CORONAVIRUS: HAJJ CANCELLED?

In my previous article about coronavirus, I belittled this global pandemic and made it sound like some sort of mass paranoia. Like Elon Musk, I was stupid enough to believe the death toll of this virus is barely 2% so it isn't as dangerous as people are making it look like. I made fun of people behaving erratically and trying to protect themselves from this disease by hoarding toilet paper. I didn't realize it would gradually become one of the worst epidemics humanity has ever faced. Therefore, I need to write this blog to have my software updated.

The entire world is worried about coronavirus. People have started to believe that this is the end of the world. Specially Muslims. They aren't whispering in each other's years rather yelling at the top of their voices about how this is one of the signs of the destruction of our species. Muslims are expecting to see some sort of end of the world scenario as they watched portrayed in typical Hollywood Armageddon or zombie apocalypse movies. All humans will die, they say. As proof, they show us how mosques are being locked down, shrines are being quarantined and even the Baytullah (House of God) is closed for the masses. It's a sign of the qayamah, people cry.

In fact, it's not the first time Baytullah is being shut down. Many times in history there have been instances when the great festival of Mecca was cancelled due to some expected or unforeseen event. Last time, the Islamic pilgrimage was cancelled because of Napoleon's presence in nearby Egypt. We can even trace such instances to the beginning of the history of Islam. During the tenure of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah (the Caliph who had Muhammad's grandson Husayn murdered), Abdullah ibn Zubayr claimed to be the khalifah and Yazid sent Husayn ibn Numayr - an Umayyad general - to sack Mecca and force Ibn Zubayr's allegiance. Previously, Yazid's foremost and most trusted general/governor Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad the Bastard (yeah, Ziyad was the illegitimate son of Abu Sufyan!) had perpetrated the massacre of Karbala. Then the people of Medina revoked their allegiance to Yazid so the Caliph sent Muslim ibn Uqbah to teach them a lesson. Hence, during Husayn ibn Numayr's sack of Mecca, Baytullah - the most sacred temple in the land of Arabia - was under siege as well. After the death of Yazid, Marwan was elected as their nominee for the office of Caliphate by Umayyads in Syria. Marwan could only reign for nine months (before being murdered in his sleep by Yazid's ex-wife whom he had married). So, he was succeeded by Abd al-Malik, his child. Abd al-Malik's trusted general/governor Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi - the fiercest and the cruelest guy in the history of Umayyad Empire - sacked Mecca and actually bombarded the Baytullah. 

In 930 CE, Qarmatians attacked Mecca and stole the Black Stone (Hijr e Aswad in Arabic), the sacred rock that Muslims believed fell from the heavens with Adam. Hajj was reportedly cancelled for about 10 years because a pilgrim had to necessarily see/touch the stone to complete his hajj. Some say the Hijr e Aswad was in their possession for more than two decades before the Fatimid Caliph - whom they considered to be their religious leader (imam) if not the political one - threatened them with curses. We - the Ahlul Bayt shall curse you forever if you refuse to return the Black Stone. This trick worked like magic and now we have the sacred rock back in its deserving place. Alhamdulillah!

So, you can see how hajj has been cancelled multiple times during the course of history. If Saudi Arabia cancels it again in 2020 CE, nobody needs to bat an eye. God doesn't want us to perform hajj if there is some threat. There is even an weak (da'if) hadith recorded by Darimi in his al-Musnad al-Jami about it. Let me rephrase it here with my poor translation skills.

We were told by Yazid ibn Harun who was reported by Shurayk who was reported by Layth who was reported by Abd al-Rahman ibn Sabit who was reported by Abu Umamah who narrated that Allah's Apostle said: 

Whoever is not stopped from (performing) pilgrimage by an apparent need or an oppressive ruler or debilitating disease and he doesn't perform pilgrimage, he can die either a Christian or a Jew.

(Musnad al-Darimi 1937)

I know that this report is weak but we can see how it relates to human reason. Hajj only becomes obligatory when you are able to perform it. You must be a free adult who can afford the journey both physically and economically. Saudi Arabian government has previously asked elder Muslims not to come for hajj in 2013 CE because of MERS. MERS is another form of coronavirus that lasted for a year or so. It didn't kill as much people as COVID-19 is killing right now.

So, if the hajj gets cancelled, it's not a sign of doomsday. As a matter of fact, the doomsday everyone is talking about is actually Qayamah Sughra or the Minor Doomsday. It will be preceded by Qayamah Kubra or the Major Doomsday. To tell you the truth, we are currently passing through the Major Doomsday. So, no need to be scared of the end, bros! We are living in it. Peace!