Hajj answered my complaints to Prophet Muhammad

Hajj - the Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah - is obligatory once in a lifetime for adult Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the trip to the holy city and to perform its rites. I came to belong to this category of Muslims long ago but had to postpone my hajj for years owing to work and other preoccupations. I finally made it this year (2025).

A trip to Madinah is not a rite of hajj or umrah (lesser pilgrimage). But few Muslims who go for these two pilgrimages miss to visit the city that is enriched by Masjid al-Nabawi (Prophet's masjid), Masjid Quba, and an impressive array of other structures and landmark sites. Muslims pay a visit to Madinah before or after performing hajj and umrah in Makkah.

Previously, while contemplating my trip to Makkah and Madinah, I had always had a wish to have a conversation with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at the spiritual level. Upon my arrival in the two holy cities where he lived, I would ask him a few questions. This desire to speak to the Prophet is supported by literary precedents.

Writers have described their paranormal (mystic) exchanges with the Prophet. For example, the twentieth-century poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal employed the device of apostrophe in his poem "To the Holy Prophet" (1936). He addressed the Prophet and informed him about the deplorable condition of Muslims during the colonial period, stating:

We [Muslims] are a defunct musical instrument

whose chords do not respond to the plectrum any longer.

I have wandered through lands, Arab and non-Arab,

Bu Lahab is everywhere, Mustafa nowhere.

The so-called enlightened Muslim

has no lamp to illumine the darkness of his heart.

Even in his youth he is soft like silk,

the desires in his heart are short-lived.

He is a slave, son of a slave, son of a slave,

who dare not think of freedom;

the school has drained him of love for religion.

As regards talking to the Prophet at different spiritual levels, earlier, the thirteenth-century Egyptian poet Sharaf al-Din Muhammad al-Busiri was afflicted by hemiplegia or paralysis of half of the body. In a dream-vision, Busiri recited a poem in praise of the Prophet who - as a gift in return - wrapped the poet in his burda (mantle). As a result, "when Busiri woke up in the morning, he was miraculously cured from his paralysis."

Busiri complained to the Prophet about his paralyzed body, but Iqbal turned to lament a form of moral torpor and intellectual paralysis that gripped Muslims and ruined the fabric of their community.

The questions that I had in mind for the Prophet went along the line of Iqbal's narrative. I was concerned about the collective incompetence, inertia, indolence, and lethargy of Muslims and about their apathy to their plight and degradation.

I wanted to ask the Prophet why Muslims as a global community were so inept and left behind. Why are they so weak and persecuted almost everywhere? Despite having such a wonderful religion and such an exemplary role model in the character of the Prophet, why are they in such a despicable condition? Why are they plagued by myriad crises - both internal and external?

These and similar questions are triggered by the fact that, since I came of age, I have always heard news of the persecution of Muslims by forces from within and without. They have been exploited and humiliated by domestic and foreign powers and subjected to gruesome cruelty and atrocities including genocide.

All communities face threats to their life, safety, and survival. But if they are internally strong, they can weather such challenges and live with dignity. The long period of time during which Muslims have been subjected to extensive levels of prejudice and acts of violence suggests that as a global community they are internally weak, fragile, and highly vulnerable. But what makes them so?

I outline my perspective below through recounting my hajj experience.

The hajj kafela (group) to which I belonged had about 70 pilgrims (hujjaj). We flew from Dhaka to Madinah. After staying in the Prophet's city for about 8 days, we went to Makkah by bus, covering a distance of roughly 450 km. We stayed in the holiest city in Islam for 28 days during which we performed umrah, hajj, and other acts of worship.

While I was in Madinah and Makkah, I got answers to my questions that I wanted to ask the Prophet.

The huge crowd of Muslims during the hajj season can be regarded as a microcosm of the global Muslim community. As they come from all countries on earth, at least to an extent, their behaviour and way of life represent those of Muslims around the world.

Unfortunately, I found many pilgrims stunted in their understanding of Islam and irresponsible in their actions. In some cases, their behaviour was chaotic and senseless.

Let me give some examples.

In a considerable number of pilgrims, I saw the gap between tawhid (monotheism) and shirk (polytheism) was narrow. This was especially manifested during their visit to the Prophet's grave on the premises of Masjid al-Nabawi.

Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:

"Those who came before you took the graves of their Prophets and righteous people as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship - I forbid you to do that."

Accordingly, Masjid al-Nabawi authorities have taken measures to prevent pilgrims from taking the Prophet's grave as a place of worship. Despite that, many of the pilgrims were unstoppable and prone to express excessive adoration and reverence toward his grave and seemed to take it as a means to resolve their mundane and spiritual problems or to have their wishes fulfilled.

Away from theological questions, I noticed among the pilgrims other misdemeanours which are totally unacceptable even if seen from non-religious perspectives.

The authorities in Saudi Arabia have ensured that there are sufficient rubbish bins in convenient locations - in all places where the pilgrims generally frequent. Despite the presence of trash bins in short distances, I saw a great number of pilgrims littered the sacred precincts of Makkah and Madinah with full or empty water bottles and other waste materials. To my utter astonishment, I saw the sacred area of tawaf (the sevenfold circumambulation of the Ka'bah) also littered with water bottles and other throwaways.

More regrettably, many pilgrims exhibited the abhorrent, shameful habit of spitting here and there and thus making a mess in the area. The worst victim of irresponsible littering and spitting is Ibrahim al-Khalil Street adjacent to Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. It is perhaps the most sacred street in the world not only because of its close proximity to the Ka'bah but also because it serves as a site for the daily prayers.

Because of space constraint in Masjid al-Haram, especially during the hajj season, many pilgrims spread prayer mats on and beside Ibrahim al-Khalil Street to perform the five daily and Friday prayers. Although there are trash bins in every 15 to 20 meters, it was a sore to the eye to see many pilgrims littering and spitting around the street.

It is true that the authorities employ workers to continuously clean the area, but it is difficult to comprehend how followers of a religion that puts so much emphasis on purity and cleanliness can litter and spit on the ground even when they are in a sacred precinct and on a mission to perform the sacred duties of hajj and umrah!

I saw gadget addiction among many pilgrims was at an exorbitant level. While they were supposed to concentrate on devotional activities like praying and reading the Qur'an or other useful materials, many were fidgeting with smartphones, surfing the Internet and communicating with friends and family members in a leisurely manner. Some of them made video calls and spoke in a loud voice impossible to ignore. I saw people making video calls even while doing tawaf. They showed little respect to others who were trying to focus on acts of worship.

If people fail to avoid being addicted to smartphones even during hajj and umrah, what does this tell us about their normal lifestyle? How much time are they likely to spend on gadgets at home and workplaces and for what purposes?

What is worse, I saw people sucking on cigarettes at places not far from Masjid al-Haram.

Had I noticed the above and similar bad habits among a handful of pilgrims, I would not have discussed them in an essay. But the number of Muslims who exhibited such wrong behaviours in the two holy places is overwhelming. If this is their behavioural norm and disposition, how can they live up to their responsibilities as God's vicegerents on earth? How can they face various challenges in a world that presents incalculable pitfalls and loopholes for them?

What is most worrying is that, Muslims whom I have described above join innumerable Islamic congregations and listen to Friday khutbahs (sermons) and speeches of imams and other Islamic preachers. In such gatherings, do they get the right Islamic message from the preachers and so-called Islamic scholars? What has gone wrong with Islamic preaching in our time? I may not have the right answers to such elemental questions, but educated Muslims must address such issues for the collective wellbeing of their people.

On a final note, unless Muslims address their inner weaknesses and become well-equipped and well-organized (religiously, intellectually, and otherwise), it is unlikely that they will emerge as a strong community and regain their dignity and good standing in the world.

Dr Md Mahmudul Hasan is Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University Malaysia. Email: [email protected]y