Underexploited potential of Hajj
S Javed Hussain
Swelling multitude of people, fired by their devotion and dedication to
a philosophy of life, enthralled and entranced by the sanctity and
purity of time and place, go through a collective experience of an
upheaval that is spiritual and transcendental in nature and content. The
power this phenomenon offers to the Ummah remains underexploited.
Considering the trials and tribulations facing Islam challenging its
integrity and veracity, it becomes all the more imperative that
inspiration, enlightenment and motivation sought during Hajj should
result in some tangible voice, caring hope and rising spirit. Given the
indomitable spirit a Muslim should have, his grooming on practical lines
should prepare him to return from Hajj fully satisfied at personal as
well as national level.
Mundane is not separated from the spiritual in Islam. Given the largest
concentration of believers of any faith on Earth, the occasion of Hajj,
provides tremendous opportunity to Muslims to exploit its political,
social, economic and intellectual potentialities along with its
religious spiritual and divine realities. Hajj offers tremendous store
of untapped, unexploited and raw strength which, if intelligently
channelised, can yield tremendous benefits to the Ummah. Islam being an
all encompassing belief system can’t be approached piecemeal. The Quran
says, ‘O believers enter into Islam completely and do not follow the
footsteps of the devil, surely he is your clear-cut enemy. If you falter
after receiving the unambiguous message, then keep in mind that Allah is
Mighty, Wise.’ (Surah Al-Baqara, Ayah 208). Islam encompasses all
economic, social, cultural ethnic, political and spiritual aspects of
human needs. To cater to such needs of human life and society, Islam
offers a unique concept of prayers (Ibadat), which is exclusive to
Islam, which means, it is non-existing in any other religion of the
present world.
The most pronounced aspect of Islamic prayers is Tauhid (unity) that
finds expression in the ‘collectivism,’ which every prayer so emphasizes
upon. Islamic prayers are not just a jumble of disconnected rituals;
every movement, bending, rising and prostration establish one fact;
grandeur and sublimity of Tauhid. If a prayer (Ibadat) fails to do so,
it becomes a spiritless ritual that does not bring any benefit to its
performer. ‘The performance of Hajj is a simultaneous show of many
things. It is a show of creation, a show of the Islamic ideology and a
show of the Ummah”, says Dr. Ali Shariati in his monumental book on
Hajj. One, however, has to say that despite apparent efforts of the
Saudi Government to facilitate the performance of Hajj rights
logistically, Hajj of today leaves much be desired. The apparent show of
‘collectivism’, an expression of Tauhid, during the sacred days of Hajj,
fails to yield benefits to the Ummah as were promised to it. Hajj in its
present shape is nothing more than a set of rituals. The message that
the Hajj rights should inculcate and promote has been totally ignored.
Rallying multitude of humanity circling around Kaba, the most sacred
place for Muslims all across the globe, in a show of Unity of purpose,
donning up the same kind of clothes, shouting the same slogan, reaching
up to the same objective of their aspirations eliminate themselves into
a whole that has become more pronounced and significant. Then there is
no individual; a whole mass is pitted against the devilish forces of
division and secession. All satanic forces of malignity, stigmatism and
mistrust are defeated. This is the time when the Ummah needs to
understand the complexity of the challenges facing it; this is the
opportune occasion when it needs to chalk out a unified response to
those challenges; this is time when Muslim leaders gathered there at the
most blessed time of the year should work out the future course for the
Ummah on yearly basis; this is the time a united stand is taken on all
issues that haunt the Ummah.
In the early days of Islam Hajj used to be unlike it is today. The Holy
Prophet’s sermon on the occasion of the last Hajj is witness to the fact
that Hajj is not only meant for the performance of certain rituals
although their own importance can’t be overestimated. Even in modern
times, after fourteen hundred years, the last sermon of the Holy prophet
stands out as the most authentic document on human rights. The Holy
prophet (PBUH) used the occasion of Hajj, when people’s spirituality was
at its highest, to stamp out his message for a greater and stronger
impression that would last long and transcend the bounds of time and
geography. Why should not we do the same? History is witness to the fact
that political exigencies of Umayyad and Abbasid rulers robbed Hajj of
its true spirit. They were despots, unpalatable aggressors who had
usurped the right of the House of Muhammed (PBUH). They feared that
politically conscious, the largest gathering of the Muslims at the time
of Hajj could rob them of their so called legitimacy. To avoid any such
eventuality they began to project only the spiritual aspect of Hajj, and
it so happened that through the course of history the economic, social,
cultural and political dimensions of Hajj were totally overshadowed by
this one aspect.
There now remains only a semblance of ‘collectivism’ otherwise
individualism is so glaring and conspicuous that one does not need
deeper insight to notice that. Hajj has been described as sure key to
paradise. Significant stress is being laid on rituals as an end in
themselves: philosophy behind the rituals is being totally ignored. Hajj
is the sublime apex of all Islamic emotions. Every Islamic prayer has
been gathered into Hajj. Prayers, fasting, sacrifice and alms giving all
find significant expression in Hajj. Whereas, no prayer (Ibada) in Islam
is without its attendant social, economic, political, cultural and
spiritual gains then how only Hajj can be regarded as a set of mere
religious rituals? Hajj certainly entails tremendous cultural, social,
economic and religious dimensions to the Ummah and its benefits are so
tremendous that they can’t be overestimated and overemphasized.
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