Hajj pilgrimage

In view of concerns for the health of pilgrims, the Saudi government has asked intending Hajj pilgrims to defer pilgrimage plans till the coronavirus pandemic situation improves. It has asked governments across the world to track the pandemic before entering into contract with Hajj travel operators. Riyadh’s advice on this year’s Hajj pilgrimage is in line with religious injunctions. Islam enjoins upon its followers not to intentionally put life in danger in such situations as the one caused by highly contagious pandemics like the present one.

The entire humanity is facing a dangerous situation. Given the highly infectious nature of coronavirus and the fact that there is no cure for Covid-19, the best option to protect from the virus is to practise social distancing. So it becomes necessary not to assemble at one place in large numbers. The Saudi government, like governments elsewhere, too is taking all steps in this direction. It has earlier banned Umrah pilgrimage, imposed lockdown in its big cities and stopped inbound and outbound commercial flights. These measures are in accordance with religious injunctions, so they have got the full backing of religious scholars. Last week Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt issued a fatwa asking the faithful not to congregate in large numbers. Since the learned Ulema of Al Azhar, a highly-regarded centre of Islamic scholarship and learning, have issued the decree, people are following it. One should not doubt the authenticity of the decree issued by the learned scholars of Al Azhar.

After the spread of coronavirus picked up pace in the third week of March, we see streets and roads in cities across the world deserted. Now more than one third of the world is in lockdown. In Saudi Arabia, 1,563 people have been infected and 10 have died from the virus. There is an Arabic proverb: He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2020.

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