Is Hajj a pagan worship?

Question

The ritual of pilgrimage (Hajj) was a pre-Islamic practice, which we do not find in Christianity or Judaism. Islam adopted it in almost the same form as it was done before. Can someone explain to me that it is not a pagan worship? This would tell me that while pagans were doing everything wrong, this was the only thing they were doing right! but to the wrong person. How can they do such a complicated ritual right. Why Jews and Christian have no such practice, where does it come from?

My main question is in what way Hajj is not a pagan worship. Explain please.

Surely the Safa and the Marwa are among the signs appointed by Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or pays a visit (to it), there is no blame on him if he goes round them both; and whoever does good spontaneously, then surely Allah is Grateful, Knowing. Quran 2:158

Pilgrimage is commanded in the earlier scriptures (at least for the Jews). Could you elaborate on what exactly you mean by "a pre-islamic practice which we do not find in Christinity or Judaism". — goldPseudo, Nov 18 '12 at 03:54
while I do not know the full context of pre-islamic pilgrim, I would like know about 1 they kissed black stone. 2 they did tawaf. 3 they run between manat and safah. 4 they use stone to hit shaytan? 5 did they sacrifice animals 6 Did they shaved heads. I just made these point so that the answer can shed some light on these. — muslim1, Nov 18 '12 at 04:28
What do you mean by but to the wrong person. I edited your question and didn't seem to understand that part. So please see if you could improve that. — Noah, Nov 18 '12 at 13:49
to the wrong person mean to the idols not to the almighty God. — muslim1, Nov 18 '12 at 14:15
Actually this is not true to think like "while pagans were doing everything wrong, this was the only thing they were doing right" as Quran says also "... Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest ..." [2:275] approving all the trades of the pagans except for what they were doing which was called interest! The rules governing the trades were all intellectual, so Allah passed over all of them approving all except only one small part of it! See Allah was not going to change everything in the Pagans lives, but only those that were wrong! — owari, Nov 19 '12 at 06:16
Does the fact that pagans do something automatically make it wrong? The Nazis dramatically improved transportation in Germany. Does that mean roads are evil? — Daniel, Aug 15 '13 at 20:40
@Daniel my point is, Hajj has no roots in Judaism and Christianity but only in Pegans. That would make it purely pegan ritual and not really Islamic? — muslim1, Aug 16 '13 at 00:03
@Ifoundthetruth Why does the fact that pagans did it mean that it's not Islamic? — Daniel, Aug 16 '13 at 04:01

score 7 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 01 '16 at 09:42

7

If we look only at the time the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was selected by God, it seems that Hajj was some ceremony of pagan (Mushrik) worship, but if we look back in the history we will find Hajj to be rooted in worship of the unique God, Allah.

Most of the Hajj comes from what Ibrahim (PBUH) - one of the greatest prophets of Allah - and his family did. According to the order from God, Ibrahim moved his wife - Hajar - and his infant son - Ismail - to a wasteland called Makkah and left. Ismail was thirsty and Hajar started to look for water in that desert.

She walked between Safa and Marwa 7 times, looking for water, and finally returned to Ismail disappointed, but found Zamzam water appeared beside Ismail. We walk between Safa and Marwa as Hajar did, and drink Zamzam as Ismail and Hajar did.

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During repair of Ka'ba - the building that originally was built by Adam - Ibrahim climbed on a stone - called now مقام ابراهيم - that is now the sign of the place to pray after Tawaf. The footprint of Ibrahim is still on it.

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We kiss Hajar-Al-Aswad as the holy stone from heaven. Its history goes back to Adam (PBUH).

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The sheeps are sacrificed on Eid-al-Adha just as Ibrahim did. Stoning devil was also what Ibrahim performed on the same day, going to sacrifice Ismail when he was tempted by Satan not follow the order of God.

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So belief in the unique God was the origin of what we do during Hajj. It was modified later by the Mushrik (polytheist) people - such as putting idols in Ka'ba or doing Tawaf without any clothes. But later prophet Muhammad (PBUH) saved the original practices of Ibrahim, removed the signs of Shirk from Hajj, and made it what we do now.

edited Feb 01 '16 at 09:42

اللهم صل علی محمد و آل محمد

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answered Nov 18 '12 at 13:35

Ali

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Thanks for your answer. But I would like to know, the Pegans were not doing these rituals. IF pegans were doing these rituals, that essentially means "They were following prophet Ibrahim correctly?". – muslim1 Nov 18 '12 at 16:56
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The pegans did similarly because they saw this from their parents, who believed in the unique God. But they modified it. They put their idols in Ka'ba and changed the global picture of Hajj from worship of the unique God to worship of many - as much as 365 - Gods. But it does not mean what we do is rooted in Pegan worship, it is rooted in Ibrahim's worship. – Ali Nov 18 '12 at 20:55
but there is no evidence if Ibrahim did this but there is evidence that Pegan did this. Ibrahim practiced it almost 4000 years ago while pegans did it only 1500 years ago. That means the pegans were really following the same practice correctly for the most part. – muslim1 Nov 18 '12 at 21:42
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There are many evidences: The stone with footprints of Ibrahim that was kept during all the history, including the Pegans history, is still there. There are many parts of Ibrahim history provided in Quran, and all of them are big evidences that Hajj is the patrimony of Ibrahim, much trustful than the history of Pegans. Also it was not Pegans that saved the same traditions, among them there were people - like all paranet of prophet Muhammad - who believed in the unique God and were following Ibrahim. – Ali Nov 18 '12 at 22:03
There is a question about footprints of Ibrahim. It is most likely not his foot prints. – muslim1 Nov 19 '12 at 02:49
Only to humbly comment that the black stone was not brought to us by Adam, but by an angel for Adam. Godspeed :) – owari Nov 19 '12 at 06:11
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@owari Thanks for your comment about Hajar-Al-Aswad. I updated the question, though in the time it was brought from heaven it was white! – Ali Nov 19 '12 at 17:40
@musllim1 let say there are NO evidences that Ibrahim did this act but there are evidences that the pagans did this act. And if we take the fact that Ibrahim lived a very long time ago. Does this mean that he DIDN'T DO THE ACT? You would be logically incorrect if you state this. – Kilise Feb 08 '16 at 17:04
Stoning the devil AFAIK was not performed by Ibrahim, but by his wife Hajar and we don't stone the devil, we just throw stones (the worship is called ramy al-jimar or jamarat throwing of little stones) the devil only appeared to Hajar, but not each year for the pilgrims! – Medi1Saif Nov 04 '17 at 22:28

mtk · Answer 2 · 2013-03-13T04:51:42.920

If I understand your question correctly, below verse explains your point.

You commit no error by seeking provisions from your Lord (through commerce). When you file from `Arafaat, you shall commemorate Allah at the Sacred Location (of Muzdalifah). You shall commemorate Him for guiding you; before this, you had gone astray. You shall file together, with the rest of the people who file, and ask Allah for forgiveness. Allah is Forgiver, Most Merciful. Once you complete your rites, you shall continue to commemorate Allah as you commemorate your own parents, or even better. Some people would say, "Our Lord, give us of this world," while having no share in the Hereafter. Others would say, "Our Lord, grant us righteousness in this world, and righteousness in the Hereafter, and spare us the retribution of Hell." [2:198-201]

score -5 · Answer 3 · edited Feb 19 '16 at 15:30

The ritual of pilgrimage (Hajj) was a pre-Islamic practice, which we do not find in Christianity or Judaism. Absolutely true, don't see a problem.

Islam adopted it in almost the same form as it was done before. Can someone explain to me that it is not a pagan worship?

This is where you are wrong. The Quran clearly states that the pagans worshiped at the House with whistles and claps. All of the rituals associated with Hajj(except black stone) are in the Quran in detail. It is a RE-Institution of Monotheistic Abrahamic rites in Muhammad's locality. The Quran never says that Abraham or Ishmael went to Arabia.

Surely the Safa and the Marwa are among the signs appointed by Allah; so whoever makes a pilgrimage to the House or pays a visit (to it), there is no blame on him if he goes round them both; and whoever does good spontaneously, then surely Allah is Grateful, Knowing. Quran 2:158

The pagans were doing this specific act before Islam. But realize, Allah NEVER said it is a Requirement of Hajj, unlike many other explicit rituals. The Arabs who converted could still do what they did their entire lives, but it is in NO way a Hajj requirement from Allah. Salam.

-1, your answer has mostly claims with nothing to back it up, please back up your answer with strong citations from the Quran, Authentic Sunnah, Reliable Fatwas, and or from any other reliable Islamic resource. — مجاهد, Feb 24 '13 at 11:42
this sounds like you're arguing with the questioner instead of answering them. — Hisham, Jan 08 '20 at 22:03

Is Hajj a pagan worship?

3 Answers3