Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:198

{There is no sin upon you} i.e., no constraint, {in seeking} i.e., requesting, {a bounty from your Lord} i.e., provision from Him, the Exalted, through profit from trade during the Hajj seasons. Al-Bukhari and others narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, that he said: "Ukaz, Mijannah, and Dhu al-Majaz were markets during the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period). They considered it a sin to trade during the season, so they asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about that, and this verse was revealed."

It is used as evidence for the permissibility of trade, hiring, and all types of earnings during Hajj, and that it does not diminish one's reward or decrease one's merit. The connection [between this and the preceding verses] is that when the Exalted forbade argumentation during Hajj, it served as a presumptive ground for forbidding trade as well, since trade often leads to disputes over whether a price is too low or too high; thus, He followed that with the ruling on it.

Abu Muslim held the view that trade during Hajj is forbidden and interpreted the verse as referring to the time after Hajj, saying the meaning is: "Fear Me in all the acts of Hajj, and then after that, there is no sin upon you," etc., similar to His saying: {And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah}. This was criticized on the basis that interpreting a verse in the context of a suspected prohibition is more appropriate than interpreting it where there is no suspicion. The place of suspicion is trade during the time of Hajj, whereas the negation of sin after completion is already known. Furthermore, drawing an analogy between Hajj and prayer is flawed, for the acts of prayer are continuous and it is not permissible to occupy oneself with anything else during them, whereas the acts of Hajj are intermittent and allow for trade during them. Additionally, the traditions do not support what he said; you have heard what Al-Bukhari recorded. Ahmad and others recorded from Abu Umamah al-Taymi, who said: "I asked Ibn Umar and said, 'We are a people who hire ourselves out during this journey, and some people claim that we have no Hajj.' He asked, 'Do you not recite the Talbiyah? Do you not circumambulate the Safa and the Marwa? Do you not... do you not?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'A man asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about what you asked, and he did not know what to answer him until this verse was revealed: {There is no sin upon you}. So he called him and recited it to him when it was revealed.' He said, 'You are pilgrims.'"

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, used to recite—as recorded by Al-Bukhari, Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, and others—"{There is no sin upon you that you seek a bounty from your Lord} during the Hajj seasons." The same has been narrated from Ibn Mas’ud. Also, the fa (so) in His saying: {So when you depart from ‘Arafat} is apparent in that this departure happens following the seeking of bounty, which signifies that the intended meaning is the occurrence of trade during the time of Hajj.

Indeed, some have said: If the motivation for going to Hajj is trade, or if it is part of the reason, it harms the Hajj because it contradicts sincerity to Allah, the Exalted.

{You depart} is from al-ifadah, derived from fada al-ma’ (water overflowed) when it flows downwards, and afadtuhu (I made it flow); the hamza here is for causation, and its object is omitted because it is known. Its origin is ufidtum (أفيضتم), then the vowel of the ya was moved to the fa before it, so the ya became mobile in origin and the preceding letter was now open, so it was turned into an alif, then deleted [due to the encounter of two consonants]. The meaning here is: when you rush forth in large numbers from ‘Arafat.

{And ‘Arafat} is a place in Mina, and it is a proper noun in the plural form, so it is not treated as a plural. Al-Farra’ said: "It has no singular form that is purely Arabic." As for people’s saying "I descended at ‘Arafah," it is similar to the word "Mawlid" and is not purely Arabic. This was objected to by the tradition "Hajj is ‘Arafah," and the response was that "‘Arafah" in that tradition is the name for the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, as specified by Al-Raghib, Al-Baghawi, and Al-Kirmani; what was denied was its use as a place, so the objection arises from a lack of understanding of the intended meaning. Hence it is said: It is the plural of ‘Arafah. The author of Shams al-‘Ulum holds this view. The multiplicity then refers to naming every part of that location "‘Arafah."

As for why it is nunated (tanwin) and takes a kasra (despite being a feminine plural and a proper noun), it is because the nun in the feminine plural serves as a counterpart to the nun in the masculine plural, in the sense that it is a sign of the completion of the noun only; there is no meaning of the types of tanwin in it. The prohibited tanwin in a diptote is not this tanwin, but rather the tanwin of tamkin (empowerment), which indicates that the noun does not resemble a verb. The disappearance of the kasra according to the accepted school follows the disappearance of the tanwin without compensation. This is the view of the majority.

Al-Zamakhshari said: "It is nunated and takes a kasra because it is a triptote (fully declinable), as the two sub-factors (reasons) required to prevent declension are absent. Femininity, when combined with properhood to prevent declension, is either indicated by the stated ta’ (which here is not a feminine ta’ but a plural marker) or by an implied ta’ (as in Zaynab). The restriction of this ta’ to the feminine plural prevents the implication of a feminine ta’, as that would be equivalent to combining two feminine markers. Thus, this ta’ is like the ta’ in bint (daughter)—it is not for femininity, but a substitute for the deleted waw. Since it is restricted to the feminine, it prevents the implication of the [feminine] ta’."

This location was named with a word signifying "knowing" (‘irfan) because it was a signpost for Abraham, peace be upon him, so he recognized it; this is narrated from Ali, may Allah honor his face, and Ibn Abbas. Or because Gabriel used to lead him around the rituals, and when he saw it, he said, "I have recognized (‘araftu)," narrated from ‘Ata’. Or because Adam and Eve met there and recognized each other, narrated from Al-Dahhak and Al-Suddi. Or because Gabriel, peace be upon him, said to Adam there: "Confess your sin and know your rites." It is also said it was named for its height and elevation. The plural form was chosen for the naming as a hyperbole for the aforementioned reasons, as if it were multiple ‘Arafahs.

{Remember Allah} with the Talbiyah, the Tahlil, and supplication. It is also said: with the evening prayers, because the command is outwardly for obligation, and there is no obligatory remembrance at the Sacred Monument except the prayer. The well-known view is that the Sacred Monument (al-Mash‘ar al-Haram) is the entirety of Muzdalifah. Waki’, Sufyan, Ibn Jarir, and Al-Bayhaqi recorded from Ibn Umar that he was asked about the Sacred Monument, and he remained silent until the animals descended at Muzdalifah, then he said: "This is the Sacred Monument." This is supported by the fact that the fa (so) indicates that the remembrance at the monument occurs following the departure from ‘Arafat, and that only happens by spending the night in Muzdalifah. Many have held that it is a mountain in Muzdalifah upon which the Imam stands, called Quzah. Allah specified remembrance there, even though one is commanded to remember Him throughout Muzdalifah—for it is all a station except for the valley of Muhassir, as indicated by authentic traditions—to emphasize its excellence and honor.

{As He has guided you} i.e., as He has taught you the rites. The similarity is to clarify the state and provide limitation, meaning: remember Him in that manner and do not deviate from it. It is also possible that it means absolute guidance; the benefit of the similarity is equality in goodness and perfection, i.e., remember Him with a good remembrance just as He has guided you with good guidance to the rites and other things.

{And if before that}—the ma (if) is negative, and the lam is in the sense of "except" (i.e., wa-in kuntum min qablihi lamina al-dallin becomes wa-in kuntum min qablihi illa mina al-dallin)—{you were among the astray} i.e., regarding the Hajj rites. The genitive is connected to an omitted predicate indicated by al-dallin. This sentence is a tadhil (supplementary clause) to what preceded, as if it were said: "Remember Him now, for your previous remembrance, which contradicts how He has guided you, is not considered, as it was of misguidance." Interpreting it as a state is a far-fetched delusion.