Hajj - Islamic Ritualistic Nonsense
by Aamir
In every religion there are rites which require some
sort of organization and training. The details of their content and form
are generally of little intrinsic importance. No thoughtful person,
however, can discern any philosophical reason for pilgrimage, the Hajj
to Mecca and for the useless and meaningless rites which the pilgrims
perform.
The Hajj (Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) is actually one of the several
national customs of the Arabs are known to have been endorsed and
perpetuated. All the ceremonies of the Hajj (pilgrimage in the month of
Dhu'l-Hejja) and the 'Umra (lesser pilgrimage), such as the wearing of a
seamless white robe, the kissing or touching of the black stone, the
running between Safa and Marwa, the halt at Arafat, and the
pebble-throwing (symbolic stoning of the Satan), had been practiced in
the pre-Islamic period and were retained with only a few modifications.
The pagan Arabs, while circumambulating the Ka'ba, used to call out to
Lat, Ozza, Manat, or any other idol that their tribe revered, "Here I am
at your service (labbayka), O Manat!" or whichever. Under Islam, the
call to an idol was replaced by the call to God (Allahomma), and the
formula became labbayka Allahomma labbayka! The pagan Arabs had banned
hunting in the month of the pilgrimage, but the Prophet maintained this
ban only in the days of pilgrimage when the pilgrims are in the state of
consecration (ehram).
The pagan Arabs had sometimes circumambulated the Ka'ba in the nude;
Islam forbade this and required the wearing of seamless robes. The pagan
Arabs had an inhibition against eating the meat of sacrificed animals;
the Prophet made this permissible.
The Prophet Mohammad's decision to set out on a visit to the Ka'ba in 6
A.H./628 is puzzling. Did he really believe the Ka'ba to be God's abode?
Or did he make this move in order to placate followers for whom Ka'ba-visitation
was an ancestral tradition? Or was it a result of an agreement between
Prophet Mohammad and Qorayshites to let the revenue keep coming as the
major part of Arabian economy depended on the Hajj and still is. Was his
decision, which came unexpectedly in view of the resolve of the hostile
Qorayshites to prevent Moslems from entering Mecca, and which led to the
disappointing truce of Hodaybiya, a political stratagem designed to
impress the Qoraysh chiefs with Moslem numerical and military strength
and to draw ordinary, un-fanatical Meccans to the new religion? How
could the man who had introduced the new religion and laws and had
repudiated all the beliefs and superstitions of his own people now
revive the main component of the old tradition in a new form? Islam's
zealous founder and legislator had above all insisted on pure
monotheism, telling the people that belief in the One God is the only
road to happiness and proclaiming that "the noblest among you in God's
sight are the most pious among you" (sura 49, verse 13). Had he now
succumbed to national or racial feeling? Did he want to make veneration
of Ishmael's house a symbol of Arab national identity?
However that may be, the decision was so surprising and so inconsistent
with Islamic principles that many Moslems were upset. Several believers
objected to the running between Safa and Marwa because it had been a
pagan Arab rite; but its retention was imposed by verse 158 of sura 2, "Safa
and Marwa are among God's waymarks."
According to well authenticated reports, Omar b. ol-Khattab, who was one
of Mohammad's greatest and wisest companions, said that he would never
have kissed the black stone if he had not personally seen the Prophet
kiss it. Ghazzali whose authority in Islamic matters deserves respect,
wrote frankly that he could find no explanation of the hajj ritual but
obeyed because it was an accomplished fact.
There is one verse in the Quran which sheds some light on the matter and
is perhaps an answer to questions about it. This is verse 28 of sura 9 (ot-Tawba):
“O believers, it is a fact that the polytheists are unclean. Therefore
they shall not approach the Mosque of the Sanctuary (i.e. the Ka'ba)
after this year of theirs. If you fear poverty, God will enrich you from
His bounty." According to the Tafsir ol-Jalalayn, this meant that God
would compensate the Arabs with victories and receipts of tribute. The
sura of Repentance (ot-Tawba) is chronologically the last in the Quran,
having been sent down in 10 A.H./631, well after the Moslem conquest of
Mecca. The ban on visitation of the Ka'ba by non- Moslem tribes was
likely to disquiet the people of Mecca, whose livelihood and flourishing
trade depended on the coming and going of Arab tribes and groups.
Although the Meccans were of the same tribe as the Prophet, most of them
had only become Moslem under duress. If Mecca should lose its
prosperity, there might be a risk of widespread apostasy. That risk
would be averted by making pilgrimage to Mecca incumbent on Moslems.
This explanation is of course a mere hypothesis; to what extent it
corresponds to the reality can never be known. In any case no rational
or religious justification can be found for the retention of ancient
pagan practices in the ritual of the Islamic Hajj. This prompted the
great and universally admired philosopher-poet of the Arabs, Abu'l-Ala
ol-Ma'arri to exclaim:
People come from far corners of the land
to throw pebbles (at the Satan) and to kiss the (black) stone.
How strange are the things they say!
Is all mankind becoming blind to truth?
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