5 Things Will
Change in
Ramadan 2020
Because of
Coronavirus
1. The
prayers and
lockdown
This year,
Muslims would be
prevented from
praying at
mosques.
Congregation
prayers are even
banned in the
Gulf countries
as people
gatherings are
strictly not
recommended
these days.
2. No i’tikaf
within mosques
during Ramadan
2020
As mosques would
be kept closed,
people won’t be
able to follow
i’tikaf at their
local mosques.
But women would
be still able to
perform i’tikaf
prayers as they
follow most of
the religious
prayers within
their houses.
3. There
won’t be any
social
gatherings
Also, people
won’t be able to
have gatherings
and eat with
their friends
and
acquaintances.
Eid shopping
will also be
impacted. We
won’t be able to
meet our
relatives after
watching the
sight of the
moon in order to
felicitate them
about Ramadan.
4. 27th
Ramadan
27th Ramadan,
which is the
night of
blessings, won’t
also be as
regular as it
was. Amid the
lockdown to stay
socially
distant,
lightening or
the sermons at
homes or at the
mosques won’t be
possible.
5. The
Taraweeh prayers
With regards to
the ban on
congregational
prayers, the
Taraweeh prayers
also wouldn’t
stay intact.
Sadly,
“Taraweeh” in
Ramadan 2020,
which are the
special evening
prayers, won’t
be followed
within the
mosques.
Thereby we can
also conclude
that we shall
observe a
different Eid
day too, this
year. The
contagious viral
pandemic has
changed our
lives in all the
aspects that one
isn’t able to
predict the
future.
We must be
prepared for the
unpredictable as
there are
currently no
cure and drugs
for coronavirus.
Muslims are only
left with an
option to pray
inside their
houses and ask
Allah for His
forgiveness.
We are suggested
to seek Allah’s
mercy to get
through these
difficult times.
THE ISLAMIC
INFORMATION
If Saudi Arabia
is forced to put
the Hajj on
hold, it will
not be without
precedent
|
An aerial view
shows an empty
white-tiled area
surrounding the
Kaaba in
Makkah's Grand
Mosque on March
6, 2020.
|
JEDDAH: Will the
Hajj, which
draws millions
of Muslims
annually to
Islam’s
birthplace in
Saudi Arabia, be
suspended this
year owing to
the global
coronavirus
pandemic?
That question
had been
uppermost in the
minds of
millions of
Muslims
worldwide even
before a Saudi
official asked
them to put on
hold any plans
to perform the
obligatory
pilgrimage,
scheduled to
begin in late
July.
“We’ve asked our
Muslim brothers
around the world
to wait” before
making Hajj
plans “until
there’s
clarity,” Dr.
Muhammad Salih
bin Taher Banten,
minister of Hajj
and Umrah, told
state-run Al-Ekhbariya
TV in comments
on March 31 that
quickly bounced
around the
world.
He added: “We've
asked the world
not to rush with
regards to Hajj
groups until the
path of the
epidemic becomes
clear, keeping
in mind the
safety of
pilgrims and
public health as
a priority.”
Saudi Arabia’s
Ministry of
Health has taken
the whole gamut
of precautionary
measures to
control the
spread of
COVID-19
infection in
Makkah and
Madinah, yet a
total of more
than 480 active
cases have been
reported in the
two holy cities
so far.
Last month, the
Kingdom
suspended the
Umrah pilgrimage
until further
notice, halted
all
international
passenger
flights
indefinitely,
and blocked the
entry and exit
to several
cities,
including Makkah
and Madinah.
There have been
25 deaths
reported among
more than 2,000
COVID-19 cases
in Saudi Arabia.
In actual fact,
the pilgrimage
has experienced
disruptions
through the
centuries due to
circumstances
beyond the
control of Hajj
authorities.
According to a
report published
by the King
Abdul Aziz
Foundation for
Research and
Archives (Darah),
the first time
the Hajj was
interrupted was
in 930 AD when
the Qarmatians,
a syncretic
branch of
Sevener Ismaili
Shiite Islam
that revolted
against the
Abbasid
Caliphate,
attacked
pilgrims on the
eighth day of
Hajj.
The report says
the Qarmatians,
convinced that
performing the
Hajj was an act
of idolatry,
killed more than
30,000 pilgrims
that year,
desecrated
Makkah’s Zamzam
well with
corpses, and ran
off with the
Black Stone of
the Kaaba back
to Hajr (Qatif
nowadays), their
capital on the
Arabian Gulf at
that time.
On account of
the bloody
assault, the
Hajj was not
performed for
another 10
years, according
to the Darah
report.
The next
disruption
happened in 968
AD, says the
report, citing
Ibn Kathir’s
book “Al-Bidaya
wan-Nihayah.” It
said a disease
spread inside
Makkah and
claimed the
lives of many
pilgrims.
At the same
time, camels
used for
transporting
pilgrims to
Makkah died
owing to a
scarcity of
water.
“Many of those
who managed to
reach Makkah
safely could not
live long after
Hajj for the
same reason,”
according to the
Darah report
Among those who
came to Makkah
to perform the
Hajj in
significant
numbers were
Egyptians.
But in 1000 AD,
they could not
afford to
undertake the
journey because
of the high cost
of living in the
country that
year.
Some 29 years
later, no
pilgrims from
the East or
Egypt came for
the Hajj.
According to the
Darah report, in
1030 only a few
Iraqi pilgrims
managed to reach
Makkah to
perform the
Hajj.
Nine years
later, Iraqi,
Egyptian,
Central Asian
and north
Arabian Muslims
were unable to
perform the
Hajj.
Dr. Emad Taher,
head of the
history
department at
King Abdul Aziz
University, said
the reason was
political unrest
and sectarian
tensions.
Similarly, no
one performed
the Hajj in 1099
owing to fear
and insecurity
across the
Muslim world as
a result of
wars.
Some five years
before the
Crusaders seized
Jerusalem in
1099, lack of
unity among
Muslim rulers of
the Arab region
meant that no
Muslims could
manage to reach
Makkah to
perform the
Hajj.
In 1168,
Egyptians found
themselves
locked in
confrontation
with Kurdish
Commander
Asaduddin
Shirkuh, who was
hoping to extend
the Zangid
dynasty to
Egypt. The
situation
naturally did
not allow
Egyptians to
perform the
Hajj.
The pilgrimage
was again
disrupted in the
13th century.
The Darah report
says no people
from outside the
Hijaz region
could perform
the Hajj between
1256 and1260.
French leader
Napoleon
Bonaparte’s
military
campaign in the
Ottoman
territories of
Egypt and Syria
from 1798 to
1801 made the
standard routes
to Makkah unsafe
for pilgrims.
More than two
centuries on, a
global pandemic
has cast a huge
shadow of
uncertainty on
the Islamic
pilgrimage.
Hani Nasira, an
Egyptian
academic and
writer, said if
COVID-19 cases
worldwide
continue to
increase, a
decision to halt
the Hajj should
come as no
surprise.
“If imposed,
such a decision
will be wise and
in full
compliance with
the Islamic
Shariah, which
basically aims
to protect and
preserve
peoples’ lives,”
he told Arab
News.
“In the Holy
Qur’an, Allah
says, ‘and do
not kill
yourselves.’
Also, the
Prophet Muhammad
warned his
companions
against
epidemics.
“Abdulrahman bin
Awf narrated
that the Prophet
Muhammad had
said, ‘if you
hear of an
outbreak of a
plague in a
land, do not
enter it; but if
that epidemic
breaks out in a
place while you
are in it, do
not leave that
place.’ This
Hadith shows the
significance of
avoiding
plagues.”
Nasira noted
that the
COVID-19
outbreak has
claimed
thousands of
lives across the
world and shows
no sign of
abating.
“The whole world
is suffering
from the swift
spread of the
coronavirus,
which has filled
people
everywhere with
unprecedented
dread,” he told
Arab News.
“With scientists
having little
information
about the virus,
a cure isn’t
likely to come
out soon, so the
continuation of
the situation
makes suspending
the Hajj
necessary to
protect lives.”
Nasira drew
attention to the
fact that some
Muslim
countries,
including Iran
and Turkey, are
among the
biggest
casualties of
the pandemic.
“We don’t want
to add fuel to
the fire. It’s
illogical, and
Islam also never
accepts or
approves that.
If I were a
mufti, I
wouldn’t
hesitate to call
for a
suspension,” he
said.
Ahmed Al-Ghamdi,
a researcher of
Islamic studies,
pointed out that
the Hajj is not
a limited ritual
in the sense
that it can be
carried out at
least once in
the lifetime of
an adult Muslim.
“Performing the
Hajj isn’t
limited to a
specific time.
An adult Muslim
can perform the
Hajj whenever he
or she likes
once they’ve
reached the age
of discretion,”
he told Arab
News.
“Prophet
Muhammad, for
instance, didn’t
perform the
pilgrimage in
the first year
the Hajj became
a duty. He made
his Hajj a year
later,” said Al-Ghamdi,
who specializes
in Hadith and
Islamic
sciences. Like
Nasira, he
maintains that
Islamic Shariah
strongly backs
public interest
and wellbeing.
“In case of dire
necessity, such
as because of
the spread of
the coronavirus
disease,
political
reasons or
security
compulsions, the
Hajj can be
suspended and
this doesn’t
contradict
Islamic
teachings,” Al-Ghamdi
said. “The
Almighty has
ordered us to
not expose
ourselves to
danger.”
Moreover, Al-Ghamdi
said, the Hajj
is founded in
reason and
logic, so if
health officials
find that a
contagious
sickness can
cause deaths,
preserving
people’s lives
is more
important than
the pilgrimage
itself. “Nothing
is wrong with
this line of
reasoning in
Islamic Shariah,”
he added.
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August 2011