A Dazzling View of Hajj-2015( Photo courtesy Google Image)
Dr.Mazhar
Naqvi
About three million Muslims are in the Holy City of Mecca
to perform the most glorious and sacred ritual of Hajj-2015.The Messenger of Allah Prophet Hazrat Muhammad
says: “O people perform Hajj rituals with full awareness and religion and don't
come back from Hajj unless you decide to give up committing sins and repent
instead.”But who does not know that believers will perform Hajj this year under
the watchful eyes of over 1 lakh armed soldiers. The elaborate security arrangements
have been made in the wake of the reign of terror unleashed by ‘Islamic State’
(IS).The apprehension of Saudi Government only proves the fact that Hajj,
described by Imam Rida as a journey towards Almighty God, is no longer safe from
those who claim themselves to be Muslims but defy even the basic tenets of
Islam. Does the current situation not propel a true believer to recall what had
happened with Imam Hussain in 60 Hijri? He had arrived in Mecca to perform Hajj
but had to content with Umrah. He had to leave Mecca as he apprehended grave danger
to his life by Yazid’s henchmen who have entered the holy city masquerading as Hajis.
Imam later sacrificed himself and his small band of followers at Karbala to
save Islam. His sublime sacrifice exposed not only the anti-Islamic activities
of Yazid but also drew a permanent line of distinction between right and wrong.
Imam Hussain offered everything and suffered persecution in its most cruel and
barbaric form to change the mindset of those who were bent upon killing him at
the behest of despotic Yazid who is now being imitated by the IS Caliph in
speech, action and deeds.
Does not the current situation call for initiation of
debate over the real reason of many precepts or commandments of Allah, including Hajj? It
has been a problem with Islamic societies to take such commandments at a
superficial level despite abundance of religious scholars, preachers and
availability of authentic sayings and narrations. As a result, the divine,
mystical and spiritual dimensions associated with obligatory pilgrimage like Hajj,
to quote Ayatollah Khomeini, becomes
“ a hollow worship and a fruitless act”. In
one of his speeches, he had pointed out
that the most crucial obligations on the part of Muslims was to find out what
"Hajj" really is, and why they must always use a part of their
material and spiritual possibilities to keep it lively and energetic. The great
scholar was indeed accurate in his assessment. Who would deny that the annual
Islamic pilgrimage now only symbolizes collective worshipping and
excursion-pilgrimage travel? The followers of such philosophy put forward
arguments that Hajj has nothing to do with the hardships of believers wherever
they are in the world. They also don’t consider it as an opportunity to call
Muslims to raise their voice against the silence of Islamic countries towards
the sufferings of believers.
Hajj is a sample of the great religion i.e. Islam,
for this collective worship includes
monotheism, resurrection, prophecy, Imamate, morality, spirituality, physical
and financial worship, cooperation and devotion, interaction, unity, politics,
economy etc. It is a re-enactment of some
key events related to the life of Prophet Abraham and his family. Hajj marks
the total submission of Prophet Abraham to the will of Allah and rejection of
Satan and his ways. Who is not aware that who protects Israel and for what
reasons? Who does not know that the most powerful country on earth is like Satan
and spreading his ways in poverty stricken pockets of the country? Can anyone
deny that the regime responsible for the protection of holy shrines in Mecca
and Medina is the most ardent supporter of this strongest nation? So long as we
don’t ponder over such questions, Hajj would not be able to inspire Muslims to combat
against the materialistic world and restrain themselves from falling prey to Un-Islamic outfits like IS. It is high time for all of us to think how can we
stop Hajj from becoming a trip of excursion to see Holy ‘Kaba’ and Masjid –E-Nabwi.
If Muslims continue to ignore the divine and mystical reason behind the
performance of Hajj, they will remain a neglected, oppressed and anxious lot in
third world countries. May Allah protect true believers from the clutches of ‘Satanic
nations’ and accept the Hajj of each believer this year.(Amen)
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