JAVED AKBAR OPINION http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1075331416969&call_pageid=991479973472&col=991929131147 Despite the chaos and turmoil in Iraq, pilgrims from around the world are descending on neighbouring Mecca for the annual peace conference, the hajj. Mecca, the Kaaba (the black-draped cube) and the precincts of the holy city are associated with Islam's sacred history based on the chain of monotheistic prophets. Muslims believe the Kaaba was originally built by Adam and rebuilt by the great patriarch of monotheism, Abraham, and his son Ishmael. Abraham made the first pilgrimage with Ishmael and performed all the rituals which constitute the rites of the hajj today. Abiding by a divine commandment, he established a rite, which was later revived by Prophet Muhammad. Hajj has since become an inseparable reality of Mecca and its profound meaning to Muslims. To go to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, is to return to the birthplace and the focal point of Islam, by virtue of its housing the Kaaba, towards which all Muslims turn in their daily ritual prayers. Standing in the centre of the Grand Mosque, the Kaaba itself has never been an object of worship, but rather has represented a holy sanctuary. Peace is the central theme of the hajj: peace with oneself, with fellow human beings, with the environment, even with the tiniest creatures. To violate this precept is to defy the very spirit of the hajj. Chanting and glorifying God, one feels fortunate while entering Islam's holiest city, in a barren valley walled by harsh and rugged hills. Entering through the "Gate of Peace" during my hajj a few years ago, my eyes fell on the Kaaba — majestic, awesome, towering over a sea of humanity surrounding it. It is not possible to erase from memory the first sight of this concrete symbol of the origin of all monotheistic religions. I was breathless in awe and expectation, overwhelmed by the grandeur. I stared at this centrepiece of the Grand Mosque, the 50-foot-high cube draped in black, embroidered with Qur'anic verses in gold thread. The reaction of the people around me ranged from dazed, trembling and sobbing to simply being speechless. Upon entering the Grand Mosque, the pilgrims must circle the Kaaba seven times. Amid the sea of humanity, one gains a glimpse of the reality that the essential human divide, the one that matters before God, consists in one's inner purity and spiritual character. It is only in the realm of creation that such diversities as race, colour, gender and culture, which are God's own design, seem to carry some weight for some people. Then there is the brisk walk between the two hillocks — Safa and Marwah — celebrating the hurried walk of Hajar and her son Ishmael in search of water, which appeared miraculously in the form of the spring of Zamzam. Pilgrims refresh themselves with the water of Zamzam, the purest form of water that heals the body and the soul and is brought back and distributed to friends and family as a blessing. It is one of the most precious gifts one could bring back home to family and friends. The grand assembly in the plains of Arafat, where multitudes of believers bow towards Mecca and offer profound supplications for forgiveness of sins and the well-being of others, symbolizes the Day of Judgment when all people will stand before God with their deeds in this world as their only possession. Despite all the technological advancements in communications, the hajj remains, first and foremost, what it has always been, a return to our centre and origin. It is a rehearsal for purposeful living. It invokes a profound sentiment of justice, benevolence and compassion towards God's creation — the true spirit of hajj. Such was Abraham's life when he fulfilled the divine mission more than 4,000 years ago. During hajj, a pilgrim symbolically revives and repeats the historic life events of Prophets Abraham and Ishmael. This grand assembly at one place, drawn from a vast array of nationalities, races and colours, yet with a remarkable unity of heart and purpose, harmony of thought and feeling, is the greatest gift of Islam to the Children of Adam. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Javed Akbar is director of outreach at Pickering Islamic Centre. |
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