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.
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