His statement, “He ascends it”: that is, he ascends this ritual site, which, as we have mentioned, is a small mountain.

His statement, “Or he stands beside it, praises Allah, and magnifies Him”: this is based on Allah’s saying: “So remember Allah at al-Mash‘ar al-Haram” [al-Baqarah 2:198]. He praises Allah, magnifies Him, and supplicates to Allah with his hands raised, facing the qiblah, until it becomes very bright.

His statement, “And he recites, ‘Then when you depart from Arafat...’—the two verses.” I know of no Sunnah establishing the recitation of these two verses, but it is appropriate, since a person thereby reminds himself of what Allah has commanded in His Book.

It appears that the jurists drew an analogy between this matter and the verse, “Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah,” for when the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, approached Safa at the beginning of the sa‘i, he recited: “Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols of Allah.” And when he proceeded to the Station of Abraham, he recited: “And take the standing place of Abraham as a place of prayer.” (1)

His statement, “And he supplicates until it becomes bright”: that is, until the light of morning has spread, so that daylight is clear and people can see one another. He then sets out before the sun rises, based on the hadith of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him: “Until it became very bright, and he departed before the sun rose.” Thus, once it has become bright, he proceeds calmly before sunrise (2), contrary to the practice of the people of the pre-Islamic period. They would not depart from Muzdalifah until the sun had risen, and one of their inherited sayings was: “Shine forth, Thabir, so that we may set out.”