The Quran

196

Preface

وَأَتِمُّوا الحَجَّ وَالعُمرَةَ لِلَّهِ ۚ فَإِن أُحصِرتُم فَمَا استَيسَرَ مِنَ الهَديِ ۖ وَلا تَحلِقوا رُءوسَكُم حَتّىٰ يَبلُغَ الهَديُ مَحِلَّهُ ۚ فَمَن كانَ مِنكُم مَريضًا أَو بِهِ أَذًى مِن رَأسِهِ فَفِديَةٌ مِن صِيامٍ أَو صَدَقَةٍ أَو نُسُكٍ ۚ فَإِذا أَمِنتُم فَمَن تَمَتَّعَ بِالعُمرَةِ إِلَى الحَجِّ فَمَا استَيسَرَ مِنَ الهَديِ ۚ فَمَن لَم يَجِد فَصِيامُ ثَلاثَةِ أَيّامٍ فِي الحَجِّ وَسَبعَةٍ إِذا رَجَعتُم ۗ تِلكَ عَشَرَةٌ كامِلَةٌ ۗ ذٰلِكَ لِمَن لَم يَكُن أَهلُهُ حاضِرِي المَسجِدِ الحَرامِ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعلَموا أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَديدُ العِقابِ

Yusuf Ali

And complete the Ḥajj or Umrah¹ in the service of God. But if ye are prevented (From completing it), send an offering for sacrifice, such as ye may find, and do not shave your heads until the offering reaches the place of sacrifice. And if any of you is ill², or has an ailment in his scalp, (Necessitating shaving), (He should) in compensation either fast, or feed the poor, or offer sacrifice; and when ye are in peaceful conditions (again)³, if any one wishes to continue the ?Umrah on to the Ḥajj, He must make an offering, such as he can afford, but if he cannot afford it, He should fast three days during the Ḥajj and seven days on his return, Making ten days in all. This is for those whose household is not in (the precincts⁴ of) the Sacred Mosque. And fear God, and know that God Is strict in punishment⁵.

See 2:158, n. 161. The Ḥajj is the complete pilgrimage, of which the chief rites are performed during the first twelve or thirteen days of the month of Dhu al Hijjah. The Umrah is a less formal pilgrimage at any time of the year. In either case, the intending pilgrim commences by putting on a simple garment of unsewn cloth in two pieces when he is some distance yet from Mecca. The putting on of the pilgrim garb (iḥrām) is symbolical of his renouncing the vanities of the world. After this and until the end of the pilgrimage he must not wear other clothes, or ornaments, anoint his hair, use perfumes, hunt, or do other prohibited acts. The completion of the pilgrimage is symbolised by the shaving of the head for men and the cutting off of a few locks of the hair of the head for women, the putting off of the iḥrām and the resumption of the ordinary dress.
Here we are told: (1) that having once undertaken the pilgrimage, we must complete it; (2) that we must do it not for worldly ends, but as a symbol of our service and worship to God; (3) that if we are prevented, for any reason, from completing the rites, a symbolical completion can be made by sending an offering for sacrifice; sacrifice would have been offered if we had been present personally; here we would send the sacrifice vicariously, and when it is likely to reach the place of sacrifice, we could then shave our heads and resume our ordinary dress and avocations. (R).
If any one is taken ill after putting on the iḥrām, so that he has to put on other clothes, or if he has trouble or skin disease in his head or insects in his hair, and he has to shave his head before completion, he should fast (three days, say the Commentators), or feed the poor, or offer sacrifice.
When this was revealed, the city of Mecca was in the hands of the enemies of Islam, and the regulations about the fighting and the pilgrimage came together and were interconnected. But the revelation provides* as always, for the particular occasion, and also for normal conditions. Mecca soon passed out of the hands of the enemies of Islam. People sometimes came long distances to Mecca before the Pilgrimage season began. Having performed the 'Umrah, they stayed on for the formal Ḥajj. In case the pilgrim had spent his money, he is shown what he can do, rich or poor, and yet hold his head high among his fellows, as having performed all rites as prescribed.
There is disagreement among jurists whether residents of Mecca are allowed to make tamattu or not. However, the four schools of law are agreed that sacrificial offering is not obligatory for the residents of Mecca. [Eds.].
This closes the section about the duties of fighting and introduces the connected question of pilgrimage in a sort of transition. Fighting is connected with fear, and while it is meritorious to obey God, we are warned that we must not allow our selfish passions to carry us away, because it is in such times of stress that our spirit is tested. Verse 195 ended with a benediction for those who do good. This verse ends with a warning to those who take advantage of God’s cause to transgress the limits, for the punishment is equally sure. The next verse shows us the pitfalls we must avoid in a large concourse of people.