Volume 3 – Day of the Great Pilgrimage
From Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), it is narrated that he said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) stood amongst the Jamrah during his Farewell Hajj, and asked, “What day is this?” The companions replied, “It is a feast day.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) then said, “This is the Day of the Greater Pilgrimage.”
Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, appointed me to announce that from this year onward, no polytheist would perform pilgrimage, no one would circumambulate the Ka’bah unclothed, and the Day of Sacrifice is the Major Pilgrimage. He sent me among those he delegated to make such announcements. [22]
COMMENTARY
Before the Farewell Pilgrimage, Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was appointed by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, as the pilgrimage emir and dispatched to Mecca. Abū Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, also ordered Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, to go to Mina, remain there, and proclaim the text of the hadith aloud among a large gathering of people. Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, fulfilled this task. One of the innovations introduced by the Quraysh was the obligation for women to wear torn shifts while circumambulating the Ka’bah, and for men to do so unclothed. Islam eradicated this practice of the polytheists and established the principle of circumambulating the Ka'bah in a manner befitting its sanctity. Pilgrimage is called the Major Pilgrimage (Hacc-i Ekber), and Umrah is called the Lesser Pilgrimage (Hacc-i Asghar). It is said that if ‘Arafah coincides with Friday, it too is referred to as the Major Pilgrimage. The day of the Major Pilgrimage is a festival day. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and Shāfiʿī say it is ‘Arafah. (Ma’ālīm al-Sunan, vol. 2, p. 406)