The Message of Pilgrimage

The Message of Pilgrimage

1986 8 August 4-6 The Message of Pilgrimage (1177) Imam Abu Hanifah, founder of one of the four schools of Sunni Muslim thought, was at first not sure which was the supreme act of Islamic worship – prayer, fasting, alms-giving or pilgrimage. But after he had performed Hajj, (Pilgrimage) he returned convinced that this form of devotion held pride of place among all Islamic acts of worship.

One particular reason for the pre-eminence of Hajj is that it commemorates the divine scheme, first made manifest in so momentous a fashion in Abraham’s day, and finally reaching fulfillment during the time of Mohammad, the Final Prophet of God.

The diverse rites of pilgrimage represent diverse stages of this divine scheme. Abraham left his native land, Iraq, for Hijaz; in like manner a pilgrim leaves his home and sets off for the Holy Land. Nearing Mecca, he exchanges his tailored clothes for two unstitched sheets reminiscent of the simple attire worn in the days of Abraham and Ishmael. He reaches Mecca. There he walks around the House of God, recalling Abraham and Ishmael, who walked around the same House in solemnification of the covenant they had made, with its Master. Then the pilgrim performs Saee, which entails walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa in memory of Abraham’s wife, Hajira, who walked between those very hills in search of water. In Mina the pilgrim performs sacrifice, obeying God’s command as Abraham did by being ready first of all to sacrifice his own son, then completing the sacrifice with the slaughter of a ram as God had commanded him. At Jamarat he stones the devil. This is what Abraham did when they made to divert him from the carrying out of God’s will. Throughout the pilgrimage, the words: “Here I am at your service, Lord,” are on every pilgrim’s lips.

The assembly of pilgrims on the plain of Arafat is the culmination of this spirit of divine service. Here all the pilgrims gather before God, pledging to live their lives in the spirit of Hajj and in accordance with the example set by those who are commemorated by it.

In the Quran, the rites of pilgrimage have been called Sha‘air – symbolic objects. They are symbolic in that they represent events in the life of Abraham and his progeny. Different stages of their enactment of God’s scheme are repeated symbolically in the rites of pilgrimage, making pilgrims feel at one with the tradition of Abraham and his descendants.

The pilgrim, in effect, is making a promise to God. He promises to base his life on truth, putting aside worldly interests. Should the need arise, he will forsake life’s comforts and pleasures, and will remain content with the bare necessities as he struggles on in the path of God. He will run towards God, his life will revolve around the Lord. When the forces of evil seek to pull him off course he will chase them away and carry on towards his goal. He will go wherever the call of God lies, and give whatever is required of him in the divine cause. The actions of the pilgrim proclaim that he is ready to go to any lengths in the service of his Lord. If it be God’s will, he will not stop short of sacrificing his own son, but under no circumstances will he neglect his duty to God.

The fulfillment of God’s scheme, which started with Abraham’s travelling from Iraq to Mecca, came two and a half thousand years later with the coming of Mohammad. The purpose of this scheme was the eradication of polytheism. Five thousand years ago, when Abraham came to the world, people were locked in the grip of polytheism, which had extended its tentacles to every walk of human life. Polytheism and idolatry were passed on from generation to generation, creating a climate in which monotheistic religion, as taught by the prophets, ‘held little popular appeal’. A community was needed who would rally to the call of monotheism. Such a community could only come into being in an environment free of the polytheistic influences that had for so long pervaded human civilization. An area uninhabited by man, the uncultivable valley of Mecca, was chosen for this purpose.

But first an individual was required to initiate the process of bringing such community into existence: someone who would be prepared to live in a place where life itself had to be snatched from the claws of death. Abraham was God’s choice and he was put to the proof, to see whether he was up to the task. He saw himself then in a vision, sacrificing his own son. This is what it would amount to, taking his family to Hijaz. There was nothing to live on in Arabia. Only vast expanses of scorching desert and inhospitable ranges of ragged mountains awaited Abraham there. Was he willing to settle his family in such a place, in order to set in motion God’s purpose for humankind?

Ancient Arabia presented a quasi-lunar landscape. Devoid of water and vegetation, there were no means to support human life. For this reason the Arabian peninsula had remained free of the insidious influences of polytheism. Polytheism comes with people, and there were no people settled in Hijaz. Where better to prepare a group dedicated to the worship of One God? Abraham place a knife on his young son’s throat, thus indicating his readiness to make this supreme sacrifice. So father and son were chosen to live in the wilderness of the desert, there laying the foundations of a new community untouched by polytheism.

Abraham prayed for a prophet to come among the progeny of Ishmael. In answer to this prayer, God brought the Prophet Mohammad into the world. But it took two and a half thousand years for this to happen. During this time a community free of the yoke of hereditary polytheism was being nurtured. The desert dwellers of Arabia had qualities inbred in them which would enable them to assist the final prophet in his mighty task. For this reason the community which developed in Arabia from the progeny of Abraham was called in the Quran “the best community” (3:110). They were exceptional in their readiness to rally to the support of the Prophet Mohammad. True, some of them opposed him at the outset, but once they had understood the truth of his message, they followed him without reserve.

During the millennia between Abraham and Mohammad, Arabia did not remain untainted by the widespread tendency to fashion false gods. But there always remained a group which was totally dedicated to the monotheism of Abraham. These people were called Hunafa – the upright, those who adhered to the natural way. The initial opposition of others, who over the years had fallen prey to polytheistic influences, was due to lack of comprehension more than anything else. As soon as they realized that Mohammad was truly a prophet of God sent to convey the truth to them they dedicated themselves to him with all the fervour that they had formerly shown in opposing him.