----- Original Message -----
From: Musa Amadu Pembo <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2003 3:57 PM
Subject: Fwd:A short History Of Hajj.
> A Short History of Hajj
>
>
> Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'. However, Islamically it
> refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the
> intention of performing certain religious rites. These rites are 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.]."
> [Surah Al-Hajj 22:26]
>
> 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]."
> [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129]
>
>
> Sure enough, a man by the name of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullaah was born in the
> very city that Prophet Ibrahim had made this supplication centuries earlier.
> For twenty-three years, Prophet Muhammad spread the message of Tawheed
> [true monotheism] - the same message that Prophet Ibrahim and all the other
> Prophets came with - and established the law of Allah upon the land. He
> expended every effort into making the word of Allah supreme and his victory
> over falsehood culminated in the smashing of the idols inside the Kaba which
> once again became the universal center for the worshippers of the one True
> God.
>
> 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."
> [Surah al-Baqarah 2:197]
>
> 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."
> [Surah al-Baqarah 2:200]
>
> 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."
> [Surah al-Hajj 22:36]
>
> 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."
> [Surah al-Hajj 22:37]
>
> The Prophet also put a stop to the practice of circling the Kaba in a state
> of nudity and the argument that the pagans put forward to justify this
> ritual was sharply rebutted in Allah's question:
>
> "Say: Who has forbidden the adornment [i.e. clothes] given by Allah which He
> has produced for His Slaves?"
> [Surah al-A'raaf 7:32]
>
>
> 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)."
> [Surah al-Baqarah 2:197]
>
> 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 said: "The reward for an accepted Hajj is
> nothing less than paradise."
>
> May Allah grant us all the ability to visit His House and perform the Hajj
> in the manner of the Prophet Muhammad . Aameen.
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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.
>
> Source: Invitation to Islam, Issue 1, May 1997
>
> With the very best of good wishes,
> Musa Amadu Pembo
> Glasgow,
> Scotland
> UK.
> [log in to unmask]
> Da'wah is to convey the message with wisdom and with good words. We should
> give the noble and positive message of Islam. We should try to emphasize
> more commonalities and explain the difference without getting into
> theological arguments and without claiming the superiority of one position
> over the other. There is a great interest among the people to know about
> Islam and we should do our best to give the right message.
> May Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,guide us all to His Sirat Al-Mustaqim (Righteous
> Path).May He protect us from the evils of this life and the hereafter.May
> Allah,Subhana Wa Ta'Ala,grant us entrance to paradise .
> We ask Allaah the Most High, the All-Powerful, to teach us that which will
> benefit us, and to benefit us by that which we learn. May Allaah Subhanahu
> Wa Ta'ala grant blessings and peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family
> and
> companions..Amen.
>
>
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Express yourself with cool emoticons http://messenger.msn.co.uk
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
> at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
> To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
