Tafsir of Al Imran 3:96

Ibn al-Mundhir and others recorded from Ibn Jurayj that he said: It reached us that the Jews said, "Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) is greater than the Ka'bah, for it is the place of migration for the prophets and it is in the Holy Land." The Muslims replied, "Rather, the Ka'bah is greater." This reached the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and so it was revealed: "to the Station of Abraham." A similar report is narrated from Mujahid.

The reason for its connection to what precedes it is that Allah Almighty commanded the disbelievers to follow the religion of Abraham, and part of his religion was the veneration of the Sacred House of Allah. Thus, it was appropriate to mention the House, its excellence, and its sanctity. It is also said that the reason for the connection is that this is a second doubt they raised, and Allah Almighty refuted them in it just as He refuted them in the previous one.

The meaning is: The first House prepared for mankind to worship their Lord—that is, it was arranged and made a place of worship. The "Establisher" is Allah Almighty, as indicated by the reading of those who recite wada'a (active voice), for in that case, the pronoun naturally refers to Allah, even if His mention did not explicitly precede it in the verse, based on it being a new inception. The possibility of it referring to Abraham (peace be upon him), due to his fame in building the House, is contrary to the apparent meaning. The sentence wudi'a (passive voice) is in the position of a genitive because it is an adjective for bayt (House). Li-n-nas (for mankind) is connected to it, and the lam indicates causality.

His saying, li-lladhi bi-Bakkata (for that which is in Bakkah), is the predicate of inna. The lam is for specification, and he provides a definite noun as the predicate for an indefinite subject to qualify it; this is common in the usage of inna.

Bakkah is a dialectal variation of Makkah according to the majority. The letters ba and mim frequently alternate with one another; examples of this include namit and nabit, lazim and lazib, and ratib and ratim. It is said that they are two different things: Bakkah is the location of the Mosque, and Makkah is the entire city. Its root is from bakk, meaning crowding. It is said bakkahu yabukkuhu bakkan if one crowds him, and tabakka the people if they crowd one another. It is as if it were named so because of the crowding of pilgrims within it.

It is also said to mean "crushing," and it was named so because it crushes the necks of tyrants if they desire evil for it. When they are there, you see them in the Tawaf like any other person, and were Allah to enable them to vacate the area of the Tawaf, they would do so.

It is also said that it is derived from baka'at al-naqah (the she-camel) or the ewe when its milk is low, and it is as if it were named so because of the scarcity of water and fertility there. It is said that from this, the city is also called Makkah, taken from "sucking the udder" until nothing of the milk remains. It is also said it comes from "Allah destroyed it" (makkahu), meaning He utterly destroyed it.

Furthermore, the intended meaning of "first" is priority in terms of time; others say it is priority in terms of nobility. The former is supported by what the two Shaykhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) recorded from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked about the first House established for mankind, and he said: "The Sacred Mosque." Then he was asked, "Then which?" He said: "Bayt al-Maqdis." It was said: "How much time between them?" He replied: "Forty years." This presents a problem, as the builder of the Sacred Mosque was Abraham (peace be upon him), and the builder of the Aqsa was David, then his son Solomon (peace be upon them both), and its dome was raised eighteen miles [in height], and the time between Abraham's building and theirs is many times more than forty years.

The response is that "establishing" (wad') is not the same as "building" (bina'), and the question was about the time between their establishment, not the time between their construction. It is possible that the establisher of the Aqsa was some prophet before David and his son, and they built it after that. This interpretation is necessary, as stated by Al-Tahawi. Some responded—assuming "establishment" means "building"—that the builder of both the Sacred Mosque and the Aqsa was Abraham (peace be upon him), and that he built the Aqsa forty years after he built the Sacred Mosque. One claimed to understand this from the Hadith, so reflect upon it.

It is reported in some traditions that the first to build the House were the angels, and they built it two thousand years before Adam (peace be upon him). There are reports from Mujahid, Qatadah, and Al-Suddi that support this. It is recounted that the angels' building was of red ruby, then Adam built it, then Seth, then Abraham, then the Amalekites, then Jurhum, then Qusay, then Quraysh, then Abdullah bin al-Zubayr, then Al-Hajjaj. The construction of Al-Hajjaj has remained until now, except for the gutter (mizab), the door, and the threshold. Restoration of the walls and roof occurred more than once, and the marble has been renewed.

It is also said that it descended with Adam from Paradise, then after his death, it was raised to the sky. It is also said it was built before him and was raised during the Flood to the seventh heaven, and some say the fourth. Most chroniclers hold that the earth was spread out from beneath it. We have already provided you with what is beneficial here, so remember it.

Mubarkan (Blessed)—meaning, of abundant goodness, because the reward of worship is multiplied therein, as stated by Ibn Abbas. It is also said [it is blessed] because sins are forgiven therein for whoever performs Hajj to it, circles it, and performs i'tikaf (seclusion) beside it. Al-Qaffal said: It is possible its blessing is what is mentioned in His saying: "Fruits of all things are brought to it." It is also said: Its blessing is the continuity of worship in it and adherence to it.

Barakah (blessing) has come with two meanings: growth, which is common, and stability. From the latter, the word birka (pond) is used for the stability of water within it, and bark (chest) is used for the stability of memory within it. Tabaraka (Blessed is) Allah means He is stable and eternal. Al-Kirmani explained its being blessed by the fact that the Ka'bah is like a point, and the rows of those facing it in prayer are like circles surrounding the center. There is no doubt that among them are people whose spirits are lofty, whose hearts are holy, whose secrets are luminous, and whose inner selves are divine. Whoever is in the Sacred Mosque, the lights of those pure, holy spirits connect with the light of his own spirit, and the divine lights in his heart increase—and this is the pinnacle of blessing. Furthermore, the earth is spherical; at every moment, if we assume, it is morning for one group, noon for another, and evening for a third, and so on. Thus, the Ka'bah is never without a group of people turning toward it to perform their obligatory duties; it is always like that. The [accusative] position of mubarkan is as a state (hal) from the hidden pronoun in the prepositional phrase that serves as a relative clause. Abu al-Baqa' permitted it to be a hal from the pronoun in wudi'a.

Wa hudan lil-'alamin (And a guidance for the worlds)—meaning: a guide for them to the Paradise which He Almighty intended, or a guide to Him—Exalted is He—by virtue of the wondrous signs it contains, as He says...