Hajj without renunciation not a true Hajj
During his meeting with Iranian officials in charge of conducting and organizing the Hajj pilgrimage on May 6, 2024, Iran’s Leader of the Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei discussed the social aspect of Hajj and how Hajj should resemble Prophet Abraham’s (PBUH) firm stance against enemies of Allah, calling this year’s Hajj to be “a Hajj of renunciation” against those who show hostility and animosity toward Muslims, namely the Zionists and their supporters. In this interview, Sayyid Ahmad Suli, a Muslim scholar and preacher, provides a Qur’anic, historical, and political basis for Ayatollah Khamenei’s statement.
Considering that Hajj provides one of the largest platforms for solidarity and unity among the Islamic Ummah, how can this immense capacity of Hajj be best utilized to resolve the problems of the Islamic world?
This annual meeting, as the late founder of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stated, is a grand religious and political gathering. Unfortunately, today we are losing the opportunity that Islam has provided for us. Hajj, which should serve as a gathering where scholars, thinkers, intellectuals, and other Muslims of the Islamic Ummah come together to discuss the political, economic, and social conditions of their nations, the current and future challenges, and strategies to solve and overcome obstacles, has been turned into empty rituals and ceremonies devoid of their sublime content, and are held in an unproductive and useless manner.
As a matter of fact, the attempt to remove the social, cultural, educational, and political dimensions of religion, worship, and religious rituals like Hajj and limit them solely to the connection between the individual and their Lord is simply because the tyrants and court preachers have realized that religion is the monotheistic revolution of the prophets (PBUT) and is a program for change, reform, and commanding good and forbidding evil. This is the great danger that threatens the survival of the tyrants and their influence, control, and hegemony.
Hajj presents a unique opportunity for the Islamic Ummah, especially the pilgrims, to declare their support for the people of Gaza. What actions do you think can be taken in this regard during Hajj?
It is not appropriate or sufficient to express one’s disapproval, stance, hatred, and resentment in secret and in hidden corners or in closed rooms. Rather, what is necessary, correct, and beneficial is to do so loudly and publicly, in broad daylight, during busy times, and in the most crowded and populated areas. This will have a greater impact on people’s hearts and minds.
There is no doubt that this scene of general unity among the Muslims and the declaration of the renunciation of the polytheists, the arrogant, the devils, and the oppressors of the world, led by the Great Satan America and its impure protégé Israel, are some of the most prominent and important benefits that Muslims from all corners of the world will witness in Holy Mecca and the venerated places.
Supporting the Gaza Strip is a religious duty, and it is by fulfilling this duty that Hajj is completed and accepted. Imam Khomeini said, “Certainly, a Hajj that has no spirit, and one that lacks movement and rising up [for what is right], a Hajj without renunciation, unity, and a Hajj that does not destroy disbelief and polytheism, is not Hajj.” Therefore, it is by aiding the oppressed and standing against oppression that Hajj becomes completed. Believing in monotheism means rejecting submission to the US and other world powers.
How important and necessary is it for Muslims to renounce the enemies of the Islamic Ummah, led by the United States and the Zionist regime, particularly during this year’s Hajj, which coincides with the genocide of Muslims in the Gaza Strip?
Renunciation of polytheism is a fundamental political obligation in Hajj, and if we do not adhere to it, our Hajj will not be complete. The Almighty Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “[This is] an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to all the people on the day of Hajj al-Akbar [the greater Hajj]: that Allah and His Messenger repudiate the polytheists” (9:3). This means that we must say “no” to all idols and tyrants and disavow all polytheists and oppressors. Imam Khomeini said, “Which idol can match the Great Satan and the world-devouring idols and tyrants, who summon all the oppressed of the world to prostrate to and worship them, and who consider all free servants of the Almighty Allah as their obedient subjects?”
Today, we see that the oppressed nations that are facing injustice, tyranny, murder, and war are standing against the arrogant powers and the tyrants and cursing them. Nations are demanding sanctions against the arrogant powers. You can see how they take to the streets to express revulsion and anger towards the inhumane actions of the oppressors. Today, the flags of the oppressors are burning on the streets.
Imam Khomeini taught us the authentic Islam of Muhammad and the necessity of disavowing the polytheists. Indeed, through these statements and through the Islamic and human values, as well as the revolutionary principles that the Imam explained to us, we come to understand the profoundness and accuracy of Imam Khamenei’s interpretation of him when he said, “We were dead. Imam Khomeini revived us!”
The full interview first appeared
on khamenei.ir.