[2:158] Truly Ṣafā and Marwa are among the waymarks of God,
These sites and remains, these ruins and markings, are extolled and visited. One sets out for them because they are the ruins of the lovers where the vestiges [still] gleam:
The passions of houses belongs
to those who have lived in them.
There is no concern or joy
in the house itself.
Truly the earth of their path, even the dust of their footprints, has tremendous value for the lovers. Even the smallest bit of dust that falls upon the edges of their path is more precious than the most fragrant musk:
And that is only because
Umayma walked beside it
in a group [of women],
trailing a garment.
[2:158] so whoever makes the Pilgrimage to the House, or the Visitation, he would not be at fault, if he circumambulates them; and whoever volunteers good, God is Grateful, Knowing.
Ṣafā and Marwa were favored in being close to the House. The running between the two became part of the law, just as the circumambulation became part of the law for the House. Just as the circumambulation is one of the main rites of the pilgrimage, so is the running. The neighbor is honored for the sake of the neighbor.