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the Message Continues ... 11/174
Newsletter for May 2016
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Hajj literally means ‘to set out
for a place’. Islamically
however it refers to the annual
pilgrimage that Muslims make to
Makkah with the intention of
performing certain religious
rites in accordance with the
method prescribed by the Prophet
Muhammad
Hajj and its rites were first
ordained by Allah in the time of
the Prophet lbrahim [Abraham]
and he was the one who was
entrusted by Allah to build the
Kaba – the House of Allah –
along with his son Ismail
[Ishmael] at Makkah. Allah
described the Kaba and its
building as follows:
“And remember when We showed
Ibrahim the site of the [Sacred]
House [saying]: Associate not
anything [in worship with Me and
purify My House for those who
circumambulate it [i.e. perform
tawaaf] and those who stand up
for prayer and those who bow
down and make prostration [in
prayer etc.].”
After building the Kaba, Prophet
Ibrahim would come to Makkah to
perform Hajj every year, and
after his death, this practice
was continued by his son.
However, gradually with the
passage of time, both the form
and the goal of the Hajj rites
were changed. As idolatry spread
throughout Arabia, the Kaba lost
its purity and idols were placed
inside it. Its walls became
covered with poems and
paintings, including one of
Jesus and his mother Maryam and
eventually over 360 idols came
to be placed around the Kaba.
During the Hajj period itself,
the atmosphere around the sacred
precincts of the Kaba was like a
circus. Men and women would go
round the Kaba naked, arguing
that they should present
themselves before Allah in the
same condition they were born.
Their prayer became devoid of
all sincere remembrance of Allah
and was instead reduced to a
series of hand clapping,
whistling and the blowing of
horns. Even the talbiah [1]was
distorted by them with the
following additions: ‘No
one is Your partner except one
who is permitted by you. You are
his Master and the Master of
what he possesses’.
Sacrifices were also made in the
name of God. However, the blood
of the sacrificed animals was
poured onto the walls of the
Kaba and the flesh was hung from
pillars around the Kaba, in the
belief that Allah demanded the
flesh and blood of these
animals.
Singing, drinking, adultery and
other acts of immorality was
rife amongst the pilgrims and
the poetry competitions, which
were held, were a major part of
the whole Hajj event. In these
competitions, poets would praise
the bravery and splendor of
their own tribesmen and tell
exaggerated tales of the
cowardice and miserliness of
other tribes. Competitions in
generosity were also staged
where the chief of each tribe
would set up huge cauldrons and
feed the pilgrims, only so that
they could become well-known for
their extreme generosity.
Thus the people had totally
abandoned the teachings of their
forefather and leader Prophet
Ibrahim. The House that he had
made pure for the worship of
Allah alone, had been totally
desecrated by the pagans and the
rites which he had established
were completely distorted by
them. This sad state of affairs
continued for nearly two and a
half thousand years. But then
after this long period, the time
came for the supplication of
Prophet Ibrahim to be answered:
“Our Lord! Send amongst them a
Messenger of their own, who
shall recite unto them your
aayaat (verses) and instruct
them in the book and the Wisdom
and sanctify them. Verily you
are the ‘Azeezul-Hakeem [the
All-Mighty, the All-Wise].”
Sure enough, a man by the name
of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullaah
Not only did the Prophet rid the
Kaba of all its impurities, but
he also reinstated all the rites
of Hajj which were established
by Allah’s Permission, in the
time of Prophet Ibrahim.
Specific injunctions in the
Quran were revealed in order to
eliminate all the false rites
which had become rampant in the
pre-Islamic period. All indecent
and shameful acts were strictly
banned in Allah’s statement:
“There is to be no lewdness nor
wrangles during Hajj.”
Competitions among poets in the
exaltations of their forefathers
and their tribesmen’s
achievements were all stopped.
Instead, Allah told them:
“And when you have completed
your rites [of Hajj] then
remember Allah as you remember
your forefathers; nay with a
more vigorous remembrance.”
Competitions in generosity were
also prohibited. Of course, the
feeding of the poor pilgrims was
still encouraged as this was
done during the time of Prophet
Ibrahim but Allah commanded that
the slaughtering of the animals
which was done for this purpose
should be done seeking the
pleasure of Allah rather than
fame and the praise of the
people. He said:
“So mention the name of Allah
over these animals when they are
drawn up in lines. Then, when
they are drawn on their sides
[after the slaughter], eat
thereof and feed the beggar who
does not ask, and the beggar who
asks.”
As for the deplorable practice
of spattering blood of the
sacrificed animals on the walls
of the Kaba and hanging their
flesh on alters, then Allah
clearly informed them that:
“It is neither their meat nor
their blood that reaches Allah,
but it is Taqwaa (piety) from
you that reaches Him.”
The Prophet
“Say: Who has forbidden the
adornment [i.e. clothes] given
by Allah which He has produced
for His Slaves?”
Another custom which was
prohibited through the Quran was
that of setting off for Hajj
without taking any provisions
for the journey. In the
pre-Islamic period, some people
who claimed to be mutawakkiloon
(those having complete trust in
Allah) would travel to perform
Hajj begging for food through
the whole journey. They
considered this form of behavior
a sign of piety and an
indication of how much faith
they had in Allah. However Allah
told mankind that to have
sufficient provisions for the
journey was one of the
preconditions for making Hajj.
He said:
“And take a provision [with you]
for the journey, but the best
provision is at-Taqwaa (piety).”
In this way, all the pre-Islamic
practices, which were based on
ignorance, were abolished and
Hajj was once more made a model
of piety, fear of Allah, purity,
simplicity and austerity. Now,
when the pilgrims reach the Kaba,
they no longer find the
carnivals and the frolic and
frivolity that had once occupied
the minds of the pilgrims there
before. Now, there is the
remembrance of Allah at every
step and every action and every
sacrifice was devoted to Him
alone. It was this kind of Hajj
that was worthy of the reward of
paradise, as the Prophet
May Allah grant us all the
ability to visit His House and
perform the Hajj in the manner
of the Prophet Muhammad
Footnotes
1- Labbaik
Allahumma labbaik… (Here I am
present, O’ God, I am present…)
This is the chant which the
pilgrims say when they are
traveling for pilgrimage. |
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