Where Muslims fall short
Muslims need to re-evaluate the pilgrimage and ask whether they have met the ideals and objectives of the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is not about a set of rituals but about your soul being purified and returning home reborn as a new and different person.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The thing that impressed me most about the Hindus in Bali is not that they believe in karma but that they practice what they believe. Dharma is the primary concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism but unfortunately there is no single-word translation for that in the English language.
In Hinduism, dharma signifies behaviour that is considered in harmony with the order that makes life and the universe possible while in Buddhism dharma means cosmic law and order. In Jainism, dharma refers to the teachings of the Jinas and the body of doctrine pertaining to the purification and moral transformation of human beings while for Sikhs it means the path of righteousness.
Dharma is derived from the Sanskrit root word dhr, which means to hold, maintain or keep. I suppose in Islam that would be similar to akidah or the rope that binds us to the Creator.
Today, Muslims are in the Holy Land performing the pilgrimage. They start in Arafah where everyone is consider at par. There is no rich man or poor man and no kings and subjects. Every person is equal. Then they move to Mina where for three days they stone Satan, symbolically, of course. Then they adjourn to Mekah to complete the pilgrimage by circumambulating the Ka’ba and run between Safa and Marwah, symbolic of Hagar’s search for water for Ishmael.
After this pilgrimage you are supposed to have been purified. You start anew with a clean slate, a sort of born-again Muslim, and you repent by discarding your old ways, in particular your bad habits and sins.
It is almost like a reincarnation. You are reborn as a new person. You are no longer the old you but are now an absolutely different person. You have actually died and come back from the pilgrimage not the same person who left home weeks before.
Alas, not many Muslims ‘die’ during that pilgrimage, not meaning literally, of course, but figure of speech, although some do (actually die). Most return home the same (and sometimes worse) as before the pilgrimage.
The lust for power and wealth never left their hearts when they camped for 24 hours in Arafah. They never managed to stone the devil for three days in Mina. Satan is still very much their companion. Satan still seduces them with greed, power, riches, egotism, arrogance, jealousy, anger, and much more.
Muslims do not understand the Hindu concept of dharma or that karma awaits us for everything that we do. In that sense devout and practicing Hindus make better Muslims than Muslims themselves.
The Christians say do to others the same thing that you want others to do to you. Hindus say what you do to others is the same fate as what will befall you. Muslims have no problem doing whatever they want to others because they can always perform the pilgrimage and come back reborn and clean of all the sins that they did to others.
Christians believe that as long as you believe in and follow Jesus you will be guaranteed heaven and will be spared hell. Muslims believe that as long as you believe in and follow Muhammad you will be guaranteed heaven and will be spared hell. Hindus believe that heaven and hell is here on earth and whether your life is heaven or hell depends on how you treat others, animals and insects included.
Muslims need to re-evaluate the pilgrimage and ask whether they have met the ideals and objectives of the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is not about a set of rituals but about your soul being purified and returning home reborn as a new and different person.
The Muslim pilgrimage is actually about dharma. And this is where Muslims fall short on this day, Hari Raya Korban, the festival of the sacrifice.
