Short History of Hajj
1/19/2004 - Religious - Article Ref: IC0301-1834
Number of comments: 37
By: Invitation to Islam
IslamiCity* -
Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'. Islamically however it
refers
to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the
intention of
performing certain religious rites 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
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