept this faith, fulfil its duties, offer its worship, and make the journey of pilgrimage to the House to which the believers in God turn. Unless they do this, their stand is one of disbelief, no matter how strongly they may profess to be believers. God stands in no need of anything or anyone. He does not need people’s belief in Him, nor does He benefit by their pilgrimage. The benefit and prosperity are theirs when they accept the faith and offer the worship.

Pilgrimage is a personal obligation on every individual once in a lifetime, and it becomes due when the conditions of ability are fulfilled, including physical health, ability to travel and safe passage. There is, however, a difference of opinion among scholars with regard to the time when this duty was imposed. Relying on the report that the present passage was revealed in the ninth year of the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah, which is generally known in history books as “the year of delegations”, some scholars believe that pilgrimage was made an obligatory duty in that same year. They support their argument with the fact that the Prophet himself went on his pilgrimage after that date. When we discussed the question of changing the direction of the qiblah, in our commentary on the preceding sūrah, we made the point that the timing of the Prophet’s pilgrimage could not be taken as an argument in support of the view that the pilgrimage was made obligatory at a late stage in the Prophet’s life. Several considerations might have contributed to that delay. One of these may have been the fact that the idolaters used to do the walking round the Ka`bah (ţawāf) completely in the nude, and they continued to do so after the liberation of Makkah. The Prophet did not like to join them in their ţawāf. The sūrah entitled “Repentance”, or “Al-Tawbah”, was revealed in the ninth year of the Islamic calendar, and idolaters were banned from ţawāf in the Ka`bah altogether. The Prophet offered his pilgrimage in the following year. Hence, the duty of offering the pilgrimage may have been legislated earlier, and this verse may have been revealed in the early part of the Prophet’s settlement in Madinah, probably around the time of the Battle of Uĥud which took place in the third year of the Islamic calendar.

Nonetheless, this statement imposes the obligation of pilgrimage, in the terms of a right which God demands from all people who are able to make the journey.

Pilgrimage is the Muslims’ annual general assembly which is held at the House from which their message was given to them for the first time, and which witnessed the birth of the pure faith of Abraham, their first father, and which was the first House God has set up on earth for His own worship. Pilgrimage is, therefore, an assembly of great significance. Its historical associations centre round the noble concept of faith, which highlights the link between man and his Creator. Faith means man’s spiritual response to God, a fact of great significance considering that only by the breathing of God’s spirit has man acquired his humanity. It is a worthy concept to form the basis for human unity. Hence, it is appropriate that people should assemble every year at the Sacred Place which witnessed the birth of this call to mankind to unite on pure faith.