the spokesman of his people. Al-Zuhri said: “The people here means Adam alone.” The evidence for this is Saʿid ibn Jubayr’s recitation: “Then depart from where the Forgetful One departed,” with a final yāʾ. It is said that this refers to Adam, who forgot Allah’s covenant when he ate from the tree.
Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nuʿaymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil informed us; Abd Allah ibn Yusuf informed us; Malik informed us, from Hisham ibn Urwah, from his father, who said: Usamah was asked, while I was sitting with him, “How did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, proceed during the Farewell Pilgrimage when he set out?” He replied, “He would proceed at a brisk pace, but whenever he found an open space, he hastened.” (1) Hisham said: “Hastening is faster than a brisk pace.”
Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nuʿaymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil informed us; Saʿid ibn Abi Maryam informed us; Ibrahim ibn Suwayd informed us; Amr ibn Abi Amr, the client of al-Muttalib, related to me; Saʿid ibn Jubayr, the client of Walibah of Kufah, informed me; Ibn Abbas related to me that he departed with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the day of Arafat. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, heard loud shouting and the striking of camels behind him, so he gestured towards them with his whip and said, “O people, proceed with calmness, for righteousness is not in rushing.” (2)
“And seek Allah’s forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (3)
His saying, exalted is He: “When you have completed your rites”—that is, when you have finished your Hajj and slaughtered your sacrifices, meaning your sacrificial animals. In Arabic usage, the verb means to slaughter a sacrificial animal. This takes place after stoning the Jamrat al-Aqabah and settling at Mina. “Then remember Allah,” by declaring His greatness, praising Him, and extolling Him—“as you remember your fathers.” This is because, once the Arabs had completed the Hajj, they would stand by the House and recount the glories of their forefathers. Allah, exalted is He, commanded them to remember Him, saying: Remember Me, for I am the One who brought this about for you and your forefathers, and who bestowed favor upon you and them.
Ibn Abbas and Ata said: Its meaning is: Remember Allah as small children remember their fathers. When a child first begins to speak, he repeatedly mentions his father, not anyone else. Thus, Allah says: Remember Allah alone, as a child remembers his father, or with even greater remembrance. Ibn Abbas was asked about His saying, “Then remember Allah as you remember your fathers,” and it was said to him: “A whole day may pass for a man without his mentioning his father.” Ibn Abbas replied: “It does not mean that. Rather, it means that you should be more angered for Allah when He is disobeyed than you are for your parents when they are insulted.”
His saying, exalted is He, “or with even greater remembrance,” means: and with greater remembrance—rather, even greater remembrance; that is, more frequent remembrance. “Among the people are those who say, ‘Our Lord, give us in this world’”: this refers to the idolaters. During the Hajj, they would ask Allah only for worldly things, saying, “O Allah, grant us sheep, camels, cattle, and servants.” A man would stand and say, “My Lord, my father possessed a great tent, a large cooking-pot, and abundant wealth; so grant me the like of what...”