Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE SACRED MONTHS, FIGHTING AND PILGRIMAGEal-Ĥudaybiyah, as many as seven people shared in the sacrifice of one camel. On theother hand, one person may choose to offer a sheep or a goat, which would suffice.The exemption serves to mitigate hardship such as that encountered at al-Ĥudaybiyah, or which might arise as a result of illness.The essential aim of such a religious practice is to revive one’s awareness of Godand draw closer to Him. If this is disrupted by threats from a hostile quarter, adisabling illness or the like, pilgrims are not deprived of the rewards they wouldhave received had they completed the pilgrimage or the `Umrah. They are, therefore,instructed to proceed with making the offerings as if they had completed theintended rituals. This compassionate attitude is well in line with the spirit of Islamand its view of the purpose of worship.Then follows another rule relating to the performance of pilgrimage and `Umrah:“Do not shave your heads until the offerings have reached their appointed destination.”(Verse 196)This, of course, applies under normal peaceful conditions. A pilgrim is not toshave his head, which precedes the termination of the state of consecration, or iĥrām,until he has made his offerings at the designated place and time. This is done at Mindon the tenth day of Dhu’l-Ĥijjah, after attendance the previous day at the plain of`Arafāt. Once the offerings are made, a pilgrim may release himself fromconsecration.Here we have another exemption: “If any of you is ill or suffers from an ailment of thehead, he shall redeem himself by fasting, or alms, or sacrifice.” (Verse 196) Islam is apractical and humane religion, and if there are grounds of health that would requireshaving one’s head, one would be permitted to do so while in the state of iĥrām, evenbefore the destination for offering the sacrifice is reached or the appropriate ritualsare completed. The concession, however, is balanced with a compensation which hasbeen set as a three-day fast from dawn to dusk, the feeding of six needy people, orslaughtering a sheep and giving its meat to the poor.This is supported by what the Prophet Muĥammad said to Ka`b ibn `Ajrah whenthe latter was brought to him during the pilgrimage, having suffered a severeinfection so that lice were crawling all over his face. The Prophet said: “I would nothave thought you could have reached such a dire state. Can you afford a sheep?”Ka`b said he could not. The Prophet said to him: “Fast for three days, or feed sixneedy people, giving each half a şā` of food, and shave your head.” (One şā` is anArabian measure equivalent to four times the fill of a man’s hands cupped together.)The sūrah gives another ruling relating to the pilgrimage and the `Umrah: “Whenyou are in safety, then he who takes advantage of performing the `Umrah before thepilgrimage shall make whatever offering he can easily afford.” (Verse 196) The sacrifice is238