About our Pilgrimage Journey to Mecca  - PART II

Published in December 1, 2019

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

Secondly: at the two airports:

1- We were pained to see other male pilgrims wearing this laughter-inducing dress of Ihram; i.e., two pieces of white cloth wrapped around the upper and lower body without underwear! In our previous writings and YouTube videos about pilgrimage, we have proven that Ihram has nothing to do with such laughter-inducing garments; Ihram simply means to adhere to higher piety while obeying the Quranic commands regarding pilgrimage within the combined three sanctuaries of time, place, and soul.

2- The state of Ihram during pilgrimage begins with purifying one's soul once one would enter into Mecca before beginning the Hajj rituals; this state of Ihram ends when one would finish all rituals; it contuse before finishing them even if one leaves Mecca temporarily for any reason. Meanwhile, piety is to be attained and maintained all the time. Certain deeds are prohibited and others are permitted during the state of Ihram: "Permitted for you is the catch of sea, and its food - as sustenance for you and for travelers. But forbidden for you is hunting while you are in the state of Ihram. And fear God within piety, to Whom you will be gathered." (5:96); "...those heading for the Sacred House seeking blessings from their Lord and approval. When you have ended the state of Ihram, you may hunt..." (5:2). Pilgrims must obey the Lord God's Quranic commands regarding pilgrimage.

3- The state of Ihram simply means combining simultaneously the three sanctuaries of time, place, and soul.

3/1: The place sanctuary is the Lord God's Sacred House; i.e., the Kaaba itself; this is the only location designated by the One Dominant Lord God for pilgrimage on Planet Earth and in the whole universe. Hence, pilgrims seek only the Kaaba in Mecca; they are not to perform pilgrimage elsewhere.

3/2: The time sanctuary is the four lunar sacred months: "The number of months, according to God, is twelve months - in the decree of God - since the Day He created the heavens and the earth, of which four are sacred. This is the correct religion. So do not wrong yourselves during them..." (9:36).

3/3: The third and last sanctuary is the heart/soul of the pious, monotheistic pilgrim.

3/3/1: This heart/soul of any given pious pilgrim must be purified; i.e., it cannot harbor even the mere intention of sinning: "As for those who disbelieve and repel from God’s Path and from the Sacred Mosque - which We have designated for all humankind equally, whether residing therein or passing through - and whoever seeks to commit sacrilege therein - We will make him taste of a painful torment." (22:25); "O you who believe! do not hunt while you are in the state of Ihram. Whoever of you kills any intentionally, its penalty shall be a domestic animal comparable to what he killed, as determined by two honest persons among you - an offering delivered to the Kaaba. Or he may atone by feeding the needy, or its equivalent in fasting, so that he may taste the consequences of his conduct. God forgives what is past. But whoever repeats, God will take revenge on him. God is Almighty, Avenger." (5:95). Intentions of sinning are known only to the Omniscient Lord God; this means that Ihram is a state of pilgrims directly dealing with the Lord God within fear, reverence, and piety.

3/3/2: The pious hearts/souls of pilgrims avoid things prohibited during Ihram which are permitted in ordinary days outside Mecca; i.e., marital sex, small mistakes/sins, and disputes/arguments or quarrels (i.e., about ordinary topics, and NOT about religion as religious arguments of any sort must be avoided all the time anywhere): "The Hajj is during specific months. Whoever decides to perform the Hajj - there shall be no sexual relations, nor misconduct, nor quarrelling during the Hajj..." (2:197).

3/3/3: Pious pilgrims prevent their hearts/souls before their hands from hunting during their Ihram.

3/3/3/1: "...but do not hunt while you are in the state of Ihram...." (5:1).

3/3/3/2: "O you who believe! God will test you with something of the game your hands and spears obtain, that God may know who fears Him at heart. Whoever commits aggression after that will have a painful torment." (5:94).

3/3/3/3: "O you who believe! do not hunt while you are in the state of Ihram. Whoever of you kills any intentionally, its penalty shall be a domestic animal comparable to what he killed, as determined by two honest persons among you - an offering delivered to the Kaaba. Or he may atone by feeding the needy, or its equivalent in fasting, so that he may taste the consequences of his conduct. God forgives what is past. But whoever repeats, God will take revenge on him. God is Almighty, Avenger." (5:95).

3/3/3/4: "Permitted for you is the catch of sea, and its food - as sustenance for you and for travelers. But forbidden for you is hunting while you are in the state of Ihram. And fear God within piety, to Whom you will be gathered." (5:96).

4- Pious pilgrims adhere to performing many good deeds while seeking to obey and gratify their Lord God during their performing the Hajj rituals; these good deeds include extra prayers, glorifying the Holy Name of the Lord God, and circumambulating the Kaaba.

4/1: "And We made the House a focal point for the people, and a sanctuary. Use the station of Abraham as a place of prayers. And We commissioned Abraham and Ishmael, “Sanctify My House for those who circle around it, and those who seclude themselves in it, and those who kneel and prostrate.”" (2:125); "We showed Abraham the location of the House: “Do not associate anything with Me; and purify My House for those who circle around, and those who stand to pray, and those who kneel and prostrate.”" (22:26).

4/2: "And remember God during the designated days..." (2:203); "That they may witness the benefits for themselves, and celebrate the name of God during the appointed days..." (22:28). Thus, rituals of Hajj take few days; fatigued by the journey, some pilgrims may perform the rituals within several more days; e.g., standing at the Arafat Mount and the purchase and offering of sacrificed animals.

5- This is the state of Ihram which marks the pilgrimage as a very special occasion and an act of worship which differs a lot from other acts of worship (for those who can afford it in terms of money and health).

6- Within transit, the plane we took landed in the airport of Frankfurt, Germany, in order to allow pilgrims to take another plane heading to Jeddah, the main Red-Sea port in Saudi Arabia. During our waiting time in this airport, we saw many male pilgrims wrapped in the laughter-inducing, revealing garments of their polytheistic pilgrimage; they walk in it proudly as if intentionally showing it off to the Germans; it is as if they take pride in this latest fashion or dernier cri. To make the scene more painful, some pilgrims made their male children wear the same garments! We posed this question inwardly within our mind: Would their pilgrimage to Mecca and their state of Ihram be acceptable to the Lord God despite wearing such horrid garments of semi-naked men?! We think that Ihram is all about dedicating and devoting one's heart/soul to the Lord God within reverence and fear regardless of wearing ordinary/simple or expensive clothes. Yet, how dare these pilgrims perform pilgrimage within piety while they are semi-naked?!  

7- We posed this question to our mind: Would it be beneficial if we advise such people by reminding them of this Quranic verse: "O children of Adam! Dress properly at every mosque..." (7:31)? This divine command is about entering all mosques on earth; thus, the Sacred Kaaba Mosque is no exception to this Quranic rule in 7:31. We felt very much the desire to explain to these pilgrims the true meaning of the state of Ihram and the vital importance of purifying one's heart/soul of all types of polytheism of deifying things, places, and mortals. We desired to remind them of this Quranic verse within the context of pilgrimage legislations: "All that. Whoever venerates the sanctities of God - it is good for him with his Lord...So stay away from the abomination of idols, and stay away from perjury." (22:30). Yet, we reminded ourselves that it is no use doing so; they will never listen to the pieces of advice preached by our person. This is asserted further when our plane landed in the airport of Jeddah; at the age of 70, our frail body is burden we carry about with extreme difficulty; we walk very slowly as we suffer pains all the time in our backbone and our body joints. This made us suffer as we felt the painful urge to urinate; we cannot run to the rest room. We had to lean on our fourth son, Hossam, to reach the special rest room whose cubicle is made for old men. Unfortunately, the bathroom was occupied for a long time; the other public bathrooms were far away and not made for old people like our person; we decided not to use them. We felt much pain as if our bladder was about to explode; we feared that we might suffer urinal incontinence. We knocked at the door of the bathroom several times but in vain; we told ourselves that the man inside might be an old man who suffers any diseases or pains; we must excuse him for occupying the bathroom for such a long time. Eventually, he left the cubicle; to our surprise, he was a strong, burly young man in his early fortieth! We saw him before in the airport of Frankfurt. He got out of the bathroom while walking proudly in his Sunnite, laughter-inducing Ihram garments, showing off his semi-nakedness! Shame on him! We reminded ourselves, as we plodded our way to the bathroom after it became unoccupied at last, that it is no use trying to preach and advise those pilgrims who will return to their homelands with more misguidance and polytheism filling their souls!  

8- We noticed during our circumambulating the Kaaba that the laughter-inducing Sunnite pilgrimage garments dominated among all pilgrims regardless of their nationality and skin color; most pilgrims were from African and Asian countries, with yellow and black skins respectively, and few Arabs (some white-skinned and some dark-skinned as the case with Middle-Eastern men) and fewer white people of European origin. Most of them circumambulate the Kaaba in groups; each group had its male leader; all of them repeat after him reverently some words of prayers/supplications in (bad) Arabic. We felt very sorry for them; they will be more pious and reverent as they worship at the Yathreb abomination/mausoleum ascribed to Muhammad; they will humbly beseech their imagined buried, immortal deity under their feet to act as their intercessor. This polytheism will nullify their pilgrimage to Mecca. We felt like advising them in English and in Arabic about not to go to the Yathreb abomination, but we remembered that arguments of all types are strictly forbidden during Ihram in Mecca as per the Holy Quran.  

9- Arguments about religion (anytime and anywhere) are strictly forbidden by the Lord God in the Quran because disbelievers may seek, in their arguments, to undermine and to strive against the Quranic verses of the Lord God; let us be reminded of the following Quranic facts.

9/1: The polytheists who reject the Quran seek to refute and undermine its verses: "None argues against God’s Verses except those who disbelieve..." (40:4).

9/2: The disbelieving polytheists seek to argue with falsehoods as they seek in vain to refute or cast doubt on the Quranic Truth: "We send the messengers only as deliverers of good news and warners. Those who disbelieve argue with false argument, in order to defeat the truth thereby. They take My Verses, and the warnings, for a joke. Who does greater wrong than he, who, when reminded of his Lord’s Verses, turns away from them, and forgets what his hands have put forward? We have placed coverings over their hearts, lest they understand it, and heaviness in their ears. And if you call them to guidance, they will not be guided, ever." (18:56-57).

9/3: They deserve to be hated by the Lord God: "Those who argue against God’s Verses, without any proof having come to them - a heinous sin in the sight of God, and of those who believe. Thus God seals the heart of every arrogant sinner." (40:35); "Those who dispute regarding God’s Verses without any authority having come to them - there is nothing in their hearts but the feeling of arrogance, which they will never attain. So seek refuge in God; for He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." (40:56).

9/4: In every era, wherever people are found, there will be among them who argue against God's Quranic verses: "And among the people is he who argues about God without knowledge, or guidance, or an enlightening book. Turning aside in contempt, to lead away from the Path of God. He will have humiliation in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection We will make him taste the torment of burning." (22:8-9).

9/5: Satan the Devil, as well as his devils under him, drives polytheists to engage into this type of seeking to undermine, or striving/arguing against, the Lord God's Quranic verses: "...The devils inspire their followers to argue with you; but if you obey them, you would be polytheists." (6:121); "Among the people is he who argues about God without knowledge, and follows every defiant devil. It was decreed for him, that whoever follows him - he will misguide him, and lead him to the Hell torment." (22:3-4).

9/6: The polytheists used to come to Muhammad on purpose to argue against the Quranic verses with him: "Among them are those who listen to you; but We place covers over their hearts, to prevent them from understanding it, and heaviness in their ears. Even if they see every verse, they will not believe in it. Until, when they come to you, to argue with you, those who disbelieve will say, “These are nothing but myths of the ancients.”" (6:25).

9/7: The Lord God has commanded Muhammad here to respond to them briefly: "But if they dispute with you, say, “God is fully aware of what you do.”God will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection regarding what you disagree about." (22:68-69).

9/8: The Lord God warns them here against Hell torment for eternity: Have you not observed those who dispute regarding God's Verses, how they have deviated? Those who call the Book a lie, and what We sent Our messengers with - they will surely know. When the yokes are around their necks, and they will be dragged by the chains. Into the boiling water, then in the Fire they will be consumed." (40:69-72).

10- Thus, the impermissible type of arguments (about religion) is strictly forbidden during the state of Ihram during pilgrimage along with ordinary arguments about worldly matters (permissible only outside the state of Ihram). 

11- Ordinary arguments about worldly matters (e.g., about sports, politics, arts, and sciences) are permissible only outside the state of Ihram; they are absolutely forbidden during Ihram and pilgrimage so as not to allow them to turn into quarrels; the intention here is to give one's soul/heart the chance to dedicate the whole time to remembering the Lord God and to perform rituals of pilgrimage in peace and security. Pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca is for all peaceful human beings since all of them by adhering to peaceful behavior, regardless of their denominations or faiths, adhere to Islam in terms of peaceful demeanor. As for the other meaning of Islam; i.e., in terms of faith tenets and belief inside one's heart (i.e., monotheism), this is left only for the Lord God to judge on the Last Day when He will settle the religious differences and disputes of all humanity.