UNIVERSAL ASSEMBLY OF 'HAJJ’ Fruits of 'Hajj'

Animation in Muslim world

Brethren-in-Islam!

You know that such Muslims on whom Hajj is obligatory i.e., those who have the means and physical strength to undertake the journey to and from Ka'ba are not one or two in number. In every inhabited region there live quite a considerable number of such persons. They are found in thousands in every city and in lakhs in every country, and many of them set out every year to perform Hajj. Now consider how in every corner of the world where Muslims live. Islamic life become animated as soon as the season of Hajj arrives, how liveliness is aroused and how long it is maintained. From about the month of Ramadan till Zilqa'dah different people from different parts of the world start off after making preparations for Hajj, while, on the other side, from the last part of Dhul Hijjah till Safar, Rabi'ul Awwal, and even to Rabi'uththani, homeward journey continues. During this period of six to seven months a sort of incessant religious activity goes on among the Muslim populations of the entire world. Those who go to perform Hajj and return home are no doubt infatuated with religious fervour but those who do not go also share more or less this same ardour because of bidding farewell to intending Hajis, by passing from one inhabited area to another, and, on the return of Hajis, welcoming them back to their homes and hearing from them the accounts of their performance of Hajj.

Growth of piety and virtuousness

When every intending Haji makes up his mind to perform Hajj and when immediately with this intent the virtues of fear of God, piety, penance, Istighfar (seeking forgiveness from God) and good morals begin to cast their influence on him, and he starts taking farewell of his relatives, friends, professional and other associates, and settles all his affairs as if he is no longer the same man as before but that his mind is now pure and clean because of the newly-kindled spark of love of God, you can imagine the effect of the changed condition of the Haji on so many people around. And if every year in each of the different parts of the world one lakh Hajis at an average get prepared for Hajj in this manner, their influence will improve the moral state of a vast number of people. Then the hearts of large number of people get warmed up at places through which the Hajis' caravans pass, by seeing them, meeting them and by hearing from them the voice of Labbaik, Labbaik. There will be many whose attention will be diverted towards Allah and Allah's House, and the eagerness for Hajj will create a stir in their slumbering souls. And when these people, filled with the thrill of Hajj, return from the Centre of their Deen to their cities and towns spread over all parts of the world and met by numerous persons, then this intercourse and the accounts related by the former of their Hajj experience enliven religious sentiments among countless circles.

Season of awakening of Islamic world

As such it will not be wrong if I say that just as the month of Ramadan is a season of piety throughout the Islamic world, in the same way the season of Hajj is the period of liveliness and awakening of Islam in the entire world. By this method the Sagacious and Prudent Shari'ah-maker has evolved such a matchless system that Insha-Allah the universal movement of Islam will never be effaced till Doomsday. Whatever adverse turn world conditions may take and however had the times may become, these will not affect Ka'ba which has been placed in the body of the Islamic world just like a heart in a man's body. As long as the heart throbs, a man cannot die, though he may be unable to move due to illness. Exactly in the same manner this heart of the Muslim world draws blood from its far-off veins and circulates the blood back into each and every vein. As long as this throbbing of the heart continues and as long as this process of drawing the blood and circulating it lasts, it will be impossible to end the life of this body, however run down it may be due to diseases.

Inspiring spectacle of unity of Millat

You just close your eyes and visualize the scene that from the north and south and from east and west people belonging to countless communities and countries are flocking to one centre through a thousand and one routes. Their features are different, their colours are different, their languages are different but on reaching a demarcated borderline near the Centre all remove their national dresses and everybody without exception puts on a simple uniform of one single design. After wearing this uniform of Ihram it is clearly seen that this army of the Monarch of the World and Sovereign of Earth and Heaven, which is arriving after recruitment from thousands of communities of the world, is the army of one single King. It bears the insignia of obedience and servitude to one Being, all are strung in one cord of loyalty and are marching toward one capital to file past their King. When these uniformed soldiers move ahead of Meeqat, the same one slogan loudly issues forth from their mouth:

Labbaik, Allahumma Labbaik, la sharika laka Labbaik :

Here I am before Thee My Lord, Here I am, Thou hast no partner, here I am.

Their spoken languages are different but the slogan of all is one. Then as the Center approaches near, the circle contracts and becomes narrow. Caravans from different countries continue joining each other and all offer Salah together in one and the same manner. All are clad in similar uniforms, all are led by one Imam, all are moving simultaneously, all are using the same language, all are rising, sitting, doing Ruku' and Sujud at one signal of Allah-o-Akbar and all are reciting and listening to one Arabic Qur'an. In this way the differences of nationalities, countries and races are obliterated and a universal party of God-worshippers is constituted. When these caravans pass on loudly raising with one voice the slogan of Labbaik, Labbaik, when at every ascent and descent the same slogan resounds, when at the time of convergence of caravans these very voices are raised from both sides, and when at the time of every Salah and at dawn these exclamations reverberate, a unique atmosphere is created the exhilarating effect of which makes a man forget his self and is absorbed in the religious lore of Labbaik. Then, after reaching Ka'ba, the act of circumambulating one centre in a uniform dress by people coming from all parts of the world, then the doing of Sa'i by all together between as-Safa and al-Marwah, then encampment by all at Mina, then the departure of all towards Arafat and listening to an Imam's sermons there, then a night's sojourn by all at Muzdalifah, then the return of all together towards Mina, then the flinging of stones in unison by all at Janzra-i-'Aqabah, then the animal sacrifice performed by all, then return of all together to Ka`ba and circumambulating it jointly, and then return again to their Camps in Mina all together— all this carries within itself an effusive effect which has absolutely no parallel in the world.

One aim, assemblage at one centre

The assembling at one centre of people drawn from all the nationalities of the world, and that too with a remarkable unity of heart and purpose, identity of thought and harmony of feeling, pure sentiments, holy objective and chaste deeds, is in reality such a great boon as has not been granted to the children of Adam by any agency other than Islam. The nations of the world have always been meeting each other, but how? In the battlefield to cut each other's throats or in peace conferences to divide countries and nations, or in the United Nations Organization in order that one nation may spread against another nation the snare of deception, fraud, conspiracy and dishonesty and try to extract their own benefit from the loss caused to others. The meeting of common men of all nations, with a clear heart, with good manners and pure ideas, with affection and sincerity, with mental and spiritual affinity, with unity in thoughts, deeds and aims, that too not only once but always at the same centre every year  is this boon available to mankind anywhere else except in Islam ? Has anyone else devised a better system than this for establishing peace in the world, for removing hostility among nations and for creating in the place of quarrels and bickerings an atmosphere of love, friendship and brotherhood?

Greatest movement for establishment of peace

Islam does not do only this much. It accomplishes more than this. It has made it compulsory that during the four months fixed for Hajj and 'Umrah, every effort should be made to maintain peace on all roads leading to Ka'ba. This is the greatest movement of a permanent nature to establish peace in the world. And if the reins of world politics were in the hands of Islam then it will be the utmost endeavor of Muslims to see that no such disturbance takes place in the world as may cause the suspension of the system of Hajj and 'Umrah.

Only peace-centre in the world

Islam has given to the world such an inviolable territory that it constitutes a city of peace till Doomsday in which, not to speak of man, even the hunting and shooting of an animal is strictly prohibited, where even the cutting of grass is not allowed, where not even a thorn can be culled nor can a fallen article be touched. Islam has given to the world a city where arms are forbidden to be brought in, where it is tantamount to Ilhad (unbelief) to hoard and sell at higher price cereals and other articles of common use, and where those committing oppression are thus threatened by Allah:

Nudhiqhu min 'azabin'alim (Al-Qur'an 22: 26)

: We shall cause them to taste painful doom.

Centre of real equality

Islam has given a centre to the world which is defined as:

Sawa anil'akifo fihe wal baad. (Al-Qur'an 22: 25)

It means that the rights of all those human beings are equal here who, after acknowledging the Sovereignty of God and the leadership of Muhammad (peace be on him), enter the brotherhood of Islam; no matter if they are American, African, Chinese or Indian. If one has become a Muslim, his rights are identical with those of the Meccans themselves. The position of the whole area of Haram is almost similar to that of a mosque in that whosoever lodges himself in any part of a mosque that portion belongs to him. Nobody can remove him from that place nor can anybody ask for rent from him. But the occupier, who may live there for his whole life if he chooses, has no right to call it his property. Neither can he sell it nor can he give it on rent to anybody so much so that when this person quits the place, another person has the same right to occupy it as he had done. This is exactly the position of the whole of Haram at Mecca. The Holy Prophet (peace be on him) said:

"Makkatu munakhun liman sabaqa”:

"Whosoever first comes to this city and settles at a place, that place is his."

It is not legal to charge rent for these houses.

Hadrat 'Umar had issued an order to the people there not to fix doors on the compound around their houses so that whoever desires may come and stay in the compound. Some jurists have gone so far as to say that neither has anybody any proprietary right over houses in Mecca nor can these be transferred through inheritance.

Can a man get these boons anywhere else except in Islam?

Brethren! This is that Hajj about which it was said:

"Undertake it and see how many benefits it has in store for you".

No words are adequate to recount all its advantages. Yet you can get an idea of them from the brief sketch of its blessings that I have described before you.

Our lack of appreciation

But after hearing all this, please listen to the voice of my afflicted heart. The condition of your present-day Muslims is like that of a child born in a mine of diamonds. When a child sees diamonds all around and plays with them as if with stones then these diamonds become as valueless for him as stones. Your condition too is similar to that child because the boons the world is deprived of, and, as a consequence thereof it is immersed in troubles and calamities and is, therefore, in hectic search of them, as available to you without any quest simply because you are luckily born in Muslim homes. That Kalima-i-Tauhid which solves all the intricate problems of a man's life and shows him a simple and straight path, was dinned into your ears from your childhood while the prescriptions of Salah and fasting, (far more precious than alchemy, which transform a man from an animal into a human being), the best possible remedies ever discovered to make human being God-fearing, fellow brothers unto each other and sympathetic and friendly among themselves, were inherited by you automatically from your forefathers when you were born. That peerless method of Zakat, a purifier of heart as also rectifier of the financial system of the world, in the absence of which the people of the world are fleecing each other, has come into your possession just as the child of a gifted physician gets hold of those prescriptions without effort which other people enthusiastically hunt for. Similar is the case of Hajj that magnificent system which has absolutely no parallel in the world. Till today no instrument more powerful than this has been discovered to propagate a movement in four corners of the world and also to keep it alive till eternity. But for it, there is no such universal power in the world as can attract and assemble in the name of God at one centre all the children of Adam from every far off corner of the world, and integrate numerous races and nations into one brotherhood of God-worshipping, pure-intentioned and well-wishing members. You got this already perfected matchless system without any quest on your part, a system that has worked successfully for hundreds of years. But you did not attach any importance to it because it was already with you in your home when you opened your eyes. Now you are playing with it in the same way as the ignorant child born in a mine of diamond plays with diamonds and regard them as stones. My heart burns on seeing the spectacle of your frittering away such a tremendous wealth and power due to sheer ignorance and foolishness. From where can one get so much capacity of forbearance as to exercise self-restraint on seeing diamonds being pulverized by stone-breakers?

My dear brethren!

You must have heard this couplet of the poet:

If the ass of Jesus goes to Mecca,

It still remains an ass after return.

That is to say, an ass, though belonging even to a Prophet like Jesus, cannot benefit from a visit to Mecca. If it were to go there and come back, still it will remain an ass as before. It may be Salah, fasting or Hajj, all these things are meant for the training of human beings. These are not intended to tame animals. If those people who do not understand their meaning and purport nor are they concerned with their purpose, nor do they intend to avail themselves of their benefits with which these 'Ibadaat are replete, but on the other hand, their minds are empty even of the concept of the import of these 'Ibadaat, and if they only imitate the actions of their predecessors, what, result can be expected of them. Unfortunately, the Muslims of today in general are performing these acts in this manner only. They enact the stereotyped outward shape but that shape is completely devoid of spirit. You notice that every year thousands of visitors go to the Centre of Islam and come back after having the privilege of performing Hajj, but neither while going there they experience the feeling which a visitor to Haram must experience, nor is any effect of Hajj found in them when they return from there, nor do they leave a good impression of their manners on the Muslim and non-Muslim residents of the places they pass through during their journey. On the contrary, they are consisting of mostly such people who tarnish the name of Islam by exhibiting their uncleanliness, bad manners and moral weakness. On seeing their life, instead of Deen superiority becoming impressive in the eyes of others, Deen itself becomes insignificant in the eyes of its own adherents. And this is the reason why the Youngman of our own nation ask us to explain what benefits accrue from Hajj, while the position is that this Hajj was such a thing that, if it was performed with its real sublimity, even unbelievers on seeing its clear-cut benefits would have affirmed faith in it ! Here is a movement whose hundreds of thousands of members drawn from every part of the world foregather every year at one centre, and then go back to their countries, manifesting their pure life, pure thoughts and chaste manners while passing through various cities and towns, and they not only propagate by word of mouth the principles underlying this movement at places where they halt or which they pass through, but also demonstrate them fully in their practical life, and this process is continued not for ten or twenty years but for centuries on end, just consider, is this a kind of thing whose benefits are required to be asked by anybody? By God if this work were done in the correct manner then even the blind would have witnessed its benefits and even the deaf would have heard its advantages. Every year's Hajj would have made cores of Muslims pious and would have drawn thousands of non-Muslims into the orbit of Islam and would have impressed lakhs of non-Muslims with the superiority of Islam. But fie upon ignorance! What a highly precious thing has been atrociously wasted due to handling by ignorant people!

Method of deriving full benefits from 'Hajj'

In order to derive full benefits from Hajj was necessary that there should have been some such hand in the Centre of Islam as would make use of this universal force, some such heart as would pump pure blood into the body of the world every year, some such brain as would try to spread the message of Islam throughout the world through the agency of the thousands and lakhs of God-given messengers, and, if nothing, at least this much was done that a perfect example of pure Islamic life was established so that the Muslims of the world could have returned from there infused with a fresh lesson in true righteousness. But what a pity! There is nothing of this kind there. Since very long time ignorance is being reared in Arabia, from the time of Abbasids till the time of Ottomans, the kings of every period, in order to serve their political ends, tried ceaselessly for centuries to weaken the Arabs instead of developing their condition. They brought the Arabs to the lowest level of decadence in the spheres of knowledge, morals, culture and in every other respect. The result is that land from where emanated the light of Islam spreading its rays to all corners of the world has almost reached that state of ignorance in which it was found before the advent of Islam. Now there is neither knowledge of Islam nor Islamic life there. People from far off places pay visit to the Holy Haram with the deepest devotion, but on reaching there when they see everywhere ignorance, filth, greed, indecency, love of this world, bad manners, disorganised condition and the decadent state of common man, and their hopes get shattered so much so that many people, after performing Hajj, instead of strengthening their faith, get it weakened. The same old Mechanism which was reimposed in Ka'ba after Abraham and Ishmael, and which was later abolished by Muhammad (peace be on them all) has again been revived. The custodians of Ka'ba have again established themselves as Mahants. The House of God has become their property and Hajj, a source of business. They consider the pilgrims as their customers. Agents have been appointed in different countries on big salaries to canvas and bring in customers. Every year, like the Khuddam of Ajmer, a whole army of brokers and travelling agents issues forth from Mecca for the purpose of fetching customers from all parts of the world. People are induced to perform Hajj by reciting to them Qur'anic verses and quoting Ahadith. The motive is not to remind them of the duty imposed by Allah but to prevail upon them to go to Hajj on hearing His commandments in order to open for them a source of income. It looks as if Allah and His messenger had introduced all this business for the sustenance of these Mahants and brokers. Then when a man sets out to perform this duty, he has to encounter, from the time of starting the journey till return, various labourers of religion and traders of Deen. Mu'allim, Mutawwif, Vakil-i-Mutawwif, Kilid bardar-i-Ka'ba, and the Government of Hejaz itself are all co-sharers in this trade. The performance of all the rites of Hajj is conducted on payment. Even the door of Khana-i-Ka'ba is not opened for a Muslim without charging some fee. May God save us from this. The methods of the Pandits of Benaras and Hardwar have been adopted by the Mujawirs of our central abode of 'Ibadat and by the so-called servitors of that Deen which had cut the roots of this business of priesthood. How can the spirit of 'Ibadat survive at a place where the work of conducting it has become a source of wage-earning and trade, where abodes of 'Ibadat are exploited for personal gain, where Divine commandments are employed to compel people to perform a Fard in order to empty their pockets, where a man is obliged to make payment for every act of 'Ibadat he performs, and where this blessing of Deen has become a sort of buyer's and seller's commodity ? How can you expect that those who perform Hajj and those who supervise it will be able to derive the real and spiritual benefits from this 'Ibadat when all the work is being carried on with the mentality of trading on one side and buying is done from the other side) By mentioning these facts I do not intend to blame anybody. My purpose is to point out to you what factors have rendered almost ineffective a tremendous source of power like Hajj. There should be no misunderstanding in anybody's mind that this is due to any deficiency in Islam and the system it has enforced. No. In fact the deficiency lies with those who do not follow Islam correctly. This is the earning of your own hands that those methods aimed at making you a perfect model of humanity and by following which correctly you could have become reformers and Imams of the whole world, are not yielding today any good result. The situation has aggravated so much

1. Be it noted that this lecture was given in 1938. After that year till now conditions have greatly improved and the Saudi Arabian Government is trying to enforce further reforms. Education is also being spread in Arabia. High grade institutes for imparting instructions in Shar'ah have been established in Riad, Mecca, Jeddah and other cities. An Islamic university has started work on a large scale in Medina. An international organisation of the Muslim world called the World Muslim League has been set up in Mecca which is trying its utmost to utilize the Hajj assemblage to infuse the spirit of Deen in Muslim nations. In the light of these developments conditions have become satisfactory to a great extent. Now it is necessary to pay attention to two matters. Firstly, the land of Harmain Shartfain (the Mecca and Medina) should be saved from the onslaught of western civilization. Secondly, the methods of working of Muallims should be improved. May God help the Saudi Government in adopting correct measures in this regard!

that the people themselves have begun doubting the efficacy of these methods. Its example is like that of an expert physician who left the most efficacious prescriptions and after him those prescriptions fell into the hands of the quacks and the ignorant, thus becoming useless and causing bad name too. A prescription may be excellent to the highest degree but in any case technical knowledge and intelligence are necessary to make a proper use of it. If novices handled it, no wonder if it proved not only ineffective but even injurious, and the ignorant people, who are themselves incompetent to judge its efficacy, will misunderstand that the prescription itself is wrong.