Praise be to Allāh, the Lord of All the Worlds, May His peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and upon all of his family and Companions!

Alleviating The Difficulties of Hajj 2

<h2 >Performing the Hajj More Than Once

The Hajj is an obligation upon every Muslim who is capable of undertaking it when the conditions of it being obligatory are all met. This is a point of consensus (ijmā`) among Muslims. Indeed, the Hajj is one of the five pillars upon which Islam is built. To deny the obligatory nature of the Hajj is tantamount to unbelief.

We also know that performing voluntary worship is something good. Allāh says: “And whoever does good of his own accord, indeed Allāh is Thankful, All-Knowing.” [Sūrah al-Baqarah: 158]

However, among the voluntary acts that we carry out are those that confer all of their benefits upon the individual who carries them out, such as our voluntary prayers and fasts. In most cases, carrying out these voluntary acts of worship poses no harm or inconvenience to others, just like it provides them with no direct benefit.

Other voluntary acts of worship provide benefits for people besides those who perform them, like spending in charity and doing good deeds for people. Usually, with this kind of voluntary act, the more such deeds are performed the better it is for the worshipper and for others. There is a saying that goes: “There is no excess in doing good.” However, this is not correct all of the time.

We see that the when Sa`d b. Abī Waqqās (raḍiyallāhu `anhu) bequeathed all of his wealth, the Prophet (ṣallallāhu `alayhi wa-sallam) commanded him to retain some of it for himself, and that his doing so would be better for him.

We also have where Ka`b b. Mālik (raḍiyallāhu `anhu)  said: “O Prophet of Allāh! As part of my penance, I will not speak except a true word and rid myself of all my wealth by giving it away in charity to Allāh and His Messenger.”

The Prophet (ṣallallāhu `alayhi wa-sallam) replied: “Retain some of your wealth for yourself. That will be better for you.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim]

Then there is a third type of voluntary worship that implicates others besides the one offering it, because of limited space and other factors. The Hajj is one of these. The grounds in which the Hajj is performed are limited in space and can accommodate only so many people. Likewise, there is a specific time of year when the Hajj is to be carried out. The Hajj can neither be performed a bit early nor postponed.

Anyone who exhibits even a little probity will realize that if just 1% of the Muslims who have never performed the Hajj were to do so in a single year, it would mean no less than 12 million people. They would never find the room to stand. Most of them would end up missing out on the Hajj for that reason alone. At the same time, their crushing numbers would cause many of them to injure each other. This is why only one-tenth of one percent of the world’s Muslim population is permitted to perform the Hajj in a given year. At this rate, it would take Indonesia’s 200 million Muslims presently alive 1000 years to all perform the Hajj. This, of course, is a purely hypothetical situation.

We must also consider the difficulties that presently result from the extreme crowding, on account of which every year many people lose the spiritual meaning and the sacredness of the Hajj in all the shouting, shoving, wrangling, and fighting. Annually, we see hundreds who die trampled under the feet of their fellow Pilgrims, though all of them are engaged in one of their obligatory rites of worship. This is a deeply grievous situation.

We will take it as a given that the reason people undertake the Hajj is on account of their faith. Therefore, we can ask how those who live nearby to the sacred precincts can be heedless of the difficulties they impose upon their brethren by performing the Hajj year after year, or even, for that matter, every second year. Do they not consider their brethren who are coming from far away to fulfill their religious obligations and not merely some voluntary act of devotion? Among those people are the elderly, the infirm, the destitute, and women who are frail. Do they not pay any heed to the sufferings of such people? Is their habit of performing Hajj every year more important to them?

In order to perform the Hajj more often, some people resort to forging documents, telling lies, borrowing money, and leaving their families with needs. For others, the Hajj becomes a welcomed vacation trip, taken annually with a group of bosom friends.

The agencies responsible for the Hajj do not permit a person to participate in it more often than once every five years. This policy is taken from a resolution passed by the Council of Scholars in Saudi Arabia. This resolution was passes in order to facilitate the management of the Hajj and give relief to the people around the world who wish to perform it.

There is a ḥadīth – though its authenticity is disputed – whereby the Prophet (ṣallallāhu `alayhi wa-sallam) is reported to have said: “Indeed a servant whose body is healthy and whose means of livelihood are ample, if he goes five years without going forth for the Hajj, then he has been denied (blessings).” [Mu`jam aṭ-Ṭabarānī, Musnad Abī Ya`lā, Sunan al-Bayhaqī, and Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān] This ḥadīth has been declared as weak by a number of scholars.

 If the person’s own health and comfort of means are to be taken into consideration, then this means by implication that the rights and needs of others must also be considered. These others include the person’s dependents as well as the person’s fellow pilgrims who, like himself, wish to perform the Hajj.

Many people rationalize their decision to perform the Hajj on a frequent basis by saying: “What harm could my presence pose? I’m just one person among millions. How would my absence make any difference?”

This is faulty logic. It is such thinking that causes people to lose sight of their common human concerns and their individual responsibilities towards one another. If everybody thought and acted in this way, there would be dire consequences.

 If, on the other hand, everyone who reads these words and intended to offer a voluntary Hajj instead donated the cost of his voluntary Hajj in charity – and likewise offered up in charity the space that his body would have occupied in Makkah during the Hajj – this would contribute considerably to lessening the congestion in the sacred precincts. It would make things easier for the pilgrims and lessen the confusion and the deaths that result from the crowding.

  Giving charity to the value of the Hajj expenses is better than undertaking a second Hajj in these times and under present circumstances. People are in need of money these days. There are natural disasters, famines, and decades-long wars bringing devastation to many people. These people truly need to be helped.

 Aḥmad b. Hanbal was once asked: “Is it better for a person to perform a voluntary Hajj or cement ties of kinship?”

Aḥmad replied: “If those kinfolk are in need, I prefer that he cements the ties of kinship.” [quoted by: Ibn Mufliḥ, al-Furū` (2/497)]

Aḥmad also said: “One of you says ‘I’ll perform the Hajj. I’ll perform the Hajj.’ But he has already done so! Rather, cement ties of kinship, or give charity to someone in dire need, or do some good for your neighbor.” [Kitāb az-Zuhd]

 Ibn al-Jawzī writes in Ṣifah aṣ-Ṣafwah: “Charity is better than the Hajj and fighting in defense of the faith.”

  Wakī` relates from Sufyān that Abī Miskīn said: “They regarded that it is better for a person who has repeatedly performed Hajj to give charity instead.” This was also the opinion of Ibrāhīm an-Nakha`ī.

  Ibn Taymiyah writes in al-Faṭāwā al-Kubrā: “Performing the Hajj in a lawful manner is better than giving charity that is not obligatory. However, if he has needy relatives, it is better to spend on them. The same is true if there are people in desperate need.”

These days, we must consider all of the problems that people face carrying out the rites of Hajj on account of overcrowding, mismanagement, people’s ignorance, and other reasons. These problems make the matter of undertaking a second Hajj more clearly less preferable.

The Prophet (ṣallallāhu `alayhi wa-sallam) said to `Umar (raḍiyallāhu anhu): “You are a strong man, `Umar, so do not jostle people at the Stone, because you will injure those who are weak. If you find an opening, then touch it. If not, then simply face it and say ‘There is no God but Allāh’ and say ‘Allāhu akbar’.” [Muṣannaf `Abd ar-Razzāq (8910) and Musnad Aḥmad (190)]

Ibn `Abbās (raḍiyallāhu anhumā) said: “If you find there is crowding at the Yamānī Corner, keep moving. Do not stop.” [Muṣannaf `Abd ar-Razzāq (8908) and Musnad ash-Shāfi`ī (494)]

Manbūdh b. Abī Sulaymān relates that his mother was with `Ā’īshah (raḍiyallāhu anhā) when one of her wards came to her and said: “O Mother of the Believers! I circumambulated the Ka`bah seven times and touched the Corner twice or thrice!”

`Ā’īshah (raḍiyallāhu anhā) replied: “May Allāh not reward you for jostling with men. It would have been best if you said ‘Allāhu akbar’ and kept going.” [Musnad ash-Shāfi`ī (495) and Sunan al-Bayhaqī (5/81)]

`Ā’īshah (raḍiyallāhu anhā), the daughter of Sa`d b. Abī Waqqās (raḍiyallāhu anhu), relates that her father said: “If you find a gap in the crowd, then go and touch it. Otherwise, just say ‘Allāhu akbar’ and go on.” [al-Umm (2/258) and Sunan al-Bayhaqī (5/81)]

Ibn `Abbās (raḍiyallāhu anhu) said: “He used to hate people crowding at the Black Stone where you either injure another Muslim or get injured yourself.” [Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (13164)]

Sa`īd b. `Ubayd at-Tā’ī said: “I saw al-Ḥasan approach the Black Stone. He saw how crowded it was, so he did not go and touch it. He simply uttered his supplication, then went to the Station of Abraham and offered two units of prayer.”

These considerations are not restricted to the Yamānī Corner and the Black Stone. We have here a general rule that whatever brings about hardship or difficulties for others must be avoided.

Admittedly, there are some people who should perform a second Hajj – or who might have to do so – even though they have already fulfilled their obligatory Hajj. This is the case for a man who goes to accompany his wife or female relative as her chaperone, or who goes to assist his elderly parents. The same can be said for those who are there to do work that secures the religious or material welfare of the other pilgrims. Nevertheless, the majority of those who crowd the Hajj with their repeated attendance are not from the above-mentioned categories.

I sincerely hope from our prominent scholars and Islamic workers, and I especially hope from the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, that they give this matter the attention that it deserves. They need to emphasize to the people – and especially the people of Saudi Arabia – that it is best for them to help their fellow Muslims by donating the cost of their second Hajj in charity. This is especially true now that that the Supreme Council of Scholars has issued a resolution calling for the stricter management of the Hajj.

Our Lord will surely credit them for their good intentions and their giving preference for their fellow Muslims who have not yet had the chance to undertake the Hajj. This is better than the possibility that their offering a voluntary Hajj will result in their sinning by indirectly preventing others from undertaking the Hajj or by contributing to the crowding that results in people’s deaths. We must always consider the general objectives of Islamic Law in enjoining these acts of worship upon the people. This will keep us from carrying out supererogatory acts that result in greater harm for others.

It is contrary to the dictates of brotherhood for us to disregard the problems and concerns of our fellow Muslims. Those Muslims who we crowd out at the Black Stone or while circumambulating the Ka`bah, or while walking between Safā and Marwah, or while stoning the Jamrahs, they are the same Muslims that we grieve for when we see on television their suffering from hunger and displacement.

The problem is not with those who undertake the Hajj repeatedly and who, by doing so, provide benefit to many other pilgrims because of the instruction or services that they provide to the pilgrims. The problem is with those who merely add their numbers to the crowds and contribute to the problems.

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