Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:32

"That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols of Allah—indeed, it is from the piety of hearts."

Honoring the symbols (al-sha'a'ir), which are the sacrificial offerings (al-hadaya), because they are among the landmarks of Hajj, means:

• Choosing them to be large-bodied, beautiful, well-formed, and expensive.
• Avoiding haggling over their price.

It was customary to be generous in three things and to dislike haggling over them: the sacrificial offering (hady), the sacrifice (udhiyah), and the freeing of a slave.

Ibn Umar narrated from his father (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he offered a choice camel that he had been offered three hundred dinars for. He asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) if he could sell it and buy several camels with its price, but he forbade him, saying: "Rather, offer it."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) offered one hundred camels, among which was the camel of Abu Jahl, which had a gold ring in its nose. Ibn Umar used to drive the camels draped in Coptic cloth, giving away their meat and their coverings in charity. He believed that obeying Allah by drawing near to Him and offering these to His honored House was a great matter that must be upheld and hastened toward.

"Indeed, it is from the piety of hearts" This means that honoring them is an act of those who possess the piety of hearts. These possessive nouns were omitted, and the meaning is not sound without estimating them, because there must be a referent from the reward back to "the piety of hearts" to connect them. The hearts were mentioned specifically because they are the centers of piety; when it is established and rooted there, its effect appears in all the limbs.

"Until a specified time" Until they are slaughtered, their meat is given in charity, and some of it is eaten.

"Then their place of sacrifice is at the Ancient House" The particle thumma (then) is used here for delay in time, and metaphorically for delay in circumstances. The meaning is: You have many benefits in the sacrificial offerings for your worldly life and your religion, though Allah only counts the religious benefits. As He, the Exalted, said: "You desire the temporary goods of this world, but Allah desires [for you] the Hereafter" (Al-Anfal: 67).

The greatest of these benefits, and the one furthest in reach, is "their place of sacrifice is at the House." This means the obligation of slaughtering them, or the time of the obligation of slaughtering them within the Sacred Precinct (al-haram), ending at the House. This is like His saying: "A sacrificial offering reaching the Ka'bah." The intent is their slaughter within the Sacred Precinct, which is under the ruling of the House, for the Precinct is the sanctuary of the House. Similar in its breadth is your saying, "We reached the city," when you have only approached it and your journey has connected to its borders.

It has been said that the "symbols" (al-sha'a'ir) refer to all the rites of Hajj, but the phrase "their place of sacrifice is at the Ancient House" rejects this interpretation.

"And for every nation We have appointed a rite [of sacrifice] that they may mention the name of Allah over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. For your god is one God, so to Him submit. And give good tidings to the humble—who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts feel fear, and [to] the patient over what has befallen them, and the establishers of prayer, and those who spend from what We have provided them."