Surah 22. Al-Hajj, Ayah 26

I.e., the Ka'bah: see note [102] on 2:125 .

In view of the oft-repeated Qur'anic statement that Abraham was beyond all temptation to ascribe divinity to anything but God, it seems to me that the above injunction has a specific import, namely, "Do not allow this Temple to become an object of worship, but make it clear that it is holy only by virtue of its being the first temple ever dedicated to the worship of the One God" (cf. 3:96 ). Apart from that, it refers to "those who are bent on denying the truth" spoken of at the beginning of the preceding verse.

See surah {2}, note [104].

The site of Makkah was granted to Abraham (and his son Ismail) for a place of worship that was to be pure (without idols, the worship being paid to Allah, the One True God) and universal, without being reserved (like Solomon's Temple of later times) to any one People or Race.

Cf. ii. 125. Note that here the word qaimin ('who stand up for prayer') occurs in place of 'akifin (who use it as a retreat). In practice the meaning is the same. Those who go for a retreat to the Ka'ba stay there for the time being.