The Farewell Hajj – Part 5

The Farewell Hajj – Part 5

The Sa’ee of Safa and Marwah
After performing Salaah at the Maqaam Ibraheem, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam performed Istilaam of the Black Stone. Mulla Ali Qari Rahmatullahi ‘Alayh has stated that after completing the two Rak’aats of Salaah, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam drank Zamzam water, sprinkled it upon his blessed head and then performed Istilaam of the Black stone before moving towards Safa.

At Safa Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam recited the following verse:

إِنَّ الصَّفَا وَالْمَرْوَةَ مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللَّهِ [البقرة: 158]
“Verily Safa and Marwah (two hills in Makkah are among the landmarks (distinctive signs) of (the Deen of) Allah”.

Then Rasullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said “We begin with what Allah began with”. Thereafter, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam ascended Safa, gazed upon the Ka’bah while facing the Qiblah and glorified the greatness of Allah Ta’ala by saying Allahu Akbar and the following words:

لا إلَهَ إلّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ له، له المُلْكُ وَلَهُ الحَمْدُ، وَهو على كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَدِيرٌ، لا إلَهَ إلّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ، أَنْجَزَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَهَزَمَ الأحْزابَ وَحْدَهُ
None has the right to be worshipped except Allah; he has no partner. All sovereignty and praise belong to Him, and He has power over everything. None is worthy of being worshipped except Allah alone. He fulfilled His promise, aided His slave, and single-handedly defeated the allies. (Sunan Abu Dawud 1905, pg. 220)

Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam also recited many other Du’aas. Then, he started moving towards Marwah at a normal pace until he reached the bottom of the ravine (which is also known as Meelayn Akhdarayn and has two green lights to distinguish its starting and ending points). He started running until the end of the ravine; thereafter, he resumed a comfortable pace until he reached Marwah.

At Marwah, he repeated the exact words he recited at Safa. Thereafter, he completed the rest of Sa’ee while mounting his camel due to the massive crowd so that his loving followers could lay their eyes on his blessed countenance. Finally, he completed the Sa’ee at Marwah.

After concluding Sa’ee between Safa and Marwah, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam underwent the ritual of shaving his head. Following this, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam fervently prayed for forgiveness three times for those who shaved their heads and once for those who trimmed their hair. In some traditions, this prayer was also recited during the ‘Umrah of Hudaybiyyah. (Bukhari 1640)

Staying in Makkah upon the conclusion of ‘Umrah
After Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam had completed ‘Umrah, he stayed at a place called Abtah for four days, which is on the eastern side of Makkah Mukarramah. During his stay, he continued to shorten the Salaah (Qasr).

Travelling Towards Mina
Following this period, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam departed for Mina on Thursday, the 8th of Zhul Hijjah, with his companions. The Sahaabah Radiyallāhu ‘Anhum, who were not in the state of Ihraam, made the intention of Ihram for Hajj from Abtah. Upon arrival in Mina, Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam offered the noon (Zuhr) Salaah. Surah Al-Mursalat was revealed to Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam that night. Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam and the Sahaabah spent the night in Mina.