Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)

30. “Such (is the pilgrimage); and whoever magnifies the sacred things of Allah, it is better for him with his Lord; and the cattle are made lawful for you save that which has been recited to you, therefore avoid the filth of the idols and avoid false speech.”

There have been cited many aspects for the Qur’anic Phrase /qaul-az-zur/(false speech) mentioned in the above verse, some of these denotation expansions are as lie, perjured witness and unlawful songs.

There have been mentioned some examples for the sanctities of Allah, such as: the law of Allah, the Book of Allah, and Ahl-ul-Bayt of the Messenger of Allah (as), the reverence of which is necessary to be kept.¹

The act of perjured witness has been mentioned in the row of polytheism or disbelief in Allah, and the action of ‘false speech’ is one of the major sins.² A Tradition from Imam Sadiq (as) denotes that the objective of ‘false speech’ is unlawful singing.³

However, in this holy verse, as a conclusion, the Qur’an, pointing the former holy verses, implies that the program of Hajj and its rites are the same things which were mentioned before.⁴

Then, in order to emphasize the importance of the duties which were stated, the Qur’an adds implying that whoever takes the Divine programs magnificent and protects their reverence, it will be better for him with his Lord.

The above verse says:

“Such (is the pilgrimage); and whoever magnifies the sacred-things of Allah, it is better for him with his Lord;…”

It is clear that the Qur’anic term /hurumat/, here, refers to the deeds and rites of Hajj. It is possible that the respect of the House of Ka‘bah, in particular, and the sacred premises of Mecca, in general, may also be added to them.

Therefore, the interpretation of it into /muharramat/ which means whatever has been prohibited of, in general, or all of the obligations, contrast the apparent of the verse.

By the way, this is noteworthy that the Arabic word /hurumat/ is the plural form of the /hurmah/ which originally means something the respect of which must be kept and no disgrace should be shown to it.

Then, appropriating to the divine ordinances of pilgrim garment, the Qur’an refers to the lawfulness of the cattle, such as: camel, cow, and sheep.

The verse says:

“…and the cattle are made lawful for you save that which has been recited to you…”

The phrase:

“…save that which has been recited to you…”

may refer to the prohibition of hunting in the Sacred Zone which has been mentioned in Surah Al-Ma’idah, No. 5, verse 95 that was revealed later, and says:

“O, you who have Faith! Kill no game while you are in pilgrim garb…”

Also, it may refer to the last sentence of the verse under discussion concerning the obligation of the sacrifices which used to be killed for idols, since we know the lawfulness of the animals is only when the name of Allah is recited to them at the moment of sacrifice, not the name of idols, nor any other names.

At the end of this verse, two more commandments have been stated in relation to the rites of Hajj and struggle against the traditions of the Age of Ignorance.

It says:

“…therefore avoid of the filth of the idols…”

The Arabic term /’auan/ is the plural form of /waan/ in the sense of the stones which were worshipped by the people in the Age of Ignorance. Here, the word /’auan/ is the qualification of the word /rijs/ (filth) which has occurred before it. Thus it says that ‘filth’ is the same as idols.

This matter is also noteworthy that the idol worshippers of the Age of Ignorance used to pour the blood of the animals they sacrificed over the heads and faces of their idols. This action caused the idols to get a very ugly, disgraceful and hateful scenery, and the abovementioned meaning may refer to that either.

The second commandment is that ‘false speech’ should be avoided of.

The verse says:

“…and avoid false speech.”

What is False Speech?

Some commentators believe that it refers to the quality of the manner of the polytheists in the rites of Hajj in the Age of Ignorance when they were to recite /labbayk/, because they had distorted /labbayk/, which is the full reflection of Monotheism and worshipping God, so sharply that it included the most hideous and blasphemous meanings.

They used to say:

“Yes, we accepted Your invitation and came toward You. O, Lord! You have not any partner save the partner who is Yours. You are the possessor of him and what he possesses.”5

This speech has certainly been a futile and vain statement and it is the extension of ‘False Speech’ which originally means a ‘False Speech’, and it is out of the limit of moderation.

Yet, the attention of the verse to the deeds of polytheists in the rites of Hajj in the Age of Ignorance does not hinder the generality of its concept which is avoiding of any kind of idol in any shape and form, and avoiding any false speech in any sort and quality.

So, in some of the Islamic narrations the Arabic term /’auan/ has been rendered into chess (a kind of gambling), and the phrase ‘False Speech’ has been rendered into ‘unlawful singing’ and ‘perjured witness’, that, in fact, as some commentators have said, this is general, not in the particular concept about these affairs.

A tradition from the Prophet of Islam (S) indicates that one day it happened that he stood up and made a sermon among people, in which he said:

“False witness is equal to associating something with Allah.”

Then he (S) recited this holy verse:

“…therefore avoid the filth of the idols and avoid false speech.”6

This tradition is a hint to the vastness of the scope of the meaning of this holy verse.