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| Safa and Marwah | |
|---|---|
| Name | Safa and Marwah |
| Location | Mecca, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E |
| Religious affiliation | Islam |
| Type | Hillocks / Ritual site |
| Established | Pre-Islamic period; institutionalized during Muhammad's lifetime |
Safa and Marwah Safa and Marwah are two small hillocks located within the Masjid al-Haram precinct in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, associated with a ritual passage called Sa'i performed during Hajj and Umrah. The sites connect to narratives involving Ibrahim, Hagar, and their son Ishmael, and have been focal points for religious, architectural, and political developments across Arabia, the Ottoman Empire, and modern Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims, scholars, rulers, and travelers from regions such as Andalusia, Persia, Egypt, Yemen, Maghreb, Levant, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia have recorded encounters with these landmarks.
Safa and Marwah lie within the expanded precinct of Masjid al-Haram near the Kaaba, forming the path for the Sa'i ritual during Hajj and Umrah. The pair has been described by commentators including Ibn Ishaq, Al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Ibn Hisham, and mentioned in historical accounts by travelers like Ibn Jubayr, Ibn Battuta, Richard Francis Burton, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Adam Olearius, and Marco Polo. The site figures in legal discussions by jurists such as Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and later scholars of the Ottoman and Saudi periods.
Pre-Islamic references to the pair appear in accounts of Quraysh's custodianship and in anecdotes collected by biographers like Al-Waqidi and Al-Azraqi. Before institutionalization under Muhammad, the stones and paths associated with the two rises were attended by tribes including the Banu Hashim, Banu Zuhrah, Banu Makhzum, Banu Umayya, and visitors from Himyarites, Ghassanids, and Lakhmids. Archaeological and topographical notes by explorers such as Charles Doughty, Sir Richard Burton, David Roberts, and surveyors of the British Museum era trace successive urban layers tied to Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman Empire interventions. Inscriptions and coins from al-Andalus and Samanid trade routes indicate long-distance pilgrimage networks converging on Mecca and the adjacent landmarks.
The sites are implicitly referenced in the Qur'an in the verse revealing the Hagar and Ishmael narrative and are central to Islamic liturgical practice codified by Muhammad and preserved by companions like Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib. Classical exegetes including Al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Al-Qurtubi, and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi discuss the theological status of the ritual connected to the two elevations. Sunni schools—represented by jurists such as Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam al-Shafi'i, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal—and later Shafi‘i, Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali manuals treat the requirements, timing, and exemptions related to the circuit between the two sites. The sites have featured in devotional poetry by Al-Mutanabbi-era traditions and later Sufi expositions by figures like Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Ibn Arabi, and Al-Ghazali.
Sa'i entails traversing a measured distance between the two points seven times, a practice recorded in hadith collections compiled by Imam al-Bukhari, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah. Ritual guidance appears in legal compendia by Al-Muwatta', Al-Umm, Al-Muqaddimah, and treatises by later scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qudamah, and Ibn al-Nafis. Pilgrim manuals from al-Andalus to Mamluk Cairo and Ottoman Istanbul delineate steps, garment norms such as Ihram, and exemptions for groups including travelers from Malabar, Sindh, Anatolia, and Maghreb. Accounts by chroniclers—Ibn Jubayr, Ibn Battuta, al-Masudi, Yaqut al-Hamawi—and modern ethnographers document variations in practice, crowd management by authorities like Hashemite custodians, later transferred to Saudi royal family administration, and contemporary management by bodies such as the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
The topography comprises two low sandstone knolls within the broader Hejaz plain, adjacent to the Masjid al-Haram and near historic wells and paths linking to Zamzam Well. Architectural interventions over centuries include structures from Umayyad architecture, Abbasid architecture, Fatimid architecture, and later Ottoman and Saudi renovations. Plans and elevations have been documented by engineers from France, Britain, Germany, and Austria during 19th–20th century surveys, and by modern firms associated with projects under King Abdulaziz Al Saud, King Faisal, and King Salman. The modern enclosed gallery incorporates pedestrian flow designs influenced by engineering concepts from firms tied to Arup Group, Atkins, and consultants who worked on Jeddah airport expansions and the King Abdulaziz International Airport project.
Major phases include medieval repairs under Ayyubid and Mamluk patrons, Ottoman reinforcement by sultans such as Suleiman the Magnificent and Mahmud II, and expansive 20th–21st century redevelopment under the House of Saud. Notable interventions involved architects, planners, and administrators from British Mandate-era firms, French consultants, and corporate entities linked to Saudi Binladin Group and international contractors. Renovations sparked debates among jurists in institutions like Al-Azhar University, Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, Council of Senior Scholars (Saudi Arabia), and international Islamic organizations including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Conservationists from museums such as the British Museum, Louvre, and academic centers at Al-Azhar, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and Universität Leipzig have documented artefacts, plans, and travelogues.
Safa and Marwah appear in artistic, literary, and musical works across regions: Andalusi muwashshah, Persian masnavi, Ottoman divan poetry, and modern Arabic novels by authors like Naguib Mahfouz, Tawfiq al-Hakim, and Jurji Zaydan. They feature in iconography reproduced in Ottoman tilework, Mamluk manuscripts, Mughal miniatures, and contemporary Saudi photography exhibited at institutions such as the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum. Commemorated in stamps issued by Saudi Post and philatelic series from Egypt Post, Turkey Post, and Pakistan Post, the sites symbolize themes invoked by leaders including King Abdulaziz, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and Muhammad Ali of Egypt in speeches about Islamic heritage. Pilgrimage narratives by writers such as Burton, Ibn Battuta, Ibn Jubayr, and modern journalists in outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and The New York Times continue to shape public perceptions.