When our good qualities are balanced against our bad ones, the latter will outweigh the former. One of the positive elements of the hajj is that Muslims have the opportunity to see their own condition as it is.For the hajj, a believer should have some level of wealth, as pilgrimage to Mecca is not compulsory for the poor. It follows that financial conditions of hajjis (pilgrims) are above average. In theory, people with good incomes are supposed to have better behavior and attitudes both toward themselves and other people. They are expected to be refined and to be aware of rules and customs, following them in their daily lives. However, one can observe only a very small subset of these refinements among hajjis.
The streets are replete with the poor and beggars. Seeing them, a hajji cannot concentrate on worship. The Prophet of this religion, which upholds justice and humane living, said, “He has not affirmed faith in me (i.e., he is not a true follower) who eats to his satisfaction and sleeps comfortably at night while his neighbor goes hungry -- and he is aware of it.” However, in these holy lands, the hungry are living side by side with those who eat to their satisfaction. These words from the Prophet seem to have only minor effects on the lives of Muslims today. Behind certain districts in the Muslim cities lies a vast sea of slums. The people coming to Mecca and Medina from all parts of the world are living in misery. With sunken cheeks, they look with imploring eyes at even a small piece of bread.
Poverty is not the only problem. The quality of life, too, is low. One may realize in astonishment that it would seem as if we had done whatever was against the injunctions of this religion. Islam explicitly and insistently prescribes cleanliness. “Faith entails cleanliness,” is a well-known and frequently referenced hadith. However, Mecca becomes a messy and filthy place during the pilgrimage. The streets are filled with dirt and trash. Despite the sacredness of the place, all sorts of dirt and filth are everywhere, breaching holiness. People’s clothing is dirty and untidy. Tens of thousands of people are lying on the ground. For instance, as you travel from Al ‘Aziziyah to Mina, you pass through a sea of garbage and you have walk carefully in order not to step on the people lying on the ground. Some people are eating from rice placed on a plastic rug on the ground with their hands and then wiping their hands on their clothes. Garbage bins are placed at 10-meter intervals, but no one uses them. Minutes after sidewalks are cleaned, they are dirtied once again. While two-way paths have been designated for those coming and going and frequent announcements are made about them, no one seems to abide by any of such rules in the city.
The Saudi administration provides uninterrupted water and lavatory services. It is possible to access hot water everywhere. In the face of all these great services, Muslims seem to shun cleanliness. How can we expect to attain spiritual purity without physical cleanliness?
The hajj is the mirror of the Islamic world. Muslims from all corners of the world are coming together during the pilgrimage, but they hardly interact with each other or exchange opinions, as intended by this practice. Even groups of hajjis from individual countries remain in these isolated worlds. It seems as if some unspoken policies are being followed and that every country is trying to impose some national identity on its hajjis and isolate them from the hajjis of other countries. Yet, it is the intended purpose of the pilgrimage to ensure that Muslims can discuss their problems with each other and try to find solutions to them. In a sense, the hajj is a conference for Muslims scattered around the world where they can freely negotiate their issues once a year. Therefore, the hajj is a great opportunity.
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