Pilgrimage (Hajj

or cancellation of national agreements were announced; it was on the occasion of Hajj that the Prophet took the last testimony from his people when he asked them after his Khutba (sermon): ‘Have I conveyed it (i.e. the truth) to you?’ The people replied, ‘Yes, O Prophet of God!’ The Prophet has been reported as saying: Religion will take refuge in Hejaz (Makkah and Madinah) just as the snake returns to the snake hole (Mishkat). The Quran says that the Israelites were exalted above the nations (2:47). Similarly, the people of Muhammad are called the “best nation,” the Quran says: You are the best nation that has ever been raised up for mankind.’ (3:110) Before the Ismaelites the Israelites were chosen to inform people of the truth. “The particular duty of the Israelites was to call people to the Oneness of God and to carry on a crusade against the sun, moon, and star worship of the heathens.” (Jewish Encyclopaedia, VI, pp. 3-5). When the Israelites were entrusted with this responsibility in the time of Moses (c. 152-1400 B.C.) God also made special provision for them in the form of mann wa salwa (manna and quails), which they received in abundance at their halting places. They were enjoined to fulfil their needs by means of this special arrangement and to spend their time working as hard as they could for the divine mission. But they failed to understand the wisdom behind this arrangement. They started recalling the comforts of city life, and craved delicious foods, etc. They began to prefer a low to a high spiritual condition. At last they were deposed from their place of eminence, for their attitude was, in the eyes of God, synonymous with the rejection of divine signs. (Quran 2:61) The oil wealth of the Arab world was given to it for exactly the same purpose as the manna and quails were given to the Israelites, i.e. for ‘bearing witness to the religion of God.’ The wealth deriving from oil is meant to ensure the maintenance of the highest standards in the conveying of God’s message on a universal scale. The establishment of the Kabah in the Arab world means that