'Allah has made the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, a standing for the people, and [also] the Sacred Month and the Hady (sacrificial animals) and the garlands.' Qatadah said:

These were considered inviolable in the Jahiliyyah (Pre-Islamic period). If a man had committed any crime and then took refuge in the Sacred Precinct (Haram), he would not be harmed. If a man encountered the killer of his father during the Sacred Month, he would not touch him. If a man encountered a sacrificial animal that had been garlanded, even if he were eating (the plant) 'al-qadb' due to hunger, he would not touch it. And when a man desired to go to the Sacred House, he would put on a garland of hair until he reached Makkah; and when he wished to return from Makkah, he would put on a garland made of the bark of the acacia tree (Samur) or of rush grass (Idhkhir), which would protect him until he reached his family.

Surah Al-Ma'idah from verse (98) to verse (103).