SAUDI ARABIA/ MOUNT ARAFAT: Addressing millions of Hajj pilgrims, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz said those shedding blood and spreading anarchy in society are enemies of Allah and not followers of Islam.
In his sermon from Masjid-e-Nimra, he said “Islam is a religion of peace and strongly disapproves acts of terrorism. It is the responsibility of religious scholars to spread the message of peace.”
“Our religion preaches brotherhood, tolerance and harmony for the establishment of a society, which respects rights of all the segments of the society,” he said.
“Islam is the solution for the problems” of Muslims, he said, warning the faithful of “a media and cultural invasion that seeks to weaken (their) faith.”
The top cleric urged Muslims to solve their problems “without interference from their enemies,” condemning those who want to “provoke hostility between you and your leaders.”
More than two million Muslims gathered on Saturday on Mount Arafat and its surrounding plain, marking the peak day of Hajj.
There were no immediate reports of major incidents as security officials focused on crowd control.
“Things are going well and according to plan,” interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al Turki told AFP.
Many went on buses, while others set off on foot from Mina, a tent-village that comes to life only during the five-day pilgrimage.
Others took the Mashair Railway, also known as the Makkah Metro, to go to Mount Arafat and its surrounding plains, where Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) delivered his final sermon.
Mukhtar al Rahman, who is more than 100 years of age, said “this is the dream of my life which took a century to come true.”
“The crowds have tired me and as you can see I can’t stand properly because of the huge crowds flooding” into the area, the elderly Bengali said panting as he looked for a small chair to sit on.
Indonesian pilgrim Noor Laila said: “I’m so happy to have set foot on Arafat’s sacred soil.”
“I want to wash away all my sins and ask God to forgive my mistakes. This is the first time I come to Hajj and I hope it won’t be the last,” said the 36-year-old.
Malaysian Abdullah Wali al-Deen, 45, said he had been working for years for this day. “I came here with my family after we managed to save enough money,” he said. “Everyone in here is equal. There are no differences between various nationalities. This is the religion of peace, love and brotherhood.”
More than 1.83 million pilgrims have arrived in the kingdom from abroad, marking a 1.5 per cent increase from last year, said Makkah Governor Prince Khaled al Faisal.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2011.
COMMENTS (44)
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@Falcon: I agree. I was just exemplifying KSA's efforts within its own region. The soft strategy has failed in Yemen primarily because the Yemeni government does not have the provisions to support such reintegration programs.
@Sarah B. Haider: I agree with what you have mentioned. But let's put it this way, the ideology propagated by Wahhabism has its practical implications in the form of 'Takfir' (declaring other outside the boundaries of Islam), which in return leads to violent mindset. Now, the repercussions of that are easy to control when you have strong law & order infrastructure and economic prosperity, which in this case is KSA. However, when you unleash this ideological theme in a place devoid of law & order with high levels of poverty, you see the true impact. See Yemen, Somalia, and many parts of Pakistan. The test of an ideology is its ability to weather good and bad circumstances.
@Minto:
And all are from countries with little or no standing in the world.
@Hamid: Ah. So that's why suicide bombers exist. They can't take the idea of the negative backlash resulting in their murders of hundreds of people, so they do it while simultaneously not having to deal with the shattered peace.
It all makes sense now.
MasALLAH, How Criminal mind understand this...
@ Hamid
Is Islam a religion of tolerance as well, where under an islamic rules atheist/minorties/liberals/seculars/gays/lesbians can enjoy freedom or have equality rights?
if not, then extremism will never vanish away!
@American Desi:
Thank you, Eid Mubarak to you too! Yes, absolutely, to all mankind which includes non-Muslims too! Though would put a religious disclaimer on 'children of God'! lol.
Sorry I didn't come across more obvious in the last sentence of my last comment.
I have a habit of being too wordy and thought I'd end it there. Main point of the comment though was to highlight we've got problems all over and it must be recognized and talked about and resolved, instead of falling for the 'enemies' propaganda. Most Pakistanis don't know about Uzbeks (we share a border) or the Burmese (we trade with their Junta) and thought I would name them to raise awareness some way.
@bigsaf, is not it better to pray for all living beings, all children of God? Anyway, Eid Mubarak!
I am astonished at the irony, when Saudi monarchy fully supports terrorists itself.
Thank God for Imam sahib. I have firm belief that after his sermon every terrorist who uses Islam to kill people would stop killing people in the name of Islam as it has been termed of having no place in Islam. My only complain is why it took him so long to term it un-Islamic? But then again we are ordinary, sinful creatures who do not posses enough spiritual and mental faculties to understand the will of God delivered to us by various poise men.
Must be the ARAB SPRING that woke this mufti.
“Islam is the solution for the problems” of Muslims, he said, warning the faithful of “a media and cultural invasion that seeks to weaken (their) faith.”
There have been Eid attacks in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria as well as Pakistan. “...without interference from their enemies?”
The Ummah is already killing each other without the need for an enemy. Purification comes with honesty but the Grand Mufti is expected as always to invoke external enemies and lace his message with political overtones...for the benefit of the House of Saud?
Can any Muslim honestly say that the House of Saud practices justice?
Islam is a religion of Peace. We want peace in this world. Peace is all we seek.
"Those shedding blood and spreading anarchy in society are enemies of Allah and not followers of Islam" - a reckoning warning to JUI, Jamaat e Islami, and all so called “religious” parties of Pakistan which breathe violence for one reason or other.
Government of Pakistan must give a copy of Grand Muft’s Hajj sermon to every mosque in Pakistan. And media must ask heads of so called “religious” parties whether they accept Grand Mufti’s decree, or will they try to find wiggle room in his statement.
I wonder if these parties are now going to call Grand Mufti as kafir as well, as they do to people who beg to differ with their modus operandi?
@MUNIB: I am not a big fan of the Saudi Arabian government and for Saudis generally for their Wahabi doctrine of treating other Muslims, however, speaking of containing terrorism in Islam, I think the Saudi government has taken practical steps in trying to ameliorate the terrorist mindsets of its own citizens. Surely, there is no place for terrorism in Islam and those who have been indulgent in an extremist attitude are following a deviant interpretation of Islam. As for the Saudi efforts at trying to eradicate terrorism, remember how they “softly” treated the Guantanamo Bay Prison detainees when they returned home by engaging them in De-radicalization, Disarmament and Reintegration Programs? Though, the some analysts have accused the Saudi Government of actually “mollycoddling” brutal terrorist, even the Western world has admitted that Saudi Arabia’s soft strategy for changing the terrorist and extremist mindsets of people had been fruitful. FYI, the Saudi Arabian example of DDR activities has been taken as an example to be implemented in other countries facing terrorism like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Yemen, and many other African countries like Burundi, Somalia and Sierra Leone, etc. At least, they tried to make a difference in their own region.
Instead of lecturing the world , why this Mufti dude doesnt lecture his own gov and nation to stop funding TERRORISM all around the world especially PAKSITAN
Eid Mubarak to all readers. By the way why those who are engaged in these terrorist activities in one way or the other are linked to some Madressas in our country and they are all Muslims????? If they are indoctrinated here then the world would love to see Grand Mufti visit all these Madrassas in Pakistan. The message by Grand Mufti is loud and clear and I personally have 99.99% Muslim friends who are all good and very friendly at all levels.
Hajj sermon: No place for terrorism in Islam, says Grand Mufti..............
n is there place for traitor rulers ? =)
@antony: Can a Catholic get citizenship of Vatican City-State?
No place for terrorism in Islam as per Grand Mufti and no body is endorsing his views. Strange!
BHAIYON SABKO , Eid Mubarak
The fact is that there is no concept of Kings and Queens in Islam, so anyone can expect anything from a country that is being ruled arbitrarily,you know!
Shame how they exploit the occasion, but expected from hypocrites. It's the mandatory government propaganda and warning to the people who may otherwise practice their legitimate Islamic right to remove inept un-Islamic oppressive dictatorships, such as the Wahhabi monarchy.
Antony: Why are you mixing the two issues? Just because Saudi Arabia does not believe that, it does not mean Islam is wrong. Saudi Arabia is a country run by Al-Saud dynasty which is anything but Islamic. What is your point?
I'm sure some Libyan, Egyptian and Tunisian brothers and sisters are marking this Hajj as being extra special. Hope they don't forget some of us who supported them in their prayers :)
I hope Inshallah the prayers for freedom for Syrians, Bahrainis, Yemenis, Uzbeks, Palestinians, Saudis, Iranians, Kashmiris, etc are answered and realized, and other Muslims as well who need help because their nations are in turmoil or they themselves are facing personal hardship, such as Pakistanis, Sudanese, Chinese/Uyghurs, Indians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Rohingya Burmese, Somalis, etc. Forgive me if I've missed any other backgrounds...I wish and pray for the best for them as well and goodwill and equal justice for all.
@antony: Saudi Arabia is wrong on that part. So what's your point exactly?
it was actually Arab league's decision to stop giving citizenship to anyone whose forefathers are not from that country.
If you are a third generation citizen in Saudi Arabia with a respected science degree you are all set for citizenship. Just throwing this out
@antony: Is that a Mensa question? May be yes ! No one knows what lies ahead , policies of government keep changing may be today its Kingdom tomorrow it will be something else and who told you that merely getting a citizenship of KSA will a Muslim be a true Muslim and his sins will be forgiven by God.And who told you Muslims are dying to get recognized as a true Muslims by the KSA .Muslims think beyond that.. why do you think KSA a gauge to judge the beliefs of all Muslims . and Yes all Muslims of different races are equal, in the eyes of God is it necessary to be equal in the eyes of a king or his government.
Hajj Mubarak to all the Muslims worldwide..
I can see 12 comments on this article since its been published,more or less same in messages,there are no politics here,some gets 7 some gets 9 and some gets 13 i get 0, why because still we are not united at least on hajj day.
@ikramuddin, Do you think pakistani cab drivers can get a citizenship from saudi arabia ? as Saudi arabia should believe all muslims of different races to be equal ? right ?
In the house of Allah, all are equal, no brown no black no white,no yellow no poor no rich. Eid Mubarak to all Muslims all over the world.May we always stick to our pledge we make in this day to remain faithful to Him and obeying the divine rules that eliminate discriminations among human beings. AIK HI SAF MAIN KHAREY HOGAYE MEHMOOD O AYAAZ NA KOI BANDA RAHA AUR NA KOI BANDA NAWAAZ
I congratulate Muslim brethren on the holiest day of Hajj.
May Al-Mighty Allah also call to those who have never been to Saudi Arabia before to perform Hajj. Ameen
Eid Mubark! to all my Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world,particularly in Arab countries.This gathering is not merely a ritual but a repeated message to those who ,create distinctions between human beings.this unprecedented event that takes place no where in the world but only in the house of God with so dignity,clearly explains Allah's message that every human being is equal in the eyes of God. See, black. brown, whites , poor, rich all are equally doing the same thing,there is no distinction.no one is high no one is law, hasn't God said that? "AIK HI SAF MAIN KHAREY HOGAYE MEHMOOD O AYAAZ; NA KOYEE BANDAH RAHA AUR NA KOYEE BANDAH NAWAAZ; Yes and this act of Human beings is the confirmation of His message. Today we are going weak by disobeying His rules, due to our prejudices and greed,to live in this world like kings, there is no concept of any kingdom in Islam, but caliphate , we should pray to Allah in this day to help us bring back the true Islamic system under one caliph.That is the only solution of today's Muslims frustration, and distance from the true message of Islam and reviving our real prestige,gaining sympathy and better relationship from other religions and people.INSAAN ZINDABAAD, ISLAM ZINDABAD, PAKISTAN ZINDABAD
To perform Hajj once in a lifetime is obligatory on all those Muslims who can afford it. It is an international manifestation of Islamic brotherhood and equality.
Subhan ALLAH
Subhan ALLAH
Subhan ALLAH Subhan ALLAH Subhan ALLAH
@ Sameer Usmani, There are many things to say but no one wants controversy on this day.
My parents are attending this grand ceremony, may Allah give us the strength to visit those places...
More than 13 hours have passed since the posting of this article and still only 1 comment. Astonishing, on a site where every passer by comments even if a tomato is crushed by a bearded man ! Wow !
Management of Hajj affairs by the Saudi government is highly commendable. Mashallah.
i pray to Allah to attend next year hajj exercise
Congratulations to all my Muslim brothers and sisters. Eid Mubarak...
“I am responding to your call, God,” over three million hajis chanting in unison.