637 – From ʿUmar (Allah be pleased with him): “The polytheists would not move on until the sun had risen, and they used to say, ‘Ashriq Thabir!’ The Prophet ﷺ, however, opposed them and departed before sunrise.” Reported by al-Bukhari ⦗1⦘.
Vocabulary of the ḥadith
• Ashriq Thabir: Thabir—pronounced with an open thāʾ, then a medial bāʾ with kasrah, followed by a silent yāʾ, and ending with a rāʾ—is the high, prominent mountain that marks the northern boundary of Muzdalifah. In pre-Islamic times the Arabs would not leave Muzdalifah for Minā until the sun’s rays had climbed the summit of this mountain; they would therefore call out, “Ashriq Thabir,” meaning, “Let Thabir be lit so that we may set out.”
• Ashriq: an imperative from ishraq (full sunrise), i.e., “enter the time of full sunlight.” Some manuscripts of al-Bukhari add, “kaymā nughīr,” meaning, “so that we may hurry to Minā,” likening the speed of their departure to that of a raiding party.
• Fa-afāḍa: literally “to pour forth water abundantly.” Here it signifies moving on from Muzdalifah to Minā. The first ifāḍah mentioned in the verse, “Then depart from the place whence the people depart” (al-Baqarah 2:199), is the departure from ʿArafah to Muzdalifah. The third, cited earlier in Jābir’s report, is the departure from Minā to Mecca after stoning the Jamrah of al-ʿAqabah, for which reason the main circumambulation is called ṭawāf al-ifāḍah. The present departure, from Muzdalifah to Minā, is thus the second ifāḍah.
Lessons derived from the ḥadith
- The idolaters used to venerate the Kaʿbah, perform the pilgrimage, and stand at the sacred sites as an inherited practice from