Al-Hajj Al-Mabroor

Afterwards, The Almighty says (what means), ‘And verily, you
were, before, of those who were astray.’ (Al-Baqarah, 2: 198),
meaning before Islam, because during the Pre-Islamic era they
used to circumambulate the House naked doing nothing but
clapping and whistling, but Allah, be He highly blessed and
exalted, guided them to the right Hajj that forgives the sins.
Abrogating the privileges of the Quraish
The Truth, gloried ever be His Majesty and Might, says (what
means), “Then hasten onward from the place whence all the people
hasten onward.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 199), where ‘then’ denotes
consecutiveness, but does it here means to hasten after standing at
‘Arafat? Or is it after spending the night at Muzdalifah? ‘Then
hasten onward,’ is a retort to all who say that spending the night at
Muzdalifah is a must.
This noble verse was revealed with regard to the leaders of the
Quraish who considered themselves the people of the Meccan
Sanctuary, trying to have privileges distinguishing them from the
rest of the people. Therefore, they used to depart first from ‘Arafat
then people follow them. In the Farewell Hajj [the first and the last
Hajj performed by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace], the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) said, “You all belong to Âdam and Âdam is of dust.
Verily the most honored among you, in the Sight of Allah, is he
who is the most righteous of you.” Allah thus barred the behavior
the Quraish comported itself with in trying to be distinguished
from people, by abolishing whatever advantages the Quraish had
over other Arabs.
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