[Pooya/Ali Commentary 3:97] The station or the standing place of Ibrahim, the model believer in the unity of Allah, has the following points of significance (clear signs). (1) The standing place of Ibrahim has been made the permanent religious centre of all monotheists, because his faith (belief in the unity of Allah) was perfect, an ideal for every believer. (2) It is a sacred sanctuary. Whoso enters it is safe from the clutches of the disbelievers. It is a historic fact that all invaders who attacked this holy precinct were destroyed. (The grandson of the Holy Prophet, Imam Husayn, was deprived of the security in Kabah in 60 Hijra by the order of Yazid bin Mu-awiyah). (3) Pilgrimage to the Kabah to seek spiritual guidance has been made obligatory on mankind for ever. The believers shall go to Kabah to carry out the command of Allah till the day of resurrection. It should be noted that this prophecy was made at a time when the Muslims were in danger of being exterminated by their enemies. See the commentary of al Baqarah: 196. This institution of pilgrimage (hajj) has taken root in the lives of the Muslims. Every year a great many pilgrims come to Kabah to translate their faith into action. There is no sponsor, no convenor, no invitation, no compulsion. At Kabah, during the pilgrimage, they forget their social status, ideology, race, colour, and nationality and become a single party of the servants of Allah, dressed in a simple identical garment, standing in rows, shoulder to shoulder, before their Lord, in front of His holy house, praying to one God, in the language of the Quran, which, truly, is the everlasting miracle of the prophet of Islam, a clear sign of the victory of truth. In the end it is made clear that one who has sufficient means must perform the hajj. Wilful neglect of this commandment of Allah amounts to the abandonment of His faith (infidelity). So he who wilfully neglects the pilgrimage does so at his own peril, and not to any hurt to his Lord, because He is independent of the worlds. He is self-sufficient. Whether the whole mankind serve Him or none observe His commandments, it makes no difference to Him whatsoever. The hajj has been prescribed for man's own good. There is no profit or gain for Him. It is an escape from the sins a man commits (and its consequences) to take refuge under the shelter of Allah's mercy. The Holy Prophet has said: He who wilfully does not perform the hajj shall rise on the day of resurrection in the state of infidelity, having no vision. Hajj wipes out the sins as fire removes corrosion from the iron. Aqa Mahdi Puya says: (1) "Who can afford" means ability with ease concerning wealth, health and security. In the case of any adverse condition this ordinance is not applicable. (2) Man kafara (whosoever denies) shows the importance of the pilgrimage. As the Holy Prophet has said "the able but wilful non-performer" becomes an infidel. It is a positive test of the submission to Allah's will and a sure remedy to cure the evil disease of egotism.