• And His words: “that they may pronounce Allah’s name during the appointed days over the livestock He has provided for them” (Al-Hajj 22:28) combine the two kinds of benefit—religious and worldly. In other words: they are to invoke Allah’s name when slaughtering the sacrificial animals, thanking Him for having granted and made them available.

• “When you have slaughtered them, eat of them and feed the destitute poor,” meaning those in extreme poverty. Another verse reads, “the self-restrained poor” (Al-Hajj 22:36)—those needy ones who do not ask people—and “the mendicant” (Al-Hajj 22:36)—the poor person who does ask. From this we learn the command to eat, to present portions as gifts, and to give in charity, for the wording covers the pilgrims’ own eating as well as their gifting to the well-off.

• “Then let them remove their untidiness” (Al-Hajj 22:29): that is, let them complete the remaining rites, lift the restrictions of iḥrām, and rid themselves of the dishevelment and similar effects that resulted from it.

• “And let them fulfill their vows,” namely whatever vows of ḥajj, ʿumrah, or sacrificial offerings they have imposed upon themselves; in fact, the very act of entering iḥrām is itself a binding obligation the servant has taken on.

• “And let them circumambulate the Ancient House,” meaning the most ancient of all mosques, the House that has been freed from the domination of tyrants. Tawāf is singled out from the other rites because of its unique excellence and honor: it is the central objective, while what precedes or follows it is merely ancillary. Moreover, tawāf is an act of worship that can be performed for Allah both along with the pilgrimage rites and independently, whereas the other rites count as worship only when they are tied to a pilgrimage.