Is it not time to put "THE HAJJ=PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA" to rest ?
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Salamun alaykum
For those of us who try to understand Islam through The Qur'an , it is very difficult to accept the concept of Hajj as equal to a "Pilgrimage to a certain shrine in Mecca . This pilgrimage to Mecca alongside all other rituals practised by the Muhammadans are hangovers from our ignorance of The Qur'an pasts .
Why do we always have to start from the past in our endeavour to study and analyse Islam ? Why can't we start from our present and current knowledge of The Qur'an to understand what is Islam all about ? I ask this question not just for the average Freeminders only , but also to the prominent intellctuals who I respect and whose contributions towards better understanding of The Qur'an I valued and appreciated greatly . Without the pointers from these Intellectuals in regards to research and study method , my understanding of Islam in general and Qur'an in particular would not have improved , neither would my belief in the Hajj as Pilgrimage to Mecca changed .
If the author of The Qur'an Himself told us repeatedly in 5417 , 5422 , 5432 , and 5440 that it is easy to study and understand The Qur'an , then what is so difficult about understanding that "Hajj" is not a Pilgrimage to a certain Rock and Stone Shrine in Mecca ? Especially , if we examine the verses 396-97 and 597 as well as 3444 . There is nothing in 396-97 that expressly stated that Ibrahim and Ismail built a house for a dwelling of for a worship of The God , nor did these 2 verses indicated or even implied that Ibrahim and his son ever went to a place called Mecca ( Makkah ) . So ,from where in The Qur'an did Ibrahim called the mankind to come and perform this Plgrimage to the Rock and Stone shrine in Mecca ? Some even called this rock shrine Bayt allah and cited 597 , of course no such thing in this verse .
It is reasonable to assume that Ibrahim lived some few thousand years before the messenger of god Ahmad or Muhammad as some would prefer ( either case not important, but The Message is ) and equally reasonable to asume that The God would have sent many other prophets and messengers in the few millenia between Ibrahim era and Ahmad / Muhammad's time , and no doubt to all parts of the world and to different tribes and nations . However , do we see any evidence at all , be it Qur'anic or otherwise that those generations of people between Ibrahim's time to the advent of Ahmad / Muhammad performed "Pilgrimage to the Rock and Stone shrine in Mecca " or Hajj to this kaaba in Makkah ? Zero evidence is the answer of course .
People who claims to follow The Qur'an and serve The God alone and live a Way of Life that is peaceful and law abiding , and follow the commandements of God such as 6151-153 among others , verse 3444 should be sufficient to conclude that Hajj is not equal to "Pilgrimage to The Rock and Stone in Mecca " .
Could you imagine the hardship that would have to be endured by , and caused to the generations before Ahmad / Muhammad if The Hajj was indeed this Pilgrimage to the Rock and Stone shrine in Mecca , considering that believers were and are from all over the world ? Food for thought , at least it is for me .
Wassalamu' ala mani'taba'al hudaa
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peace,
As far as I'm aware, many here do not agree with a place called "Mecca" or any other particular place being the one and only special location.
Also, not sure many here agree that HJJ means "pilgrimmage". Interestingly, contrary to almost all translations in English, there is no "HJJ ila/to..." anywhere in Al Quran (AQ).
See the erroneous free-minds translation for example, the word "to" does not exist in the Arabic
"So whosoever makes Pilgrimage to the Dwelling..."
Not to mention the misrepresentation of the word "3mr" after it as "passing through".
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Maybe it was something that the Meccans used to do and God wanted it to be a monatheistic pratice. The Quran says
22.34. To every people did We appoint rites , that they might celebrate the name of Allah over the sustenance He gave them from animals . But your Allah is One Allah. submit then your wills to Him and give thou the good news to those who humble themselves,-
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The sacrificial camels we have made for you as among the symbols from Allah. in them is (much) good for you then pronounce the name of Allah over them as they line up (for sacrifice) when they are down on their sides (after slaughter), eat ye thereof, and feed such as (beg not but) live in contentment, and such as beg with due humility thus have We made animals subject to you, that ye may be grateful.
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It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah. it is your piety that reaches Him He has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify Allah for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right.
So its a rite and sacrificial ritual for God's bounty and every religions and nations have these. But its to be done for God. Its no big deal if you ask me since the Quran itself says these rites and rituals do not make you a rightoeus person in themselves (2.177). The significance of Mecca could be due to Abraham or could be due to Muhammad. What difference it makes? There are many sacrificial rites and houses of worship in the previous scriptures and it was done for many occassions and many locations. I think this is about creating a nation of the Quran and Muhammad just like a nation was made out of Jacob(Jews) and Jesus(Christianity).
I think this topic ended up being a big deal because some people saw it as shirk practice.
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I'm intensely frustrated by the interpolations of Mecca and Kaaba into the english translations of the Quran. And I'm subsequently confused as to why these things took on such great importance in Islam. Mecca is mentioned once as a place where the believers were threatened with exile (assuming it doesn't simply mean 'ruin' and Kaaba is a word used twice in one Surah to refer to the Beit (leading me to believe that it was a structure newly built at the time of that ayat).
The contention between Quranists and Hadithists is the completeness of the religion, but I can find no resolution to many questions in either schematic.
My own conjecture for the question of pilgrimmage comes from my knowledge of Judaism. The Quran claims that the Jews and Christians dispute over the direction of prayer, but that Quranic view is obviously supported. Before the dedication of Jewish Temple many shrines existed as places for sacrifice and prayer, including former sites of idoltary. This could explain why three different names are used and why after the conquest of Jerusalem it was intially no big deal for the Calpihs to try to reconcile the Temple Mount as a holy spot. Even a place of pilgrimmage.
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I'm intensely frustrated by the interpolations of Mecca and Kaaba into the english translations of the Quran. And I'm subsequently confused as to why these things took on such great importance in Islam. Mecca is mentioned once as a place where the believers were threatened with exile (assuming it doesn't simply mean 'ruin' and Kaaba is a word used twice in one Surah to refer to the Beit (leading me to believe that it was a structure newly built at the time of that ayat).
The contention between Quranists and Hadithists is the completeness of the religion, but I can find no resolution to many questions in either schematic.
My own conjecture for the question of pilgrimmage comes from my knowledge of Judaism. The Quran claims that the Jews and Christians dispute over the direction of prayer, but that Quranic view is obviously supported. Before the dedication of Jewish Temple many shrines existed as places for sacrifice and prayer, including former sites of idoltary. This could explain why three different names are used and why after the conquest of Jerusalem it was intially no big deal for the Calpihs to try to reconcile the Temple Mount as a holy spot. Even a place of pilgrimmage.
Mecca took an importance in Islamic traditions for many reason but one of the more important one is both the Umayyids and Abbasids were from Mecca. Even the Shia branch of Islam trace their heritage to Mecca. Thats why it hass political and cultural significance in Sunni and Shia jurisprudence. Also for the Quresihi dynasties, Mecca had an economic significance as pilgrimage brings money to Mecca and its rulers who were always under the domain of the Querishi dynasty. But as far as the Quran its no big deal. Its a pilgrimage, a rite and a way nations worship God collectively. All religions have these things. Its the faith that matters in the end and not the ritual acts. I don't see what the big deal is. Where you face when you pray or not is simply a way to organize a communal religion. It has no bearing on who you are as verse 2.177 clearly states. That is if we assume the verse was talking about praying and Qibla. But I think some people saw these rituals as shirk and then started doubting its origins and trying to find from the Quran what haj is. I see it as a ritual and rites.
RiteNoun
- a formal act which forms part of a religious ceremony the rite of burial
- a custom that is carried out within a particular group the barbaric rites of public execution
- a particular body of such acts, esp. of a particular Christian Church the traditional Anglican rite
- an established ceremony prescribed by a religion; "the rite of baptism"
- any customary observance or practice
Ritual
1
a. The prescribed order of a religious ceremony.
b. The body of ceremonies or rites used in a place of worship.
2.
a. The prescribed form of conducting a formal secular ceremony the ritual of an inauguration.
b. The body of ceremonies used by a fraternal organization.
3. A book of rites or ceremonial forms.
4. rituals
a. A ceremonial act or a series of such acts.
b. The performance of such acts.
5.
a. A detailed method of procedure faithfully or regularly followed My household chores have become a morning ritual.
b. A state or condition characterized by the presence of established procedure or routine "Prison was a ritualreenacted daily, year in, year out. Prisoners came and went; generations came and went; and yet the ritual endured" (William H. Hallahan).
adj.- Associated with or performed according to a rite or ritual a priest's ritual garments; a ritual sacrifice.
- Being part of an established routine a ritual glass of milk before bed.
Which is why i find the notion a Ka'ba being an idol strange, and tawwaf as being a pagan practice also as strange since rituals says nothing about faith but is an expression of faith. An idol is what you believe as an embodiment of a god and paganism is the belief in more than one God. When we prostrate to the ground we are not worshiping the ground or the prayer rug. When we burn incense we are not worshiping the incense. And therfore when we slaughter animals for sacrifice its not the meat and blood we worship but its an expression of a certain faith. The faith itself is inside a person and not outside. But it seems many Muslims see rituals as the faith itself which is what i believe verse 2.177 and verse 22.37 is trying to address. And it also seems to me in the other hand some Quranist have become to also see these rituals as a faith. Pagans also bowed, and prayed and prostrated like any believer would. Also they had rituals and rites like any believer would. But their faith are very different from a believer.
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Salam to all.
Maybe we can share this website below (just for further reading - some related to anything in Mecca, rituals etc.).
- http//www.aididsafar.com
- http//www.aididsafar.com/shaivite.html
- http//religionresearchinstitute.org/mecca/construction.htm
- http//www.aididsafar.com/shegod.html
- Can download the book "Mental Bondage in the name of Islam".
