MUSLIMS from across the world converged at Mount Arafat on Tuesday for the main ritual of the Hajj and listened to the sermon delivered from Masjid-e-Namarah by Sheikh Yusuf bin Muhammad bin Saeed, who made a clarion call for the Muslim Ummah to forge unity and cohesion among their ranks to reap the benefits in this world and the Hereafter. Addressing the largest gathering on the planet earth, he stressed that linguistic, racial and ethnic differences and divisions should not lead to any discord among Muslims. The sermon also cautioned the Muslims against following rumours and disinformation that aimed to create divisions and disunity. The sermon cited the Quranic verses and the sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to underscore their importance in the life of Muslims, urging them to Muslims to strengthen social, familial and spiritual bonds and to uphold ties of kinship.
Saudi Arabia and its leadership surely deserve credit for making elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the Hajj which is the biggest gathering this year after 2019 when the annual pilgrimage was limited to a few thousand people due to the situation arising out of the rapid spread of Covid-19 pandemic. It is a challenging task to make logistic arrangements for movement, transportation, food, water supply, accommodation and security of a huge number of pilgrims in a limited area for limited days but the Saudi authorities always excelled in making all the arrangements to the complete satisfaction of visitors from around the planet. The keen interest that the Kingdom has in delivering best possible services was reflected by the decision of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who himself arrived in Mina to assess the wellbeing of worshippers and the quality of services provided there. The visit came as temperatures soared to their highest levels since the Hajj started on Sunday leading to numerous cases of heat stroke and exhaustion. Taking advantage of the unique gathering at Arafat, the sermon always contains elements that reflect the essence of Islamic teachings, what the Holy Prophet (PBUH) highlighted during his last sermon from Mount Arafat and the issues and challenges confronting the Muslim Ummah. The emphasis of this year’s sermon on unity of the Ummah, cooperation and prohibition of disputes and conflicts assumes special significance as Saudi Arabia, being the cradle of Islam, took historic steps under the dynamic leadership of MBS in a bid to promote much-needed unity among Muslims. The deals he struck with Iran and Syria would go a long way in forging unity in the ranks of the Ummah, brightening prospects for broader intra-Ummah cooperation and foiling designs of anti-Islam forces that miss no opportunity to exploit differences among Muslim countries. However, the dream of unity and cohesion of the Muslim Ummah would remain unfulfilled until and unless these moves and verbal emphasis on the occasion of Hajj sermon are complemented by efforts to make the representative body of the Islamic world – Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) a potent platform to safeguard and promote interests of the Muslim world. OIC member states have the potential to address challenges facing the Ummah like poverty, unemployment, ignorance, Islamophobia, sustained propaganda against Islam and its followers on the pretext of human rights and extremism/terrorism, dependence on others for security and defence, discrimination in technology cooperation and conspiracies to entangle the Ummah in a perpetual/vicious circle of political and territorial disputes. The strength of the OIC would make the voice of the Islamic world stronger in a globe where the policy of might is right reigns supreme for most of the time. The Imam rightly cautioned Muslims against rumours and disinformation as these have become widely used tactics to make or break perceptions. Focus on information technology and proper use of social media can help counter propaganda campaign and present things in their true perspective. As for cohesion of Ummah, Hajj itself is the biggest demonstration of Islamic unity and brotherhood as it offers God-given opportunity of interaction among people with different social, cultural, educational and economic backgrounds. However, it may be pointed out that due to various factors Hajj cost is surging every year making it impossible for a large number of faithful to realize their dream of discharging this religious obligation. We hope Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries would sit together to come out with ideas and plans to bring the Hajj cost substantially down from its existing prohibitive level.
