وَأَذَٰنٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلنَّاسِ يَوْمَ ٱلْحَجِّ ٱلْأَكْبَرِ
Wa adhānun mina'llāhi wa rasūlihī ila'l-nāsi yawma'l-ḥajji'l-akbari anna'llāha barīʾun mina'l-mushrikīna wa rasūluh; fa-in tubtum fa-huwa khayrun lakum, wa in tawallaytum fa'ʿlamū annakum ghayru muʿjizi'llāh
"And an announcement from God and His Messenger to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage: God is clear of the mushrikūn, and so is His Messenger. If you turn back, that is better for you; and if you turn away, know that you cannot frustrate God."
The concrete sense of the root: the ear. Udhun — ear. From this derive the senses of hearing, of giving leave (hearing and accepting), and of announcing (bringing to the ear). The root was treated in al-Ḥajj at 22/27 (wa adhdhin fi'l-nāsi bi'l-ḥajj) and in Ibrāhīm at 14/7 (wa idh taʾadhdhana rabbukum).
And the choice of word must be recorded: the same root will occur again in verse 61 of the sūra as udhun (ear), in verses 44-45 as yastaʾdhinuka (he asks your leave), and in verse 90 as li-yuʾdhana lahum. The sūra puts this root to four separate uses:
| Verse | Derivative | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Adhān | Public announcement |
| 44-45, 83, 86, 90, 93 | Istiʾdhān | Asking leave — among the most repeated verbs of the sūra |
| 61 | Udhun | Ear — as a nickname |
| 49 | Iʾdhan lī | "Give me leave" |
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the number of these repetitions: the sūra opens with an announcement and is then built upon the asking of leave. The same root is the word both for open proclamation and for covert avoidance.
Which day the expression "the day of the greater pilgrimage" refers to has been debated in the classical commentaries. I convey the disagreement and impose no preference:
| View | Which day | Cited as ground |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The day of sacrifice (yawm al-naḥr) | Transmitted reports |
| 2 | The day of ʿArafa | Transmitted reports |
| 3 | The whole of the pilgrimage season | The sense of the word yawm as "time, period" |
By what the epithet "greater" (akbar) is greater has also been debated: greater than the ʿumra (the ʿumra being counted as al-ḥajj al-aṣghar, the lesser pilgrimage), or greater by the scope of the declaration made in that year. The Qurʾān does not explain this; I do not speak with certainty.
The declaration does not end by closing the door. The sentence carries a condition: fa-in tubtum — "if you turn back."
I record this as my own reading, and its ground is the presence of the conditional clause: into the harshest of notices, a possibility capable of changing the situation has been set. And that possibility lies in the other party's own hands.
The same structure occurred in al-Anfāl at 8/33: one of the two things holding back the punishment was wa hum yastaghfirūn — an obstacle lying in the other party's own hands. I rely on that treatment.