Quraysh
Makkan Period
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
[1] Since the Quraysh became accustomed, [2] accustomed to the journey of winter and summer,1 [3] therefore, let them worship the Lord of this House;2 [4] Who fed them against hunger, and secured them against fear.3
1. These allude to the trade journeys undertaken by the Quraysh. In summer the Quraysh travelled northwards carrying merchandise to Syria and Palestine, and in winter they travelled southwards to southern Arabia. Their journeys had given rise to great prosperity.
2. “This House” here means the Kaʿbah.
3. As Makkah was an inviolable city, the Quraysh had no fear of being attacked by any of the Arab tribes. Also, as keepers of the Ka ʿbah, their trade caravans passed freely throughout Arabia and no one molested them.