Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hameed started his recent Friday sermon by reading the Holy verses: «إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ* فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَّقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا وَلِلّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ الله غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِين» [آل عمران: 96-97]. Explaining the great status of Hajj in Islam, he mentioned Ka’bah as the revealing land and the centre of guidance for everyone.
The member of IUMS added more, “As the Qur’anic verse suggests, Ka’bah is the first worship place for Allah on the earth; it was built by Adam, peace be upon him, by direction of Gabriel. Allah has chosen this holy place for His worship; so it has been the centre of Muslims’ attention around the globe for centuries while offering prayers.”
Indicating to the history of Ka’bah in Makkah Mukarramah briefly, he said that after Prophet Adam, Prophet Abraham rebuilt the House of Allah. When beloved prophet Muhammad, peace & blessings be upon him, was young, Qureish changed the building of Ka’bah putting Hateem out of that which is part of Ka’bah. The companion of Holy Prophet, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, reinstructed the House of God, Ka’bah, according to the advice of Holy Prophet (PBUH). Hajjaaj bin Yousuf returned its building on the construction of Qureish. When Abbasid caliphs wanted to construct Ka’bah into method of Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Imam Malek issued a verdict (fatwa) forbidding Ka’bah’s reconstruction. He wanted to save Ka’bah from discrepancies of rulers.
Khateeb of Ahl-us-Sunnah expressed the valuable status of Ka’bah and Makkah among Muslims, saying, “Ka’bah is such a great place where superpowers enter humbly; they forget their power as tears fall down. It has many blessings and values; all sorts of outward and inward blessings of Allah can be seen in Makkah. All kinds of fruits from each season are available in Ka’bah; spiritually, there are 100,000 rewards for a prayer, Namaz, in Masjid-ul-Haram of Makkah.”
Describing the verses of Holy Qur’an in the Grand Makki Masjid of Zahedan, Shaikh Abdol-Hameed Ismaeelzahi urged that Allah Almighty had put Ka’bah a centre for the guidance of everyone. Millions of Muslims visit Ka’bah and carry out ritual worships; it is the guidance of Allah, they get benefits of this valuable place. People learn Hidayah (direction), sacrifice and the history of Abraham, Ishmael, Hajarah and the last messenger Muhammad, peace be upon all of them, in Makkah and Medina.
He underlined saying that Holy Qur’an was revealed in Hijaz; it was a school for Abraham, his son Ishmael and their grandson Muhammad, peace be upon them. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, Omar al-Farooq, Othman Ghani, Ali al-Mortadha and all other companions and household of the prophet studied in the same holy school.
The eminent Islamic scholar pointed out to the Hajj obligation, saying, “Hajj is a obligatory worship; whoever has enough tools, money, health and a way to Makkah and Medina, must travel to these holy places as soon as s/he can. Women can not go alone or along with non-Mahram men to Hajj; rather any of their first-number family members (brother, son, husband, father or nephew) should accompany them in Hajj trip.”
Mawlana Ismaeelzahi alluded to one of the Hajj’s rationales saying that Muslims meet each others on the Hajj season; they get information about the circumstances of each other which helps them to find a better solution for possible problems of the Muslim nation across the world. Hajj creates awareness and awakes Muslims; it is a very vital worship that makes Muslims unified.
He expressed his hope that banned Sunni citizens and scholars may get permission to perform Hajj this year without any obstacle.
Blasphemous campaigns awaken Muslims
At the end of his eloquent speech, Khateeb of Sunni Muslims pointed out to the recent anti-Islam film that insults Holy Prophet and said, “Burning copies of Holy Qur’an and affront to the last messenger beloved prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, by some Satanic elements should reinforce Muslims’ awakening and vigilance. These nefarious steps should ripple the ardor of Muslims; we should have more motivation for Allah’s worship day and night.