Travel Tips
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
The Time of Pilgrimage (Hajj) According to the Verses of the Quran
The pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) is a universal worship of which history goes back to the Prophet Abraham and also the Prophet Adam. The Qur'anic verses, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, clearly state that this historical worship is never ending. The explanations and practices of the Prophet Muhammad, together with the verses of the Qur'an, have restored the original rite of the pilgrimage, purging it of all the later additions and superstitions.
When the verses about the pilgrimage time are examined, according to the chronological order of the revelation, it appears that the months of pilgrimage, Shawwal, Dhu1-Qa’da, and Dhu1-Hijja, cover a large period of time for a comfortable journey. But it does not mean that the pilgrimage time can be separated from these months completely. The practices before and after the Prophet Mohammed support this reality.
It is possible for millions of people to perform provided that we have recourse to reinterpreting the Qur'anic verses and hadiths about the Hajj along with enjoying the recent technologic facilities. That is the only way to perform the Hajj without any trouble. Furthermore, it is in agreement with the essence of the Hajj and wisdom.
Hajj is a historical worship that goes back to Adam. When Muhammad(s), the last prophet, was sent to his people as a prophet, pilgrimage to Holy Ka’ba was being made in Mecca. The revealed Qur'anic verses inform that the pilgrimage continues. However, the Quranic verses and the explanations of our Prophet eradicated the polytheistic traditions and irrational practices mixed with the earlier practice of Hajj, and organized the pilgrimage by returning it to its original state. In this study, we first determine the time of the pilgrimage. We will examine the descending process of the following verses, then draw attention to some basic concepts about hajj, mentioning the wisdom of hajj, and end our work with some suggestions for a healthy Hajj practice today.
The practice of pilgrimage, like other worships, is not included in the Qur'an in all its details. In this sense, the Qur'an is a not a prayer teaching book nor a Pilgrimage guide. However, today, while various speculations have been produced around the way and time of some basic worship, reference is mostly made to the Qur'an. However, these approaches, which are said to be based on the Qur'an, are actually far from being a holistic and in-depth approach; it is seen that one tends to find verses for the theses that are fragmentary, superficial and presupposed. For example, the Kharijite view that the “pilgrimage can be extended to all months of the year or three months of the year”, which did not find an echo even though it was chanted and was brought up again today as if it was said for the first time, is not clearly derived from the Qur'an. After this introduction, it would be appropriate to examine the verses about pilgrimage in line with the descent process and with a holistic approach.
A. DESCENT PROCESS OF THE VERSES ABOUT THE SEASON
In order to ensure that its messages are universal, the Qur'an does not generally give the places and times of the events it describes, and the names of the heroes of the event. However, some places, times and personal names are included in the Qur'an, albeit a little. Undoubtedly, there were many reasons for this. Regarding the drawing attention of the Qur’an to certain places and times, Rashid Riza summarizes the following: "The Almighty Allah has placed some special orders and prohibitions for certain places and times. The reason for this is to ensure that people deal with them more carefully. Because human psychology is bored with monotony. Therefore, the prayers that are required to be done regularly in Islam are kept very short and light. For example, the obligatory prayers of the time-prayers that need to be performed can be fulfilled in a very short time. Allah Almighty has made the Friday prayer special obligatory on the day of the weekly general meeting of the people. He made fasting obligatory for one month (numbered days) in a year. Likewise, he made pilgrimage legitimate on the numbered days of Dhul-Hijjah. Again, he forbade war in the haram months, which are the months of the pilgrimage. He also counted Rajab, which is in the middle of the year, as one of the haram months in order to reduce the war as much as possible, spread the peace, and ensures that Umrah is performed in a safe environment. He made Mecca and its surroundings a safe town (harem) for the safety of the pilgrims. He attributed Ka'ba to himself (Baytullah - Allah's house) and wanted him to be respected. Without such special determinations, it would be impossible for people to agree on a particular place and time.” As it can be understood from these explanations, the fact that certain days of the year are specially selected for the Hajj worship, which must be performed once in a lifetime by those who can afford it, that it is limited, is very appropriate and meaningful, and even the purposes of the worship can be fully realized.
The Qur'an underlines that the number of months in the sight of Allah has been twelve since the day the heavens and the earth were created, and states that four of them are sacred months (Harem months). Again, the Qur'an exhorts that the postponing of sacred months is an act of gross infidelity which causes the unbelievers to be led further astray. According to the lunar calendar, all the months circulate through all the seasons of the year. Religious regulations are generally determined according to this month's calculation. Thus, Ramadan fasting, pilgrimage, sacrifice days and the like can coincide with all seasons of the year, so that these worships can be enjoyed in every season and the pleasure of soul is thus provided at different times and conditions by enduring hardships. The ignorant Arabs, on the other hand, were changing the places of these months for some political and economic reasons. For example, they changed the harem months so that the pilgrimage season would coincide with the time most convenient for them. This meant coinciding with the seasons that could either always be difficult or always easy. Whereas the form, the places and times of worship should have been within the authority of the Supreme Creator, who wanted them to be done. That's why the Qur'an forbade the intercalation of sacred months as people did in the ignorant period.
The four sacred months are Dhul-Qa’da, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. The first three of them are the month of Hajj and the fourth is the month of Umrah. These months were declared 'haram months' and people were accustomed to living in peace; People who came to Mecca for Hajj and Umrah from Damascus, Mesopotamia, Iraq, and other lands were ensured to return to their hometowns safely. Therefore, there is a close relationship between the haram months and the months of pilgrimage. The basis of the prohibition of war in these months is to ensure that people can perform Hajj-Umrah and carry out trade safely and to prepare them for peace on the occasion of these months. It has been a disputed issue whether the prohibition of war in the haram months is mandatory or not. In our opinion, in order for Hajj and Umrah prayers to be held in these months in peace, and since the principle of giving priority to peace always prevails in Islam, the religion of peace, the prohibition of war should be in effect during the months in question unless there is an attack on the Muslims.
Qur'an, after referring to the number of months as 'twelve' in general, draws attention to the months and days of pilgrimage. Let's say here that only the name of the month of Ramadan is explicitly mentioned among the names of the twelve months in the Qur'an, others do not. The other days and months are not mentioned clearly due to the fact that they were known to the first addressees of the Qur'an.
After these explanations, let's see the descent process of the verses related to the season of pilgrimage:
1-. In some verses descended in Mecca, attention is drawn to certain days known in the period of ignorance. As a matter of fact, Surah Fajr, which descended in the tenth rank, begins as follows: “I swear by the dawn night, the ten nights, the even and the odd, and the night when it passes” The things the Qur'an swears upon are not ordinary things. Considering that there are extremely important things for humanity, it can be easily said that the things sworn in these verses do not refer to any period of time, but to the times of the pilgrimage, which is extremely important for the people of Mecca, in other words to the historical days of Mecca. Fajr mentioned in the verses may be the morning of Eid al-Adha, or the first day of Dhu al-Hijah; the ten nights, the first ten nights of Dhu al-Hijah; the odd day, the day of Purgatory (9th day); the even day, the Eid-al-Adha day (10th day); It has been stated that the night that covers the night is the night of Muzdalifa, and that the verses draw attention to these days and nights. Taking into account these views, it can be concluded that the importance of days and nights related to pilgrimage is emphasized in these verses. Since these days and nights were known to the first addressees of the Qur'an, they are mentioned in general terms in these verses.
2- Meanwhile, the following verse is included in Surah al-Buruj, which also was revealed in Mecca: “I swear by the witness and what is witnessed”. The 'witness' mentioned in the verse is Friday, and ‘MaÅŸhud’ (what is witnessed) is the day of Arafa or Eid al-Adha.
3- Again, the verse that was revealed in Mecca in the 10th year of Muhammad’s prophethood and that describes the speech of Almighty Allah to Prophet Ibrahim about announcing the pilgrimage to the people is as follows: “And proclaim to the people the ḥajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant.” Mawdudi says that the verses 25-78 of Surah al-Hajj were revealed in the month of Dhul-Hijjah in the first year of Medina.
4- In the first verse about Hajj descended in Medina, the following is stated: “They ask you about the phases of the moon. Say, they are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj.” In fact, crescents are time measures for other prayers too. But the mention of Hajj in this verse is to emphasize the fact that the Hajj months cannot be changed as it was done in the period of ignorance, and that the Hajj is performed in the months determined by Allah. The verse covers all months of the year and is general. This verse will be devoted to the later descended phrase 'known months'.
5- The verse that was revealed after the Hudaybiyya Agreement with the Makkan pagans in the sixth year of the Hijra is as follows: “And Accomplish Hajj and Umrah for Allah……...” With this verse, it was asked to complete the umrah that could not be started and completed in the previous year, and people were prepared for the pilgrimage that will be made obligatory in the future.
6- The verse that was revealed in the 2nd or 3rd year of Hijra (the Migration) after the Battle of Badr and that explains the obligation of Hajj in general is as follows: “…Pilgrimage to this House is an obligation by Allah upon whoever is able among the people…”
7-. The verse that was revealed in the 9th year of the Hijra came as follows, substantiating the previous verse that states the obligation of hajj in a succinct manner: “Hajj are the well-known months”
There are three views on the known pilgrimage months mentioned in the verse:
I. They are, with the months of Shawwal and Dhul-Qada, the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. This is the opinion of the majority, especially Ibn Abbas, Suddi, Sha'bi, and Nahai. This view is the opinion of three madhhab imams, and there is a saying that Imam Malik was also of this opinion.
II. They are the entire month of Shawwal, Dhul-Qada and Dhul-Hijjah. It is the opinion of Ibn Omar, Ibn Masud, Ata’, Mujahid, Al-Rabi', Zuhri and Imam Malik.
III. Dhul-Qa'da, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram are the months. Darvez argued that these three haram months should be the month of pilgrimage.
Common in these three views are the months of Dhul Qada and Dhul Hijja; the former is called Dhul Qada (sitting month) because people abandon the war and sit in peace. This naming clearly reveals that Dhul Qada has always been the month of preparation for pilgrimage, and Dhul-Hijjah has been the month of pilgrimage. As the pilgrimage months were well known to the people of the early period, the names of these months are not clearly mentioned in the Qur'an.
The difference between the first two views is that whether the whole month of Dhu al-Hijjah, or only its first ten days is considered the month of pilgrimage. The fact that the months of pilgrimage are understood as three months in all three views is because the plural form (ashhur) in the verse expresses at least three. Darvez’s reckoning of the month of Muharram as one of these three months is due to the fact that this month is the sacred month that follows the main pilgrimage month, Dhul-Hijjah. According to this, the month of Dhul-Hijjah falls between two sacred (haram) months, and thus people will be able to come to the pilgrimage in peace and return to their homeland in peace. Though this view seems reasonable, according to our findings, no one expressed this view before Darvez. In case of counting the months of Shawwal, Dhul-Qada and Dhul-Hijja as the pilgrimage months, the 9th day of the main pilgrimage day, Zilhijce There is a period of forty days before the days of the day, and a period of fifteen-twenty days after that. In case Shawwal, Dhul-Qada and Dhul-Hajjah months are counted as pilgrimage months, there is a period of forty days before and a period of fifteen-twenty days after the 9th-10th days of Dhul-Hijjah, the main pilgrimage days. In our opinion, this is because more time is needed for both Meccan people and those who will come to Mecca from outside to prepare for the pilgrimage. Less time is sufficient for returning after performing the Hajj. With the counting of Shawwal, which is not one of the haram months, as the month of pilgrimage, in a sense, the number of months in which people will prioritize peace has increased to five, which is the benefit for humanity.
That the Hajj months are determined as three months in this way does not mean that Hajj can be performed in all of these three months, even if ihram can be done for hajj in these three months. Because in practice Hajj did not happen. No contrary opinion has been expressed in this regard. It is obvious that the contradictory view put forward on this subject we mentioned above is an extremely groundless thesis that is not applicable, purely the result of a literal and rational approach.
The matter of keeping the pilgrimage months wide in this way in the verse is that these three months are the period during which those who come to Mecca from outside can come and return, and that they can enter ihram for the pilgrimage in these three months. Because, these pilgrimage months, which are determined in general, are reduced to certain days, numbered days and ultimately to a single day with the following verses. The explanations and applications in the Sunnah and the practices before and after the Qur'an are in this direction. In fact, the verse specifically stated that the months of pilgrimage were known to the people of the period when the Qur'an was descended, by saying known months. At the same time, there is no opinion in our sources that people expanded the pilgrimage to three months altogether. As a matter of fact, during the period of ignorance, preparations for the pilgrimage were started in Shawwal, and ihram was done in these months. But this did not mean that pilgrimages were made in all the months in question.
Choosing the view that the months of Hajj are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah with all of the months of Shawwal and Dhul-Qada, Tabari reasons as follows: “Because there is no work to be done for pilgrimage after the days of tashrik, the entire three months are not included in the expression of the months of hajj.” This reasoning is quite remarkable. Actually, the known and common practice in the first period is that the pilgrimage works are completed in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. And yet, how is it possible to extend the months of pilgrimage to all the months of the year, or to all the days of these three months, except for the one who knows? As a matter of fact, Razi also states that the expression 'known' (ma’lumat) in the verse refers to a certain time that happens once a year, that he acknowledges the previous practice on this subject, and that it is not possible to change this known time by putting it forward or leaving it later.
Comments