FINE POINTS OF PROPRIETY; INTERNAL CONDUCT
The fine points of propriety are ten in number:
PURITY OF INTENTION AND MEANS
1. The Pilgrim should meet his expenses by lawful (Ḥalāl) means and should have his hands free of any worrisome and distracting business concerns, so that his attention may be devoted exclusively to God, Exalted is He, and his heart directed in tranquillity to the remembrance of God, Exalted is He, and the veneration of His holy rites.
According to a Tradition handed down by relatives of the Prophet, on him be peace: ‘At the end of the age, four classes of people will go on Pilgrimage: their rulers for the outing; their rich men for the trade; their poor men for the begging; their Quran-readers for the benefit of their reputations.’
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This indicates that all conceivable worldly purposes have some connection with the Pilgrimage. All of this negates the virtue of the Pilgrimage and depersonalises it, especially when the Pilgrimage itself is directly exploited by one who makes it on behalf of another in exchange for payment, seeking worldly gain by the work of the Hereafter. Pious and spiritual people disapprove of this, except where the intention of the person accepting payment is to settle in Makka and he lacks the means to get there; in that case there is no harm in it, the purpose being to use worldly means for religious ends and not vice-versa. In this instance his object must be to visit the House of God, Great and Glorious is He, while at the same time helping his Muslim brother by relieving him of his religious obligation. Relevant in this connection is the saying of God’s Messenger, on him be peace: ‘God, Glorified is He, admits three to Paradise for a single Pilgrimage: the testator who bequeaths it; the one who carries it out; and the one who performs it on behalf of his brother.’
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I am not saying that it is unlawful to make Pilgrimage on behalf of someone else, nor that one is forbidden to do so after having discharged one’s personal obligation as a Muslim. It is better not to
do so, however, and not to make it a livelihood and a business, for God, Great and Glorious is He, gives the world for religion, not religion for the world. According to the Tradition: ‘He who goes on campaign in the cause of God, Great and Glorious is He, and takes a wage, is like the mother of Moses, on him be peace, who suckled her child and took her wage.’
32 He who takes hire for the Pilgrimage is similarly comparable to the mother of Moses; there is no harm in his doing so, for he takes it in order to have the possibility of making the Pilgrimage and visiting the Holy Places. He does not go on Pilgrimage to get the hire, but the other way round, just as Moses’ mother accepted payment to facilitate her suckling by concealing her condition.
SHUNNING UNLAWFUL TAXES
2. The Pilgrim should not aid the enemies of God, Glorified is He, by paying tolls to those Makkan chiefs who bar the way to the Sacred Mosque, or Bedouin who lurk along the road. To pay these people is to encourage tyranny and to make it easy for them, for it is like giving them moral support. The Pilgrim should therefore devise some means of escape from such payment. If he is not capable of this, then according to some scholars (and it is not a bad opinion) it is better to turn back and abandon non-obligatory Pilgrimage rather than give assistance to tyrants, for this is an heretical innovation and acquiescence would tend to give it the force of custom. This form of taxation is degrading and humiliating to the Muslims.
There is no sense in saying: ‘I had to pay up under duress.’ If one had stayed at home or turned back one would not have had to pay a thing. Actually, a display of affluence sometimes provokes a lot of demands, whereas these would not arise if one dressed like the poor people; you may have only yourself to blame for putting yourself in a situation of duress.
MODERATION IN EXPENDITURE
3. Liberality in provision and magnanimity in outlay and expenditure, steering a middle course between stinginess and extravagance. I mean the lavish indulgence in exquisite food and drink, characteristic of the opulent. But heavy expense in giving generously is not extravagance, for there is no goodness in immoderation and no immoderation in goodness. Outlay on provision for the Pilgrimage is expenditure in the way of God, Great and Glorious is He, and every penny of it is worth seven hundred. Said Ibn ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him and with his father: ‘Part of nobility consists in making generous provision for one’s journey.’ He also used to say: ‘The most virtuous Pilgrim is he whose intention is most sincere, his expenditure most proper and his conviction most certain.’
The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘For the Pilgrimage that is blessed there is no reward but Paradise.’ When he was asked: ‘O Messenger of God, what makes a Pilgrimage blessed?’ he replied: ‘Speaking well and feeding the poor.’
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FORSAKING EVIL CONDUCT
4. Forsaking indecency, immorality and wrangling, as spoken of in the Quran. Indecency is a general term, covering all nonsensical, foul and obscene language and including flirtation and dalliance with women as well as discussion of sexual intercourse and its preliminaries. Such talk excites the urge to unlawful intercourse, and incitement to what is forbidden is itself forbidden.
Immorality is another general term, covering all departures from obedience to God, Great and Glorious is He.
Wrangling is excessive quarrelling and argument, causing ill-will, distracting from noble purpose and incompatible with good character. As Sufyān said: ‘Indecent behaviour vitiates one’s Pilgrimage.’ God’s Messenger, on him be peace, set decent speech on a par with providing food as a cause of blessedness in the Pilgrimage, and quarrelling is incompatible with decent speech. One should therefore refrain from raising frequent objections against one’s fellow traveller, the camels and one’s other companions; rather should one take things gently, sheltering others beneath one’s wing along the way to the House of God, Great and Glorious is He. Good conduct is essential, and good conduct means putting up with painful things rather than trying to repel them. They say that the Arabic word for ‘journey’ is safar because it reveals (yusfiru ‘an) a person’s character. That is why ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, asked someone who claimed to know a man: ‘Have you accompanied him on a journey that would show up his good qualities?’ Since the answer was no, he told him: ‘Then I don’t see how you can know him!’
GOING ON FOOT
5. Those who are able should make the Pilgrimage on foot, for this is the most meritorious way. At his death, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, may God be pleased with him and with his father, bequeathed this advice to his sons: ‘My sons, go on foot when you make the Pilgrimage, because for every step the Pilgrim takes while walking he earns seven hundred of the bounties of the Sanctuary.’ When asked what these bounties were, he replied: ‘One good deed in the Sanctuary is rewarded a hundred thousand-fold.’
Walking between the various Hajj rituals, and when going to and fro between Makka, ‘Arafāt and Minā, is even more strongly recommended than on the road to Makka. Going on foot, in conjunction with putting on the Iḥrām (entering the state of consecration) on leaving home, is said by some to constitute completion of Pilgrimage. Such was the construction put by ‘Umar, ‘Alī and Ibn Mas’ūd, may God be pleased with them, on the words of God, Great and Glorious is He:
‘Complete the Pilgrimage and Visitation for God.’ [al-Baqarah, 2:196]
(Wa-atimmū-lḥajja wa-l’umrata lillāh.)
On the other hand, some scholars maintain that transport is better, in view of the outlay and provision involved and because it is less disturbing and painful and more conducive to a safe completion of the Pilgrimage.
This second opinion does not really contradict the first; one must consider which applies to a particular case. It is said that for one who can easily walk it is better that he do so, whereas transport would be preferable if he were weak, and if going on foot might affect him badly and restrict him in the performance of his duties. There is a parallel here with Fasting, which is better kept up even by the traveller and the invalid, unless it would cause weakness and bad temper.
A certain scholar was asked whether, in the Visitation (‘Umra), one should go on foot or spend a little money on hiring a donkey. He replied that if one is more attached to the money, it is better to hire the donkey than to walk. But if walking is the more serious matter, as for the rich, then walking is to be preferred. There is something to be said for this view, which seems to make it a question of self-discipline. The best course of all, however, is to walk and spend the money on charity; this is superior to spending it on hiring a donkey. But for those who are incapable of giving up both personal comfort and their money, the opinion cited above is not inappropriate.
MODESTY AND SIMPLICITY OF TRANSPORT
6. The Pilgrim should take a simple riding-beast for transport, abstaining from being carried in a litter unless there is reason to fear that he could not ride the animal. There are two considerations here: (a) sparing the camel from the pain of bearing the litter; (b) avoiding an air of ostentatious luxury. God’s Messenger, on him be peace, made the Pilgrimage on a riding camel, with a worn saddle and tattered pad, the cost of it being four dirhams.
34 He made circumambulation on the camel, so that people could observe his comportment and conduct.
35 The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘Take your rituals from me.’
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They say these camel-litters were an innovation introduced by Pilgrims over the protests of the scholars of the day. Sufyān al-Thawrī reports his father as saying: ‘En route from Kūfa to Qādisīya, bound for the Pilgrimage, I caught up with travelling companions from many lands. All the Pilgrims I saw had beasts of burden, animals carrying luggage, and riding-camels; among them all I spotted no more than two litters.’ When Ibn ‘Umar noticed the new styles and the litters introduced by the Pilgrims, he would say: ‘Few Pilgrims, many riders!’ Then he would look at a poor man, shabbily dressed and mounted atop some sacks, and say: ‘This is the cream of the Pilgrims!’
SHABBINESS IN DRESS AND APPEARANCE
7. The Pilgrim should be shabbily dressed, dishevelled and dusty, not over-adorned nor inclined to things that excite vainglory and rivalry, thereby enrolling among the arrogant and the opulent and parting company with the weak, the poor and the righteous. For God’s Messenger, on him be peace, ordained dishevelment and inconspicuousness
37 and banned indulgence and luxury, according to the Tradition of Faḍāla ibn ‘Ubayd.
38 As another Tradition puts it: ‘The Pilgrim is nothing if not dishevelled and unkempt.’
39 According to yet another: ‘God, Exalted is He, says: “Look at the visitors to My House; they come to Me, dishevelled and dusty, from every deep ravine.”’
40 God, Exalted is He, said:
‘Then let them finish their unkemptness …’ [al-Ḥajj, 22:29]
(Thumma la-yaqḍū tafathahum.)
‘Unkemptness’ means dishevelment and dustiness, and it is disposed of by shaving, trimming the moustache and clipping the nails. ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may God be pleased with him, wrote to the army commanders: ‘Be smooth and be rough!’ i.e. wear worn-out clothes and manage things roughly.
It has been said that the best Pilgrims are those from the Yemen, on account of their humble and gentle ways and because they follow the example set by the elders.
Red is to be avoided, especially in attire, as is commonplace notoriety. It is related that God’s Messenger, on him be peace, was once on a journey when his Companions made a halt. As the camels were grazing, he noticed the red cloth on their humps. The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘I see this colour red has got the better of you!’
41 Said the Companions: ‘We therefore got up and removed the red cloth from their backs, until some of the camels bolted.’
KINDNESS TO BEASTS OF BURDEN
8. The Pilgrim must be kind to animals, taking care not to overload them. It is beyond their capacity to carry a litter, and
sleeping in one imposes an intolerable weight. Pious people would not sleep on the back of an animal, unless they happened to doze off while riding. Nor would they stay mounted for long while the animal was kept standing. The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘Don’t treat the backs of your animals as chairs!’
42 It is recommended that one dismount both morning and evening to give one’s beast a rest, following the Prophetic example and the precedents of the elders.
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One of the elders used to take an animal on hire with the stipulation that he would not dismount. Having paid the full price of hire, he would then get off the beast in order to do it a kindness, one that would be counted among his good deeds and weighed in his scale of the balance, not that of the owner.
Whoever harms a dumb creature and overloads it will be called to account for this on the Day of Resurrection. As he was dying, Abūl Dardā’ said to a camel of his: ‘Camel, do not complain of me to your Lord, for I have never overloaded you.’
In short, in every warm heart there lies a reward, so the right of the beast and the right of the hirer should both be respected; to dismount for a spell provides the animal with relief and pleases its hirer at the same time. A man once said to Ibn al-Mubārak: ‘Carry this letter for me and deliver it.’ But he replied: ‘Let me first check with the camel-driver, for I have taken the animal on hire.’ Note how cautious he was even about taking with him a virtually weightless letter! This is the prudent approach to piety, for once a door is ajar it gradually opens wider.
SACRIFICING ANIMALS
9. The Pilgrim ought to shed the blood of a sacrificial animal, even if it is not strictly incumbent upon him to do so, endeavouring to find a fine fat creature for the purpose. If the offering is voluntary he should eat some of it, but not if it is an obligatory sacrifice.
* The words of God, Exalted is He:
‘That … And whoever venerates God’s consecrated offerings,’ [al-Ḥajj, 22:32]
(Dhālika wa-man yu‘aẓẓim sha‘ā’ira-llāh.)
have been interpreted as referring to the choice of a fine fat sacrificial animal.
It is preferable to drive the offering in from the assembly point, provided this is not too inconvenient and troublesome. One should refuse to pay sales-taxes, for three things get over-priced and reprehensibly taxed: offerings, sacrificial slaughterings and slaves to be emancipated, since the best of these are the costliest and most precious to their owners.
According to Ibn ‘Umar, ‘Umar, may God be pleased with both father and son, was going to sacrifice a Bactrian camel. He was offered a price of three hundred dinars, so he asked God’s Messenger, on him be peace, if he should sell it and use the money to buy several other animals, but he told him not to do that, saying: ‘No, sacrifice it!’
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The reason for this is that a little of what is excellent is better than much that is inferior. Thirty beasts could have been purchased for the three hundred dinars, which would have represented a lot of meat. But the meat is not the object. The object is to purify the soul, to cleanse it of stinginess and to adorn it with the beauty of reverence for God, Great and Glorious is He, for:
‘Their flesh and blood do not reach God, yet your devotion reaches Him.’ [al-Ḥajj, 22:37]
This devotion is shown by regard for excellence of quality in the value, be the quantity great or small.
When God’s Messenger, on him be peace, was asked what makes for a blessed Pilgrimage, he said: ‘al-’ajj wa-lthajj (clamour and torrent).’
45 ‘Clamour’ refers to the loud voice used in calling: ‘Labbayk’ (‘Doubly at Your service, Lord!’), while ‘torrent’ refers to the flow of blood at the slaughter of a sacrifice. ‘Ā’isha, may God be pleased with her, relates that God’s Messenger, on him be peace, said: ‘No human action on the day of slaughter is dearer to God, Great and Glorious is He, than the shedding of blood, for it will come on the Day of Resurrection with its horns and its hooves; the blood will fall to some point at which God, Great and Glorious is He, will stop it reaching the ground. So rejoice with it!’
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According to another Tradition: ‘There is a bounty for you in every hair of its hide, and every drop of its blood counts as a good deed to be weighed in the balance, so be of good cheer!’
47 The Prophet, on him be peace, said also: ‘Seek the aid of your sacrificial offerings, for they will be your mounts on the Day of Resurrection.’
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EQUANIMITY
10. The Pilgrim should face with equanimity the expense he incurs to provision himself and acquire an offering, as well as any financial or physical loss or mishap that may befall him, for that is one of the signs that his Pilgrimage is accepted. Misfortune on the way to Pilgrimage is equated with expenditure in the cause of God, Great and Glorious is He, every penny being worth seven hundred. It is comparable to the rigours encountered en route to the Jihad, so for every hardship endured and for every loss suffered there is a recompense and nothing is lost in the sight of God, Great and Glorious is He.
One indication that a Pilgrimage has been accepted, they say, is when a Pilgrim abandons his sinful ways, exchanging his idle companions for righteous brothers, and forsaking haunts of frivolity and heedlessness in favour of gatherings for remembrance and vigilance.