– ḥattā taṣʿada: the prefixed tāʾ may be vocalised with either fatḥah or ḍammah. The Arabs say ṣaʿadtu al-jibāl and aṣʿadtu when one climbs a mountain or any height. In their terminology, iṣʿād denotes travelling over level ground, whereas ṣuʿūd is scaling elevations—mountains, roofs, stairways, and the like. The Qur’an says, “as though he were climbing into the sky” (al-Anʿām 6:125).

– al-Muzdalifah: derived from izdilāf (drawing near), because the pilgrim draws near by it from ʿArafah to Minā. Its limits are:
• Eastern boundary: the western runoff of al-Maʾzimayn.
• Western boundary: Wadi Muhassir.
• Northern boundary: Mount Thabir.
• Southern boundary: the Marīkhiyyāt range.
Everything within these four borders—ravines, depressions, hills, and plains—is Muzdalifah. It is also called Jamʿ because people gather there on the night before the Day of Sacrifice.

– lam yusabbiḥ baynahumā: meaning he offered no voluntary prayer between the Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ prayers.

– al-Mashʿar al-Ḥarām: a small hill in Muzdalifah known as Quzah; it has been removed, and a large mosque now stands on the site.

– asfara jiddan: with kasrah on the jīm, i.e., a complete brightening. The pronoun in asfara refers to the dawn just mentioned.

– Muhassir: a valley situated between Muzdalifah and Minā that belongs to neither; it is an isthmus separating them. Its tributaries descend from the Thabir ridges, and it ends where it meets the flood-course of Muzdalifah; together they run on until they merge with Wadi ʿUrnah, which flows westward to the Red Sea south of Jeddah.

– ḥarraka: he urged his mount on and drew out its gallop.