Verse:34 Commentary Commentary

وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ جَعَلْنَا مَنسَكًا (And for every Ummah We prescribed the act of sacrifice 22:34) The words مَنسَكً and نسَكً means several things in Arabic such as sacrifice of animals, the rites of pilgrimage, and also worship of Allah Ta' ala. This word has been used in the Qur'an at several places and conveys one of the three meanings. In the present context, the word can carry all the three meanings. Mujahid and some other commentators think that here the word مَنسَكً refers to the sacrifice of the animals in which case the verse would mean that the obligation to offer sacrifice, which has been placed on this Ummah is nothing new, because all the other peoples were likewise bound to do so. On the other hand, according to Qatadah the word means the rites of the pilgrimage, and thus the verse would mean that these rites which have been prescribed for the present Ummah were made obligatory on the people of earlier ages also. Ibn ` Arafah has interpreted the word مَنسَكً to mean worship of Allah, and so the meaning of the verse would be that the worship of Allah was made obligatory on all the peoples of bygone ages and though there were differences in the forms of worship, yet in essence it remained unchanged.

وَبَشِّرِ‌ الْمُخْبِتِينَ (And give good news to those who turn to Him in humbleness). The word خَبت means 'a depressed tract of land' and means ` a person who deems himself humble and lowly'. According to ` Amr bin Aws مُخْبِتِينَ are those people who do not wrong others and if somebody wrongs them, they do not seek revenge. Sufyan has observed that they are the people who are contented with Allah's will and remain agreeable in all circumstances, comfort or trouble and poverty or affluence. Verse:35 Commentary وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ (Whose hearts are filled with awe - 22:35) The word وَجِلَ means a feeling of awe inspired by something majestic and sublime. These words describe the state of pious people who are overwhelmed by deep awe whenever the name of Allah is mentioned in their presence. Verse:36 Commentary وَالْبُدْنَ جَعَلْنَاهَا لَكُم مِّن شَعَائِرِ‌ اللَّـهِ (And the big animals of sacrifice [ like camels ] are made by Us among the symbols of Allah for you - 22:36.) It has been explained earlier that شَعَائِرِ‌ (symbols) mean those special forms of rites and worship, which are the symbols of Islam. Sacrifice of animals is one of them, which must be observed with due importance.

فَاذْكُرُ‌وا اسْمَ اللَّـهِ عَلَيْهَا صَوَافَّ (So recite the name of Allah over them as they are lined up (for sacrifice) - 22:36) The word صَوَافَّ (translated above as 'lined up' ) is used for مَصفوُفہ ، which means standing in a row. According to Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Umar ؓ the verse means that the camel, which is to be slaughtered, should stand on three legs and one foreleg should be bent and tied up. This is a better way of slaughtering a camel and is according to sunnah. Other animals should be slaughtered in lying position, which is also sunnah.

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فَإِذَا وَجَبَتْ جُنُوبُهَا (Then, once their flanks fall down). Here the word ; وَجَبَتْ is used for the meaning of سَقَطَت ، which means when the animal falls and dies.

الْقَانِعَ وَالْمُعْتَرَّ‌ (the one who is content and the one who wishes to receive) In an earlier verse people who have a right on the meat of sacrificed animals have been described by the words بَایٔس فَقِیر ، which mean destitute and without means. These two words have been clarified further by the words قَانِعَ and مُعْتَرَّ‌. The word قَانِعَ applies to a needy person who does not solicit and is content with what people offer him voluntarily. While مُعْتَرَّ‌is a person who goes to a place where he expects to receive something, whether he solicits verbally or not. (Mazhari) Verse:37 Commentary The real object is not the specific rites of pilgrimage but true devotion to Allah and submission to His will which are inherent in those rites

لَن يَنَالَ اللَّـهَ لُحُومُهَا (It is neither their flesh nor their blood that reaches Allah - 22:37) It means that the sacrifice of animals is a very high form of worship, but their meat and blood do not reach Allah Ta' ala nor are these two things the real object of sacrifice. Its real aim is to recite the name of Allah and to comply with His commands with true devotion. This rule applies to all forms of worship. For instance, the object of prayers is not just the movement of limbs, or the object of fasting is not merely a denial of food and drink. The real purpose of these rites of worship is to obey the commands of Allah Ta' ala with all sincerity. Devoid of sincerity these rites of worship are like a body without soul. Nevertheless these forms of worship are also very important because Allah Ta' ala has prescribed these forms for different types of worship. Allah knows best. واللہ اعلم Verse:38 Commentary Commentary

The previous verses contain an account of how the infidels of Makkah prevented the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his companions from entering the Haram and the Holy Mosque to perform ` Umrah when, having put on ihram, they had reached as far as Hudaibiyah, a place not far from Makkah. In this verse Allah Ta' ala consoled the Muslims with the promise that He would deprive the infidels of their power to harm them anymore.

This incident took place in the year 6 A.H. and thereafter the power and the morale of the infidels suffered continuous decline until in the year 8 A.H. the Muslims conquered Makkah. The following verses describe this event in detail.