The Fairwell Pilgrimage

proceeding to the hill of Safa. Upon reaching Safa, he pointed to the Quranic verse: “Indeed, Safa and Marwah are among the symbols set up by God” (2:158), and said: “I begin with what God began with.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1218) He then ascended Safa until the Ka’bah was visible, and facing the Qiblah, he recited: “There is no deity but God, the one and only, without partner. His is the dominion, to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things. There is no deity but God, the one and only. He fulfilled His promise, supported His believer, and defeated the confederates by Himself.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1218) The Prophet then descended from Safa and headed towards Marwah. Between the two hills, when he reached the valley (the green marker lights between Safa and Marwa), he began to run. Upon leaving the valley, he resumed walking. Upon reaching Marwah, he ascended until the Ka’bah was visible and repeated the same Takbir (saying Allahu Akbar, that is God is he Greatest), Tahleel (saying: La ilaha illa Allah, that is, there is no god but God), and supplication. The Prophet completed seven circuits between Safa and Marwah, with some reports indicating that he performed the initial walks of seven laps (Sa’i) between the mount Safa to Marwa on foot and the remaining on his camel, likely to allow the vast crowd to observe his actions. (Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. 2, p. 278) The seventh circuit of Sa’i ended at Marwah. The Prophet Muhammad arrived in Makkah on the 4th