Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 125 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:125

وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا ٱلْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَمْنًا وَٱتَّخِذُوا۟ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ مُصَلًّى ۖ وَعَهِدْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلَ أَن طَهِّرَا بَيْتِىَ لِلطَّآئِفِينَ وَٱلْعَـٰكِفِينَ وَٱلرُّكَّعِ ٱلسُّجُودِ

“And [mention] when We made the House [i.e., the Kaʿbah] a place of return for the people and [a place of] security. And take, [O believers], from the standing place of Abraham a place of prayer. And We charged Abraham and Ishmael, [saying], "Purify My House for those who perform ṭawāf[41] and those who are staying [there] for worship and those who bow and prostrate [in prayer]."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah made His House a place of return and safety, honoured Ibrāhīm's standing place, and charged him and his son to keep it pure.

A reflection

Never quite enough

A woman in her seventies is packing for her sixth ʿUmra. Her grandson, carrying her case to the car, teases her. 'You've been five times already, Nani.' She smiles. 'That is exactly why,' she says.

The ayah calls the House a mathāba for people. The word comes from a root meaning return, like a well that fills again after the bucket is drawn. A mathāba is a place people keep coming back to.

Early authorities explained it with feeling. They come to it, one said, then go back to their families, then return to it again. They never feel they have had their fill. Another said no one leaves it thinking he has taken all he needed from it. A major commentator adds that Allah made it a place that souls yearn for and long towards, even if they visited every year. He calls this Allah's answer to the prayer of Ibrāhīm: 'make hearts among the people incline towards them' (14:37).

That is unusual. Most places we visit lose their pull. We see the sights, take the photographs, and feel no need to return. The House works the other way. The more people come, the more they want to come back.

The word also holds a quieter meaning. Some early authorities explained mathāba as a gathering place. People from every land arrive, scattered, and are gathered around one centre.

Not everyone can travel there. But every prayer faces it, five times a day. In that sense, every believer returns to it daily, whether or not he has ever seen it.

The grandson drove her to the airport. On the way back, he looked up the cost of going with her next time.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.