Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, which the Messenger of Allah ﷺhas explained its rites by his statements and actions. His honourable Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) transmitted them to us just as they learned them directly from the Prophet ﷺ. In this hadeeth, the Taab’iee al-A’mash, Sulaymaan ibn Mihraan reports that he heard al-Hajjaaj ibn Yoosuf al-Thaqafee, the governor of Iraq during the Umayyad period, saying on the pulpit, “The Surah wherein al-Baqarah [the Cow] is mentioned, the Surah wherein Aal ‘Imraan is mentioned and the Surah in which an-Nisaa’ [the women] are mentioned.” He did not say Surah al-Baqarah [the Surah of the Cow], Surah Aaal ‘Imraan and Surah al-Nisaa’ [the Surah of the Women]. In a narration recorded by al-Nasaaee, it reads, “I heard al-Hajjaaj say, ‘Do not say Surah al-Baqarah, say instead, the Surah wherein al-Baqarah is mentioned.” Al-A’mash mentioned what he had heard from al-Hajjaaj to Ibraaheem an-Nakha’i to clarify the correct. Al-A’mash did not mean to narrate from al-Hajjaaj. He was not meant to do that, but he wanted to tell the story instead and to clarify the mistake of al-Hajjaaj concerning it with what is established from the person who is referred to regarding it. Ibraaheem narrated to him that ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Yazeed told him that he had performed Hajj with ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased with him) and he was with him when he pelted Jamarah al-‘Aqabah on the Day of Sacrifice, which is on the tenth day of Thoo al-Hijjah. This is the biggest Jamarah and it is situated in the last part of Minaa in the direction of Makkah. It is not an integral part of Minaa, rather it is a borderline from the direction of Makkah. He said: “He went inside the valley” , i.e. he stood in the middle of it, until when he was beside the tree, and he faced it - and this tree does not exist now - he came to it from its width. He threw seven pebbles at the Jamrah, saying: “Allah is the Greatest” with every pebble he threw, and in the narration of Muslim: “I said: O Aboo ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, but the people are throwing it from above it?!” He replied, “From here” - and he pointed to the belly of the valley – “the one to whom Surah Al-Baqarah ﷺwas revealed stood here,” and Ibn Mas’ood swore to that by Allah, beside Whom there is no other god, confirming what he said and what he transmitted from the Prophet ﷺ. The specification by ibn Mas’ood of Surah al-Baqarah in terms of mentioning it in his oath without mentioning the other Surahs was as it has been said: He was pointing to the fact that many rulings concerning the Hajj are mentioned therein. As if he was saying: This is the station wherein the rites of Hajj were revealed, notifying thereby that the actions of Hajj cannot be sanctioned except on the basis of textual evidence from the Quran and Sunnah to that effect. It was said: He mentioned it [the Surah] because of its length and its merit and the abundant rulings it covers. The reason Ibraaheem al-Nakh’ee mentioned this hadeeth was to highlight the explicit statement of Ibn Mas’ood concerning the use of: “Surah al-Baqarah,” and that he did not say, “The Surah in which al-Baqarah is mentioned” as al-Hajjaaj al-Thaqafee claimed. This hadeeth refutes the claim of al-Hajjaaj and debunks the statement of all those who said, “One should not say Surah al-Baqarah, instead, it should be said, “The Surah in which al-Baqarah is mentioned.” This hadeeth shows that the pebbles are pelted from the belly of the valley and that Takbeer should be said with every pebble used [for pelting]. It highlights the legality of taking an oath in order to emphasise the statement. It also shows that the people of knowledge should deny and refute the leaders in a way that is appropriate..