By Habib
Siddiqui
Earlier this month the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declared that this
year hajj – the annual pilgrimage to Ka’bah in Makkah – would be scaled down
allowing only a thousand of local Saudis to observe it. No overseas Muslims,
which accounted for a majority of some three million pilgrims in a regular year
– would be allowed to perform hajj this year. The Saudi decision was taken to
preserve global public health in the absence of any vaccine to fight Covid-19.
The hajj event will start on July 29, corresponding to the 8th
day of Islamic calendar Dhul-Hijjah.
It is the first time in the Saudi kingdom's nearly 90-year
history that foreign Muslims have been barred from performing Hajj. No one over
the age of 65 or with chronic illnesses would be allowed to perform Hajj. Pilgrims
will be tested for the new coronavirus before arriving in the holy city of Makkah
and will be required to quarantine at home after the ritual ends.
Wearing face masks at all times will be mandatory for pilgrims
and organizers. Touching or kissing the Ka’bah, the holiest site in Islam, will
be banned during Hajj this year, and a physical distancing space of 1.5 meters
(five feet) between each pilgrim during the rituals - including congregational
prayers and while inside the Ka’bah tawaf (circling) area - will be
imposed. The access to holy sites at Mina, Muzdalifah, and Mount Arafat
will only be limited to those with Hajj permits until August 2.
As I have noted in an earlier article,
Hajj has been cancelled in the past because of war and past epidemics
throughout history. Ken
Chitwood, Lecturer, Concordia
College, New York has a good article
citing such occasions when hajj could not be held.
So while the ban on foreign Muslims who had intended to perform
Hajj this year is disappointing they should be reminded of the Prophetic hadith
that provides guidance about traveling
during a time of an epidemic:
“If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a
land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in
it, do not leave that place.”
In
Islam, intention counts and who knows Allah (SWT) may accept their intention
even though they cannot or couldn’t perform the hajj this year.
In
this regard, I like to share the well-known story related by Imam Abdullah ibn
al-Mubarak (r: Rahmatullah Alayh) who was one of the illustrious followers of
the great Imam Abu Hanifa (r). Abdullah ibn Mubarak was born in 118 A.H. of
a Turkish father and a Persian mother. He was a noted
authority on Prophetic Traditions and a famous ascetic. In alternate years he
would perform hajj,
and go out for Jihad,
and a third year he would engage in commerce. He would divide the profits of this
trading among his followers. He distributed much of his wealth in alms to the
poor.
When
Abdullah ibn
al-Mubarak (R)
was living in the holy city of Makkah, one year, having completed the rites of pilgrimage, he fell
asleep. In a dream he saw two angels descend from heaven.
“How
many have come this year?” one asked the other.
“Six
hundred thousand,” the other replied.
“How
many have had their pilgrimage accepted?”
“Not
one,” said the angel. “However, there is a cobbler in Damascus called Ali ibn Muaffaq. He has not
come on the pilgrimage, but his pilgrimage is accepted and all his sins have
been forgiven.”
When
Abdullah (r) heard this, he was filled with sadness: all
these people who had come from far distant ends of this earth, traversing wide
deserts, all their labor was in vain. He decided to go to Damascus and visit
that person. After he went there, he found Ali the cobbler, and told
him of the dream. Hearing this, the cobbler uttered a cry and fell unconscious.
When he recovered, Abdullah inquired, “Tell me your story.”
The
man told, “For thirty years now I have longed to make the pilgrimage to
Makkah. I had saved up 350 dirhams from my cobbling. This year I had resolved to go
to Makkah. One day my pregnant lady smelt the smell of food coming from our
neighbor and asked me to get some food from there. I went and knocked on the
neighbor’s door and explained the situation. My neighbor burst into tears. She
said, ‘My children have eaten nothing for three days. Today I saw a donkey lying
dead, so I hacked off a piece and cooked it. It would not be lawful food for
you.’ My heart burned within me when I heard her tale. I took out the 350 dirhams
and gave them to her saying, ‘Spend these on the children. This is my
pilgrimage.’”
“The
angel spoke truly in my dream,” Abdullah declared, “and the
Heavenly King was true in His judgment.” [Tadhkirat al-Auliyah]
Niyah or intention is important
in Islam. The above story highlights that one’s hajj may be accepted by Allah
(SWT) for meritorious deeds like feeding of the poor and the needy.
The
second story I want to share is about Abu Bakr al-Kattani (r), a native of Baghdad. He
was a disciple of Junayd al-Baghdadi (r). He was called the Lamp of Sanctuary, because he later
settled in Makkah. He lived there for nearly 30 years until his death in 322 AH
(934 CE). He used to pray all night at the Ka’bah completing the
recitation of the Qur’an every night.
At
the beginning of his spiritual journey, he sought permission from his mother to
go on the hajj (pilgrimage).
“When
I was proceeding into the desert,” he recalled, “a state overtook me compelling
me to wash for self-purification. I told myself perhaps I had not set out under
the proper auspices; so I turned back. I reached home to find my mother seated
behind the door of the house, waiting for me. ‘Mother,’ I said, ‘did you not
give me permission?’ ‘Yes,’ my mother replied, ‘but without you I could not
bear to look at the house. Since you departed I have been seated here. I
resolved that I would not rise up until you come back again.’”
It
was not until his mother died that Al-Kattani (r) ventured into the desert
once more to complete his hajj.
[Tadhkirat al-Auliyah]
The
story above highlights the importance of caring for one’s parents. In a famous hadith, a man came to the
Prophet Muhammad (S: sallal-lahu alayhi wa sallam) and said, O Messenger of Allah, how do I
enter Jannah (paradise)? The Prophet (S) asked, “Is your mother
alive?” The man said, “Yes, she is alive.” The Prophet (S) said,
“Find her feet and stick yourself to
them (which is an Arabic expression, meaning “to lower and humble yourself to
service your mother”);
there you will find Jannah.”
Abu
Hurairah (RA) narrated that once the Prophet (S) said: “Let him be humbled, let him be
humbled, let him be humbled.” His companions were perplexed, and they asked: “Allah’s
Messenger, who is he?” He (S) replied,
“He who finds his parents in old age, either one or both of them, but did not
use their presence (by doing good to them, etc.) to cause him to enter
Paradise.” [Muslim]
A man once came to seek advice from Bishr al-Hafi (r).
“I have 2000 dirhams lawfully acquired. I wish to go on the
pilgrimage.”
“You want to walk for your own amusement,” Bishr (r) replied. “If
you are really intent on pleasing Allah, then go and pay someone’s debt, or give
the money to an orphan, or someone in poor circumstances. The ease thus given
to a Muslim’s heart is more acceptable to Allah than a hundred hajj.”
“I put prior the desire to make the pilgrimage,” the man said.
“That is because you have obtained these moneys by means that
are not good,” Bishr commented. “You will never find rest until you have spent
them in improper ways.”
[Tadhkirat al-Auliya]
The
fourth story I want to share is about the importance of doing good to others
(similar to the theme of the previous story) and meeting the basic needs of
others instead of busying oneself with prayer alone during the hajj.
A pilgrim had returned from Hajj. He was relating his adventures to Imam Jafar
al-Sadiq (r) – a great scholar of Islam and a contemporary of Imam Abu Hanifa
(r) - and his companion. He was most impressed with one of his companions of
Hajj, and was praising him: “What a pious man, we were so blessed to have him
with us, he was busy praying and worshiping all the time. As we would stop
somewhere, he would rush to a corner and start prayers.”
Imam Jafar (r): “Then who was attending to his duties? Who was
watering and feeding his animal (ride)?”
Man: “Of course, we had the honor of doing all that for
him. He was busy in his sacred quest, and had nothing to do with such mundane
things.”
Imam Jafar (r): “Then indeed, you all are better than him.”
[Anecdotes of Pious Ones]
The
last story I want to share is the celebrated story from Shaykh Abu’l-Qasim
al-Junayd (r) who was a great teacher.
He (r) asked a pilgrim who had returned from Makkah, “Since the first moment
that you started your journey from home, have you been journeying away from
sins as well?” The pilgrim replied “No.”
Junayd (r) continued, “In that
case you have not accomplished any journey... Did you cover and distance between
God, as you stopped from place to place on your way?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you have not covered the path from stag to stage... When at the required place,
you donned the pilgrim’s robe, did you throw away the qualities of human nature
just as you had thrown away your clothes?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you were not clothed in the robe of a pilgrim... When you stood at Arafat, were
you even for a while lost in meditation about God?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you were not standing at Arafat... When you were at Muzdalifa and your wish was
fulfilled, did you completely give up all your worldly wishes?” The pilgrim
replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you have not gone to Muzdalifa... When you went round the Ka’bah, did you see
the vision of God in that house of purification?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you have not gone round the Ka’bah... When you ran between Safa and Marwa, did
you feel purified?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you did not perform the ceremony of running... When you arrived at Mina, did
you feel that all your desires had been ended?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you did not visit Mina... When you reached the place where sacrifices are
offered, did you slaughter your worldly wishes?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you offered no sacrifice... When you threw pebbles, did you also discard all
worldly desires that were within you?” The pilgrim replied, “No.”
Junayd (r) said, “In that case
you threw no pebbles... The pilgrimage has not yet been accomplished by you.”
[Kashf al-Mahjub]
[For many such devotional stories, the interested readers may
like to read the author’s book – Devotional
Stories, pub. A. S. Noordeen, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2011).]
May Allah guide us all to be better Muslims in this time of fitnah
(trial and tribulation) and fasad (corruption and depravity).
