ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا۟ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ
Then depart from the place from where [all] the people depart and ask forgiveness of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Introduction
This is āyah 199 of Sūrat Al-Baqara (The Cow), the 87th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 2. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 87 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Baqara (2)
(Then hasten onward from the place whence the multitude hasteneth onward) [2:199]. Al-Tamimi informed through the chain of transmission mentioned above from Yahya ibn Hisham ibn �Urwa> his father> �A�ishah that she said: �The Arabs used to hasten onward from �Arafat while the Quraysh and those who followed their religion used to hasten onward from Jam� in the Sacred Precinct. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (Then hasten onward from the place whence the multitude hasteneth onward)�. Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja�far al-Muzakki informed us> Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Zakariyya> Muhammad ibn �Abd al-Rahman al-Sarkhasi> Abu Bakr ibn Khaythamah> Hamid ibn Yahya> Sufyan ibn �Uyaynah> �Amr ibn Dinar> Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut�im> his father that he said: �I lost one of my camels on the day of �Arafah and I went to look for it when I saw the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, standing with people at �Arafah. I said: �He is from the Hums, what is he doing here?� Abu Sufyan said: �the Ahmas [sing of Hums] is someone who is very strict about and observant of his religion�. This is because the Quraysh used to be called the Hums but the devil led them astray by whispering to them: �If you exalt other than your Sacred Precinct, other people will belittle your Sacred Precinct�. And so they did not hasten onward from the Sacred Precinct but rather stand at al-Muzdalifah. Upon the advent of Islam, Allah, glorious and majestic is He, revealed: (Then hasten onward from the place whence the multitude hasteneth onward), i.e. from �Arafah. This was narrated by Muslim> �Amr al-Naqid> Ibn �Uyaynah.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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