mented it with a few more in a tremor of excitement. But the Prophet (r) did not admonish
them. He kept on repeating the acclamation of God until he reached ‘Araj where he en-
camped. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Prophet (r) rode on the same
dromedary.
The stages in the journey ahead were at al-Abwa, the wadi of Asfan, Saraf and then Dhi
tawa where he stayed during Saturday night. It was now the 4th of Dhil Hijja. The Prophet
(r) offered the morning prayer at this place and also took a bath. The caravan now bent its
steps towards Makkah and entered the valley from its heights. It was an hour or so before
noon when his glance fell on the K’aba. He exclaimed “O God, increase the honor and esti-
mation, deference and awe of Your House.” And then lifting up his hands, he raised his voice
to say,” God is Great”. Then he said: “Peace be upon Thee, O God; peace is from Thee; O
Lord, cause us to live in peace.” The first thing he did on entering the sanctuary was to go
straight to the K’aba. He kissed the black stone stationed in the south-east corner, and then
moved on to encompass the K’aba seven times, commencing on the right and leaving the
K’aba on the left. He went round at a slow pace.
The Prophet (r) was walking at a quicker step but the paces were not long. The seamless
garment in which he had wrapped himself was thrown loosely over one shoulder, the other
being left bare. Each time he passed the Hajjr Aswad, he touched it with a stick in his hand
and kissed it. Thereafter he proceeded to the Station of Abraham and recited the Qur'anic
verse: “Take as your place of worship the place where Abraham stood (to prayer);”
[Qur'an 2:125]
And then offered two units of prayer. Going back to the Hajr Aswad after the prayer, he
kissed it again and then he brought himself to As-Safa from the opposite door. On reaching
near As-Safa the Prophet (r) said,
"Lo! As-Safa and Al-Marwah are among the signs of God. [Qur'an 2:158]
I begin with what Allah began with.”
So he mounted it until he could see the House of God, declared God’s Unity and proc-
laimed His greatness facing the Qiblah. He affirmed: “There is no god but Allah alone who
has no partner, to Him belongs the dominion, to Him praises is due, and He is omnipotent,
there is no god but Allah who alone has fulfilled His promise, helped His servant and alone
routed the confederates.”
The Prophet (r) remained in Makkah from Saturday to Wednesday. On Thursday morning
he came to Mina along-with the Muslims, performed the Zuhr and ‘Asr prayers and stayed
there for the night. It was the night before Friday. After the sun had risen he moved for
‘Arafat where he saw the tent set up for him at Namirah.
God’s Messenger rested in the tent and when the sun had passed the meridian he ordered
Qaswa to be brought. When it was saddled for him he went down into the valley and ad-
dressed the people wherein he explained to them the fundamental principles of Islam and