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182 THE MADINA PERIOD

He then proceeded to Muzdalifah, said the Salatu'l-Maghrib and the Salatu'l-'Isha—the sunset and the evening prayers—with the Adhan or call to prayer and the Iqamat, a repetition of the Adhan with the addition of the words, 'Prayer has commenced.' In the morning he visited the holy monument (now the mosque Masharu'l-Haram) and repeated the Takbir, Allahu Akbar, 'God is most great;' the Tahlil, 'There is no god but God;' the Ta'awwudh, 'I seek refuge from cursed Satan.' He then went through the ceremonies, sanctioned by ancient Arab custom, of throwing stones at certain pillars in the valley of Mina and so concluded the pilgrimage.

Thus, the incorporation of this pagan rite completed and perfected the religion, which the Arabian Prophet left to his countrymen as that which superseded and abrogated all previous ones.


[Footnote continued from previous page]
Husain on this fifth verse of the Sura Al-Ma'idah says:—
امروز كامل كردانيم براى شما دين شما راكة ديكر احكام اورا رقم نسخ نخواهد بود وتمام كردم برشما نعمت خود راكة حج كذاريد ايمن ومطمئن باشيد وهيج مشركى با شما حج نكذارد واختيار كردم براى شما اسلام را دينى كة باكيزة تر از همة دينها
'This day I have perfected your religion for you so that other laws will not abrogate it, and fulfilled for you my own favour that you may perform the Pilgrimage, be in safety and enjoy repose. No polytheist should make the Hajj with you, and I have appointed for you Islam, a religion purer than all other religions.' Tafsir-i-Husaini, vol. i, p. 137.
Baidawi explains 'the perfecting' in the same way, and the 'mercy,' as guidance, or grace, or the perfecting of religion. Vol. i, p. 247.
In the Khalasatu't-Tafasir it is said that the views of the commentators may be thus summed up: 'In our religion there is no defect in reason or in revelation: no need of any (other) dogmas: no room for improvement or for abrogating.' Vol. 1, p. 488.
Maulavi Muhammad 'Ali says: 'Muhammad was the last of the prophets, because religion being now perfected no prophet was needed after him.' Holy Qur'an, p. 253.

THE HAJJ 183

The Sura Al-Hajj (xxii) contains the revelations enjoining the duty of performing the Hajj. Thus:—

Proclaim to the people a Pilgrimage.
Let them bring the neglect of their persons to a close, and let them pay their vows and circuit the Ancient House (i.e., Ka'ba).
Ye may obtain advantages from the cattle up to the set time for slaying them: then the place for sacrificing them is at the Ancient House. Sura Al-Hajj (xxii) 28, 30, 34.

This Sura is a composite one: part was revealed at Mecca and part at Madina. It is not easy to say when the words just quoted were revealed, but in all probability they are Madina verses, given about the time of the 'Umra, or the Lesser Pilgrimage, which was made in the sixth year of the Hijra.

Anyhow, to these commands given some years before, Muhammad now gave the sanction of his own action, and henceforth the Hajj, or Pilgrimage, became one of the necessary religious acts of every Muslim. At that time this was undoubtedly a politic thing to do, for this recognition of the national sanctuary as the local centre of Islam and the annual rendezvous of its votaries appealed to the sentiment of all the Arab people, and especially to the Quraish who lived in Mecca. It was the one thing they all had in common with the Muslims, and so the continued existence of the pilgrimage pleased them well and drew them towards Islam. It was from Muhammad's then standpoint a wise thing also to retain


1 i.e., the uncut beard and uncovered head.

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