(Lo! (the mountains) As-Safa and Al-Marwah are among the indications of Allah...) [2:158].
Sa‘id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Zahid informed us> Abu ‘Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Faqih> ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz> Mus‘ab ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Zubayri> Malik> Hisham> his father> ‘A’ishah who said: “This verse was revealed about the Helpers. They used to make a pilgrimage to Manat which was close to Qudayd. They also used to avoid going between al-Safa and al-Marwah. When Islam came, they asked Allah’s Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this, and Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. This is narrated by Bukhari from ‘Abd Allah ibn Yusuf from Malik.
Abu Bakr al-Tamimi informed us> Abu’l-Shaykh al-Hafiz [al-Asfahani]> Abu Yahya al-Razi> Sahl al-‘Askari> Yahya and ‘Abd al-Rahman> Hisham> his father> ‘A’ishah who said: “This verse was revealed about a group of people from the Helpers. Before Islam, they used to make pilgrimage to Manat and were forbidden from going between al-Safa and al-Marwah. When they went to pilgrimage with Allah’s Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, they mentioned this to him. And so Allah revealed this verse”. This is narrated by Muslim from the report of Abu Bakr> Ibn Abi Shaybah> Abu Usamah> Hisham> his father> ‘A’ishah.
Said Anas ibn Malik: “We disliked going in between al-Safa and al-Marwah, because they were the shrines of Quraysh in the pre-Islamic period, and so we abandoned them in Islam. Then Allah revealed this verse”.
Said ‘Umar ibn Hubshi: “I asked Ibn ‘Umar about this verse and he said: ‘Go to Ibn ‘Abbas and ask him’. The latter said: ‘There was on al-Safa an idol in the form of a man called Isaf, and on al-Marwah an idol in the form of a woman called Na’ilah. The people of the Book claimed that these two had committed adultery in the Ka’bah and as a punishment Allah turned them into two stones which were placed on al-Safa and al-Marwah so that people can take heed. But after a long time had passed, they were worshipped instead of Allah, exalted is He. Whenever the people of the pre-Islamic period went in between them, they stroked the two idols. When Islam came and the idols were destroyed, the Muslims disliked going between al-Safa and al-Marwah because of these two idols. And as a response, Allah revealed this verse’ ”.
Said al-Suddi: “In the pre-Islamic period, the devils used to emit noises at night between al-Safa and al-Marwah between which idols were placed. When Islam emerged, the Muslims said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! We will not go in between al-Safa and al-Marwah, for this is a practice of idolatry which we used to do in the pre-Islamic period’. As a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”.
Mansur Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Bazzaz informed us> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Sinan> Hamid ibn Muhammad ibn Shu‘ayb> Muhammad ibn Bakkar> Isma‘il ibn Zakariyya> ‘Asim> Anas ibn Malik who said: “They used to refrain from going in between al-Safa and al-Marwah, both of which were of the rites of the pre-Islamic period. We used to shy away from going in between them. Then Allah, exalted is He, revealed: Lo! (the mountains) As-Safa and Al-Marwah are among the indications of Allah. It is therefore no sin for him who is on pilgrimage to the House (of Allah) or visiteth it, to go around them...)”. This is narrated by Bukhari from the report of Ahmad ibn Muhammad> ‘Asim.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou