ihrām, while his Hajj lapses and he is regarded as performing ‘umrah. These are two well-known views.

Then He commands that He be remembered upon completing the rites. Their completion—Allah knows best—means removing the traces of dishevelment and leaving ihrām. Hence He says thereafter:

“Remember Allah during the appointed days.”

This too is an act of worship tied to both time and place: remembering Allah Most High when stoning the pillars and in conjunction with the prayers. That it is tied to place is indicated by His words:

“Whoever hastens to leave after two days…”

—and the rest of the verse. Hastening or delaying concerns departure from that place. Hence these days are named after their location—the days of Minā—and after the activity performed during them—the days of Tashrīq. Similarly, one speaks of the night of Jam‘, the night of Muzdalifah, the Day of ‘Arafah, the Day of the Greater Hajj, the day of Eid, and Friday. Times are thus named after activities and the places where those activities occur, since time follows movement, and movement follows place.

Reflect, then, on the harmony of the Quran and the interconnectedness of its passages, and on how He mentions the rulings of Hajj in this surah in two places: alongside the mention of His House, where He discusses matters relating to the place of Hajj; and where He mentions the crescent moons, where He discusses matters relating to its time. He also mentions fighting at the Sacred Mosque and retaliation in kind during the sacred month, because these concern time associated with place. Hence He—glory be to Him—links the crescent moons’ marking of time for people with their marking of time for Hajj. He also explains that “righteousness” does not consist in a man making life hard for himself and doing what has no benefit