سعى‎

Al-Safa and Al-Marwah (Safa and Marwah) (Arabic: الصفا‎ Aṣ-Ṣafā, المروة al-Marwah) are two small mountains now located in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia between which Muslims travel back and forth seven times during the ritual pilgrimages of Hajj andUmrah.

In Islamic tradition, Ibrahim (Abraham) was commanded by God to leave his wife Hajar (Hagar) and their infant son alone in the desert between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah with only basic provisions to test their faith. When their provisions were exhausted, Hagar went in search of help or water. To make her search easier and faster, she went alone, leaving the infant Ismail (Ishmael) on the ground.

She first climbed the nearest hill, Al-Safa, to look over the surrounding area. When she saw nothing, she then went to the other hill, Al-Marwah, to look around. While Hagar was on either hillside, she was able to see Ismael and know he was safe. However, when she was in the valley between the hills she was unable to see her son, and would thus run whilst in the valley and walk at a normal pace when on the hillsides. Hagar travelled back and forth between the hills seven times in the scorching heat before returning to her son. When she arrived, she found that a spring had broken forth from where the crying baby kicked the sand with his feet. This spring is now known as the Zamzam Well, and was revealed by the angel of God as both sustenance and a reward for Hagar's patience.

Performing the Sa'i, also known as Sa'ee,^[1] (Arabic: سعى‎ saʿy "ritual walking") serves to commemorate Hagar's search for water and God's mercy in answering prayers.

Mount Safa is allegedly the mountain referred to in the European proverb "If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain",^[4] sometimes incorrectly quoted the opposite way around. English language sources trace the first written English use of the saying to Francis Bacon.^[5]

References

1. Jump up^ Mohamed, Mamdouh N. (1996). Hajj to Umrah: From A to Z. Amana Publications. ISBN 0-915957-54-X.
2. Jump up^ Dr. Ali Shariati (2007). Hajj: Reflection on Its Rituals. Abjad Book Designers & Builders. ISBN 978-1-871031-03-4.
3. Jump up^ Quran 2:158 ^{(Translated by Yusuf Ali)}
4. Jump up^ Wilkinson, Peter Richard (2002). Thesaurus of traditional English metaphors. p. 812.
5. Jump up^ Bacon, Francis (1625). Essays.