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thereof and feed the beggar who does not ask, and the beggar who asks.”
(Quran 22:36)
As for the deplorable practice of spattering blood ofthe sacrificed animals
on the walls of the Kaaba and hanging their flesh on altars,then God clearly
informed them that:
“It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches God,but it is Taqwaa
(piety) from you that reaches Him.” (Quran 22:37)
The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be uponhim, also put a
stop to the practice of circling the Kaaba in a state of nudityand the argument
that the pagans put forward to justify this ritual was sharplyrebutted in God’s
question:
“Say: Who has forbidden the adornment [i.e. clothes] given by Godwhich He
has produced for His Slaves?” (Quran 7:32)
Another custom which was prohibited through the Quranwas that of setting
off for Hajj without taking any provisions for the journey. In the pre-Islamic
period, some people who claimed righteousness, having totaldependency
on God, would travel to perform Hajj begging food the whole journey. They
considered this form of behavior a sign of piety and an indication of howmuch
faith they had in God.
However God told mankind that to have sufficientprovisions for the journey
was one of the preconditions for making Hajj. Hesaid:
“And take a provision [with you] for the journey, but the bestprovision is piety.”
(Quran 2:197)
In this way, all the pre-Islamic practices, which werebased in ignorance, were
abolished and Hajj was once more made a model ofpiety, fear of God, purity,
simplicity and austerity.
Now, when the pilgrimsreached the Kaaba, they no longer found the carnivals
and the frolic and frivolity that had once occupied the minds of the pilgrims
there before.
Now, there wasthe remembrance of God at every step and every action and
every sacrifice wasdevoted to Him alone. It was this kind of Hajj that was
worthy of the rewardof paradise, as the Prophet said:
“The reward for an accepted Hajj is nothing less than paradise.” (Saheeh Al-
Bukhari)