Mount Safa

Mount Safa (Arabic: جبل صفا), is a small mountain within Masjid al-Haram. It is the point from where pilgrims start the Sa’ee in the Mas’aa to emulate the actions of Hajra (عليها السلام).

Mention of Mount Safa in the Quran

• Allah (ﷻ) makes mention of the Safa and Marwah mountains in the Quran in Surah Baqarah: “Verily Safa and Marwah are among the landmarks (distinctive signs) of (the Deen of) Allah.” [2:158]

The Prophet (ﷺ) preaches from mount Safa

• Abdullah bin Abbas (رضي الله عنه) narrates that the Prophet (ﷺ) climbed up Mount Safa when Allah (ﷻ) revealed the verse in Surah Shu’ara: “And warn your tribe (O Muhammad) of near kindred.” [26:214]

• After ascending the Safa mountain he shouted: “Ya Sabahah!” (an Arabic expression when one appeals for help or draws the attention of others to some danger). When the people of Makkah had gathered around him the Prophet (ﷺ) said to them, “If I told you that horsemen were advancing to attack you from the valley on the other side of this mountain, will you believe me?”. “Yes”, they replied, “We have always found you truthful.”  The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “I am a plain warner to you of a coming severe punishment.”
• After this vivid analogy the Prophet (ﷺ) asked them to save themselves by declaring that Allah was one and that he, Muhammad, was his messenger. He tried to make them understand that if they clung to polytheism and rejected the message he had brought to them, they would face Allah’s punishment. Abu Lahab (his uncle) said, “May you perish! You gathered us only for this reason? “. Then Abu Lahab went away. Upon this ‘Surah al-Lahab’ (Perish the hands of Abu Lahab!) was revealed.

The Prophet (ﷺ) climbs Mount Safa again after conquering Makkah

• After conquering Makkah, the Prophet (ﷺ) went to the Hajar al-Aswad and then started performing Tawaf. After completing the Tawaf, the Prophet (ﷺ) climbed Mount Safa, faced towards the Ka’bah and after praising Allah, he started making du’aa. It was from here that he announced (to the local Makkans), “Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyaan has amnesty and whoever closes the door of his house has amnesty.”
• Daarul Arqam was based at the foot of Mount Safa.

References:  History of Madinah Munawwarah – Dr. Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani