Question: Considering
that Hajj is one of the greatest grounds of unity, cohesion and empathy
within the Islamic Ummah, how can this great capacity be utilized to
solve the problems of the Islamic world in the best possible way?
H. Kobaysi: Regarding
the first question, meeting other Muslims in Hajj is to get to know them
face-to-face and learn about their issues and the issues of their
countries, especially since many Muslims and many people in the new era
have their own personal interests or are engrossed in their own
interests and the internal affairs of their countries and do not care
about other Muslims and their issues. Therefore, Hajj is a suitable
platform for direct and mutual sympathy and to get to know one another
closely in order to exchange insights and opinions about the problems
and challenges.
Another issue is that Hajj, in essence,
is migration from one’s homeland and appealing to God, the Blessed and
Exalted, and freeing oneself from worldly matters for a short period of
time that people set to strive for Muslims. The Messenger of God (pbuh)
said in this regard: “Whoever dies while he had not strived for the
affairs of Muslims is not a Muslim.” Therefore, there is a spiritual and
unworldly atmosphere in Hajj that allows Muslims to pay attention to
general and comprehensive Islamic issues, and there is also an effective
factor in it, which is Muslims getting familiar with the breadth of the
Islamic world, the diversity of the Islamic world, and the greatness of
the Islamic world. People of different nationalities come to one place
and for one destination, one vision and one God, and therefore, they
break down the national, sectarian, language and ethnic barriers between
Muslims, and look at Islam as an element involved in all of the
individual, political and social issues, and also consider the Islamic
world to be one with a certain knowledge, ability, vision and a single
direction in terms of moral, spiritual, philosophical and legal aspects.
Question: Hajj is a
unique opportunity for the declaration of the support, of the Islamic
Ummah in general and the pilgrims in particular, for the people of Gaza.
In your view, what actions can be taken during Hajj to that end?
H. Kobaysi: The
gathering of Muslims in a place with this spirit and with these
psychological and social preparations enables many special activities as
well as public and group activities, since Hajj is like a public
meeting and gathering for all Muslims. They put aside their minor
affiliations, connect with the vast Islamic sea and make use of it to
create momentum and present an image to the whole world and other
civilizations. This image reflects the reality of Islamic civilization.
Hajj is a mutual identity and force in which pilgrims express their
moral and political positions through collective actions such as
demonstrations and marches of renunciation, as well as through meetings
of multinational groups to discuss the current issues of the Islamic
world, its problems and challenges, and cooperation to solve them, and
they benefit from different suggestions, ideas, cultures and experiences
in the Islamic world to solve these problems, and they can also use the
opportunities created by people of different countries, as well as
various solutions and approaches that can appear in such a large
meeting.
Question: If you
personally participated in this year’s Hajj, would you have taken any
action as one of the Hajj pilgrims in support of the Gaza Strip and
condemnation of the genocide of the US and the Zionist regime?
H. Kobaysi: Certainly,
taking part in this huge gathering provides the basis for that,
especially since among the pilgrims there are Palestinians who come from
different countries, as well as Muslims from different countries, in
particular from the countries that have not witnessed demonstrations and
movements, and where it is not possible to do activities in support of
Gaza or the Palestinian cause. This presence opens the door for us – and
any pilgrim who is interested in Muslim affairs – to raise these issues
in the presence of these groups. It also opens the door for exchanging
historical and political views, as well as enjoining one another to
follow truth and patience, commanding the good and forbidding the bad,
and calling for action in these countries based on their atmosphere.
The groups that participate in Hajj can
be active in collective actions to motivate and encourage Muslims to
fulfill their duties regarding the fundamental issues of the Islamic
world, the most important of which is the issue of Palestine and the
great war that is going on in Gaza and the West Asia region.
Question: What is the
significance of “renunciation of the enemies of the Islamic world” in
Hajj? In other words, how important is renunciation of the enemies of
the Islamic Ummah, led by the US and the Zionist regime, particularly in
this year’s Hajj, which is being held at the same time the genocide of
Muslims in the Gaza Strip is unfolding?
H. Kobaysi: Regarding
the fourth question, the renunciation approach completes monotheism.
When we say “There is no God but God”, we first and foremost reject the
Taghut (idols, tyrants, etc.); we reject the worship of the Taghut; we
reject the worship of any deity other than God Almighty. And the US,
global Zionism and the temporary Zionist entity are nothing but the
Taghut, which invites people to be silent before all moral abominations
and be silent in the face of the unprecedented and great crimes that are
happening in Gaza.
Renunciation is a condition and
necessity of this worship, and it is not possible for a person to
worship Almighty God and remain silent in the face of these crimes and
not sympathize with the residents of the Gaza Strip and the Muslims of
the Gaza Strip. Muslims [in Gaza] have been oppressed for many decades,
they love worshipping God and the Quran and read the Quran and memorize
it, they are undoubtedly the real oppressed people, and they need
spiritual and political support in all forms.
Therefore, this renunciation is not a
political activity on the sidelines of Hajj, but it is at the core of
Tawaf, at the core of worship, and at the core of Hajj rituals, and it
reflects the readiness of Muslims for self-devotion and confrontation.
With trust and confidence in Almighty God, renunciation [of polytheists]
shows their desire to devote themselves to the path of God and to
answer the divine call, self-devotion and jihad in the path of God, and
this Jihad and this self-devotion is the sacrifice that every pious
person makes, as stated in the holy Hadith: “Martyrdom is the sacrifice
of every pious person.”
Therefore, this renunciation is an
integral part of Hajj, and it is an integral part of the general
position of Islam and the general humanitarian position, which has gone
beyond the Islamic world in supporting the resistance of Gaza and
rejecting the ongoing crime in the Gaza Strip.
(The views expressed in this interview are interviewee’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of ABNA24.com.)/129
