The Prophet peace be and blessings upon him set out from Madinah on Saturday, the 25th of Dhul Q’ada, after performing the four Noon prayer followed by a sermon in which he explained the essentials of entering the pilgrim state known as Ihram.
The Messenger of God peace be and blessings upon him then went ahead raising his voice in praise of God: At Your service, O God, at Your service, at Your service; You have no partner, at Your service; praise and grace art Thine, and the Dominion: You have no partner.” The entire crowd chanted this Talbiya along with the Prophet peace be and blessings upon him where some curtailed a few words while others supplemented it with a few more in a tremor of excitement. But the Prophet peace be and blessings upon him did not admonish them. He kept on repeating the acclamation of God until he reached ‘Araj where he encamped. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Prophet peace be and blessings upon him rode on the same dromedary.
The stages in the journey ahead were at al‐Abwa, the wadi of Asfan, Saraf and then Dhi tawa where he stayed during Saturday night. It was now the 4th of Dhil Hijja.
The Prophet peace be and blessings upon him offered the morning prayer at this place and also took a bath. The caravan now bent its steps towards Makkah and entered the valley from its heights.
It was an hour or so before noon when his glance fell on the K’aba. He exclaimed “O God, increase the honor and estimation, deference and awe of Your House.” And then lifting up his hands, he raised his voice to say,” God is Great”. Then he said: “Peace be upon Thee, O God; peace is from Thee; O Lord, cause us to live in peace.” The first thing he did on entering the sanctuary was to go straight to the K’aba. He kissed the black stone stationed in the south‐east corner, and then moved on to encompass the K’aba seven times, commencing on the right and leaving the K’aba on the left. He went round at a slow pace.
The Prophet peace be and blessings upon him was walking at a quicker step but the paces were not long. The seamless garment in which he had wrapped himself was thrown loosely over one shoulder, the other being left bare. Each time he passed the Hajjr Aswad, he touched it with a stick in his hand and kissed it.
Thereafter he proceeded to the Station of Abraham and recited the Qur'anic verse:
“Take as your place of worship the place where Abraham stood (to prayer);” [Qur'an 2:125].
And then offered two units of prayer. Going back to the Hajr Aswad after the prayer, he kissed it again and then he brought himself to As‐Safa from the opposite door. On reaching near As‐Safa the Prophet peace be and blessings upon him said, "Lo! As‐Safa and Al‐Marwah are among the signs of God. [Qur'an 2:158] I begin with what Allah began with.”
So he mounted it until he could see the House of God, declared God’s Unity and proclaimed His greatness facing the Qiblah. He affirmed: “There is no god but Allah alone who has no partner, to Him belongs the dominion, to Him praises is due, and He is omnipotent, there is no god but Allah who alone has fulfilled His promise, helped His servant and alone routed the confederates.”
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