Quraysh: (2) Their habit of the winter journey...

Regarding the Almighty's saying: {The journey of winter and summer} There are several issues concerning this:

Al-Layth said: Al-Riḥlah (journey) is the noun derived from the verbal noun for setting out, as opposed to al-Masīr (traveling).

There are two interpretations regarding what is meant by this journey:

The First Interpretation (The Famous One): The commentators said that Quraysh used to have two journeys: a journey in the winter to Yemen (because Yemen is warmer) and a journey in the summer to Sham (Syria).

'Aṭā' narrated from Ibn 'Abbās that the reason for this was: When one of them was afflicted by famine, he and his family would leave their place and set up tents until they died. This continued until Hāshim ibn 'Abd Manāf appeared, who was the chief of his people. He had a son named Asad, who had a close friend from Banū Makhzūm whom he loved and played with. This friend complained to Asad about hardship and hunger. Asad went to his mother weeping, so she sent flour and fat to them, and they lived on it for days. Then, Asad's friend came to him again complaining of hunger. Hāshim stood up as an orator among Quraysh and said: "You are suffering a drought that makes you weak and humiliated, yet you are the people of God's Sanctuary and the noblest of Adam's descendants, and people follow you." They replied: "We follow you, and we will not oppose you." So, Hāshim gathered all the sons of 'Abd Manāf to undertake two journeys: in the winter to Yemen and in the summer to Sham for trade. Whatever profit the rich person made, he would divide it between himself and the poor, until their poor were like their rich. When Islam came, they were still upon this practice, and there was no tribe among the Arabs wealthier or more honored than Quraysh. A poet said about them:

The benefit and favor in this [security] is that if the People of the Elephant had succeeded in their goal, the inhabitants of the regions would have ceased honoring them. Furthermore, they would have dispersed, and their condition would have become like that of the Jews mentioned in the verse: {And We scattered them throughout the earth as nations} (Quran 7:168). The gathering of one tribe in one place is a greater blessing than if the gathering consisted of various tribes.

The Almighty also indicated that a condition for pleasant travel (al-mu'ānasah and al-ulfah) is necessary, as implied by His saying: {There is no dispute during the Hajj} (Quran 2:197). Travel is more in need of noble character traits than staying put.

The Second Interpretation: What is meant is the journey of the people to the people of Mecca. Thus, the journey of winter and summer refers to the 'Umrah of Rajab and the Hajj of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, because one occurred in winter and the other in summer, and the season of Mecca's benefits occurred through them. If the People of the Elephant had achieved what they intended, this benefit would have been disrupted.

The word Riḥlat (journey) is in the accusative case (manṣūb) because it is the direct object of the verb implied by I'lāfihim (their habit/familiarity). It refers to the two journeys of winter and summer. It was singularized to avoid ambiguity, similar to the saying: "Eat in some part of your stomach."

Alternatively, it means: the journey of winter and the journey of summer.

It has also been recited with a ḍammah on the Rā’ (رُحْلَة), in which case it means "direction" or "path."

{ So let them worship the Lord of this House. }