The Abrahamic Hajj-5

Welcome to the 5th episode of “The Abrahamic Hajj” on the 5th day of the sacred month of Zilhijjah as we draw near to the climax of the annual pilgrimage.

Today, we discuss one of the fundamental rituals of the Hajj, which alas has been neglected by most Muslims under pressure from western imperialism and the Zionists. This is the “Disavowal of Disbelievers”.

In ayah 3 of Surah Towba of the holy Qur’an, we read:

“[This is] an announcement from Allah and His Prophet to all the people on the day of the Greater Hajj: that Allah and His Prophet repudiate the polytheists.”

As is clear, the repudiation of the polytheists or disavowal of disbelievers, which in the Arabic terminology of the holy Qur’an is “bar’aat min-al-mushrikeen” is a commandment of God Almighty and His Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), to be observed during the Hajj.

On revelation of this and related ayahs of Surah Towba when the Prophet had sent one of his senior companions to proclaim to the not-yet- Muslims of mostly pagan Mecca, Archangel Gabriel descended with a fresh divine order saying these ayahs pertaining to the repudiation of the polytheists should be recited at the sacred Ka’ba by the Prophet himself or by someone similar to him – that is, a pure and pristine monotheist who had never bowed before idols.

All exegetes of the Holy Qur’an and chroniclers of hadith – both Sunni and Shi’a – agree that the Seal of Messengers asked his dear cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) to take charge of the mission. The Commander of the Faithful set off immediately, overtook the emissary, sent him back to Medina, reached Mecca and fearlessly proclaimed these Ayahs on disavowal of disbelievers at the Holy Ka’ba.

Alas, following the Prophet’s departure from the world, when Imam Ali (AS) was deprived of his right of political leadership of the Islamic realm, this ritual began to be neglected, and during the rule of the second, third and subsequent generations of Arab Muslims, who were in fact the descendants of polytheists, pagans, atheists, and idolaters, this divine commandment was totally ignored.

It was only in 1980 that the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini (RA) – a direct descendant of the Prophet through his 7th Infallible Heir, Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS) – this fundamental ritual of Hajj was revived, with clear instructions to Iranian pilgrims to preach Islamic unity during the rituals, while proclaiming in an organized manner the repudiations of the polytheists, especially the present archenemies of the Ummah, that is, the US and the Zionist entity.

Many Muslims welcomed this, but those who had usurped the political power of the Land of Revelation, were firmly sitting in the lap of the US and Britain, and were direct descendants of the pagan and polytheist Arabs, who had troubled Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), not only opposed the ceremony of “bara’at min al-mushrikeen” but used batons and firearms to shed the blood of the Guests of God in the most inviolable of all places – beginning with the 400 Iranians massacred by the Aal-e Saud in 1987 and reaching climax with the stampede in Mena in 2015 by the mischievous Wahhabis that resulted in the death of at least 7,000 pilgrims, including over 500 Iranians.

Today the Islamic Ummah is duty bound to purify the House of God from any evilness. By disavowal we proclaim deliverance from polytheist ideas. In this ceremony, Muslims should emphasize the glory of God Almighty and the solidarity of the Ummah.

Regarding disavowal from the disbelievers in the present era, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says: “Polytheism does not always have the same shape and idols of wood, stones and metals. Certainly today there is no  Laat, Manat and Uzza which were the main idols of the Quraish, but instead, today there are the more dangerous idols of global arrogance which holds sway over the Muslim states. Therefore, the Hajj negate the signs of polytheism and deliver Muslims from them.”

The main issue in the disavowal of the disbelievers is the proper cognizance of polytheism and oppression. In the present era, one of the main issues in the Islamic world is identification of the enemy. Unfortunately weakness in this issue has created irreparable harm for Muslims. 

The enemies of Islam are trying to sow seeds of religious and sectarian discord among Muslims. Thus, in view of this fact, the Hajj should be observed in its proper manner, in the Abrahamic way of repudiation of the archenemies of Islam and Muslim, that is, the US and the Zionist regime and their agents.