The Task at Hand

Therefore, I do not expect this campaign to succeed. However, even if it does, a lack of character of the people will soon turn it into a failure. If my prediction is wrong, I would be happy, but as with expressing my views, it’s natural to speak only about what I observe. One example is the issue of the kiswaht al-ka’bah (the cloth that covers the Kaaba) in 1963.One example of this is the issue of the Kaaba’s covering (1963). The way the pieces of the covering were ceremoniously sent off to Makkah, and the manner in which they were taken to the airport in a grand procession of hundreds of thousands of people, almost like a tazia, may or may not be considered a innovation (bid’ah), but it is certain that it was merely a public spectacle with no real connection to genuine religiosity. (Similarly, the “Day of the Strength of Islam” in 1970). However, the very people who previously argued that gatherings and processions for Milad al-Nabi lacked Islamic spirit and love for the Prophet now issue the fatwa that the Ghilaf-e-Kaaba (The kiswah) procession was a “great good,” a magnificent display that took place on a grand scale in Lahore, and they call those criticizing it “flies” who ignore all positive aspects to focus on minor faults (Tarjuman al-Quran, April 1963, p. 55). Without the right mindset, movements eventually reach this stage. At first, when such public events have no political significance for them, they criticize them.