Of rituals and spirituality

The haj pilgrimage is something sacred. Personally, I feel that it is more than a vacation for the heart; away from the daily distractions of life. It is the opportunity to be closer to God and feel God’s divine presence.

Many family members and friends who have performed the haj returned with stories that warm the heart.

It allows those who have yet to gain the opportunity of performing the sacred rituals something to aspire to.

The best I can describe it is the same avalanche of feelings that would quiver the heart as having attended a Qawwal performance by Mehr and Sehr Ali, which I attended at Dewan Sivik MBPJ recently courtesy of Pusaka.

I must admit that I have been scared to perform the mini-version, the umrah, and more so the haj itself. Until today, I still feel that I am not ready to let my heart be simultaneously broken and healed by the spiritual nearness of being with God.

Performing the haj is more than fulfilling another pillar of being a Muslim. I see it as a gateway to improve the understanding of my own religion, being able to focus on a spiritual journey and reassessing my own daily practice as a human being.

Yet, reading about the constructions that are ongoing in and around the holy city and the recent news on the fatalities following the stampede – I wonder if we humans have forgotten about the spiritual aspect of haj.

Following the news of the crane collapse on September 12 that left 10 Malaysians injured and a total of 107 human lives lost, I saw many comments on social media that stated, “it would be an honour to die in Mecca.”

I cannot fathom this idea. Should not we as human beings aspire instead to die having done our best to live our lives rather than dying in a specific location?

I understand the spiritual pull of a place like Mecca, but surely, we can see this incident objectively and take precautionary actions to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

For a start, why was there no barricade to the construction area? Was there a safety impact assessment done prior to the constructions?

Why was the construction still ongoing very close to the high season of haj?

There have been many reports on the development of Mecca. The most critical article that I have read came from The Independent.

I also came across comments on social media that state how we Muslims should not criticise the way Mecca is being developed and how we should protect the sanctity of the city.

I have to disagree with such comments and instead would like to encourage Muslims the world over to petition for a better management and preservation of our holy site.

From what I learnt through my religious classes when I was young, performing the haj should humble humans.

Wearing simple clothing, i.e. “kain ihram” for the males, designate how we humans should lead simple lives. Wearing white for most if not all pilgrims symbolise not only the aspiration to purity but also equality.

When did performing the haj became a status symbol, where the rich would stay at six-star hotels and given privilege over the rest of the pilgrims?

There should be basic amenities, of course, especially for the thousands if not millions, of pilgrims that still travel by foot to the holy site.

But to segregate pilgrims according to what they can afford and providing luxury to the rich defies the equality of the pilgrimage, does it not? Lest we forget,

“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (s/he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)”. (Quran, 49:13, Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation)

The quota of annual visas for the pilgrimage is a measure for crowd control. The stampede that killed 717 pilgrims and injured 850 others is indeed a grievous incident.

Instead of appointing blame, can we not come with solutions for better crowd control in the future?

Would it be better to have reduced number of pilgrims? Would it be best to abolish all VIP treatments for certain pilgrims?

I am personally not ready to visit this holy site. Yet, I somehow care for it and I aspire to it. I would like to preserve the sanctity of it and visit it on a spiritual journey.

I cannot bear to see it desecrated by greed, or by the apparent weakness of humans who pride themselves that they are acting for God.

God does not need our protection. We humans need instead to reassess our priorities and our faith. – September 30, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.