As Muslims from all over the world begin to travel to the Hijaz for Hajj, ZAFAR BANGASH, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT), discusses the true nature of the annual pilgrimage.
Hajj is often called the annual assembly of the Ummah. Unfortunately, the reality falls far short of the ideal ordained by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and exemplified by his Messenger, upon whom be peace.
Hajj reflects the state of the Ummah at any particular time in history. If Hajj is performed in a mechanical way by the vast majority of Muslims, it is because its true meaning and import have been deliberately obfuscated from them. Hajj, like all other aspects of Islam, has been largely shorn of its true meaning.
Malaysian pilgrims to the Hajj are often noted by other hujjaj to be among the best organized and most disciplined of the Holy Lands' many annual visitors. It is also often noted that, in contrast to hujjaj from some other countries, they are often young. These simple observations hide a major Muslim achievement which goes far further than simply the successful organization of an annual trip to the Haramain.
The Saudi assertion that only 343 pilgrims (pilgrims) died in Mina in the April 15 fire has been challenged by eyewitness accounts who put the death toll at nearly 4,000. More than 12,000 were injured, many of them in the stampede that followed as the fire spread.
Every Muslim yearns to perform the Hajj at least once in a lifetime. It is one of the fundamentals of Islam but like all other aspects of Religion, Hajj, too, has been ritualised and, therefore, trivialised.
The enemies of Allah can kill at will but Muslim must not defend themselves. They must not talk about these issues even in the House of Allah! Has not Allah commanded the believers to fight if they are attacked?
Conference Papers to be updated.
The philosophy of Hajj, i.e. one of the major philosophies of Hajj, lies in its political dimensions, for the suppression of which criminal hands are at work from all around. The important aspect of Hajj has not been less than its devotional aspect, since its very beginning.
