THE BEST 10
Every year, the prevailing winds carry millions of pilgrims from the four corners to Beitil ˋAtīq—The Ancient House, raised by Abraham (as), the Patriarch, and his son, Ishmael (as): ‘And proclaim unto mankind the pilgrimage. They will come unto thee on foot and every lean camel; they will come from every deep ravine’ [22:27].
Hajj, the pilgrimage of antiquity, is connected to our great grand progenitor, Ibrahīm (as), the hanīf—a pure monotheist whose life and vision encapsulate the worship of the One True God and the importance of community beyond his own lifetime. His heartfelt prayer accounted for in the Quran, beautifully illustrates this: ‘Our Lord, make us devoted to You; make our descendants into a community devoted to You. Show us how to worship and accept our repentance, for You are the Ever Relenting, the Most Merciful’ [2:128]. Allah commands us: ”Take the spot where Abraham stood as your place of prayer.’ We commanded Abraham and Ishmael: ‘Purify My House for those who walk round it, those who stay there, and those who bow and prostrate themselves in worship” [2:125].
For many, the sacred quest to perform the fifth and final pillar of Islam is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Doing it right is thus mission-critical.
Allah’s best-loved attire for His servants in this life is God-consciousness, and so too for those undertaking the auspicious journey: ‘There should be no indecent speech, misbehaviour, or quarrelling for anyone undertaking the pilgrimage–whatever good you do, God is well aware of it. Provide well for yourselves: but the best provision is to be mindful of God–always be conscious of Me, you who have understanding’ [2:197].
The pilgrimage is the great leveller and unifies people of diverse social, racial, cultural and economic backgrounds by stripping them of their outer apparel and worldly trappings and guiding them towards a common purpose: Seeking God’s forgiveness.
Amend-making is a crucial cog for actualising the common objective. For pilgrims to gain complete immunity for their past requires sincere and adequate amends to Allah and the victims of their misdeeds. Repentance to Allah alone without redressing wrongs done to others is deficient.
Repentance and the psychology of death are inextricably linked. Thinking about death clarifies our life, and “The Day of Arafat”, which is Hajj’s apex, is the definitive death meditation. “The Day of Arafat”, the ninth day of the Hajj, is an enactment of Youm al-Din—The Day of Debt, synonymous with the Day of Judgement.
Allah has ordered these ten days, red-letter-days, extraordinary days, and separated the ninth from the rest. It is the holiest of holies, where many striving for God gain salvation.
The Hajj is thus the grandest symbol of unity, for it’s the great gatherer of peoples, the caller for unity, the restorer of social justice and the guide to ethical social intercourse.
Non-pilgrims need not wait to perform Hajj before imbibing such high ethics and should strive every day for a perfect 10
“UNVANITY MIRROR”
Reflection.
It can be frightening: who is this person staring back at me?
Sometimes it’s blinding. Because projecting our star blinds us to our imperfections.
But when we welcome the truth, regardless of how bitter, we gain enlightenment.
Allah lovingly calls us His servants: ‘Say, (O Prophet, that Allah says) ‘O My servants who have exceeded the limits against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful’ [39:53].
My forgetfulness mars my servanthood, and misdeeds deaden my soul.
The antidote for my lapses is having multiple mirrors in my life that can reflect an accurate me, reminders of who I truly am in the moment. Any mirror won’t do. I need an “unvanity mirror” to help recalibrate my being.
Life, in all areas, has become exceedingly vain. Vanity is the twin of pride, and excessive pride is a barrier to honest reflection. People often use the words interchangeably, but a subtle difference does exist. Mary, the character in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, distinguishes between the two: ‘Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.’
A Muslim has two primary “unvanity mirrors”: 1) The Quran and 2) The Prophet’s life.
We can also activate a third one by courageously inviting the people in our lives to provide honest feedback on our behaviour.
It will be the first time since the fall of Apartheid thirty years ago that the African National Congress, or ANC, enters into a coalition government after failing to get a majority vote in the 2024 General Elections.
So, what does this mean for ordinary South Africans trying to feed their families and who have been languishing in squalor for decades? That depends on the spread the ANC puts on their sandwich.
History is not inherently repetitive. But what drives its cycles are the prevailing attitudes that maintain the status quo.
At the top of the hierarchy where power resides, it’s entirely by design. The lack of historical literacy by those adversely affected by things staying the same creates a vacuum. The masses can ill-afford to gift this void to the “Masters of Mankind” and have them fill it with lies, deception and trickery. The 16th-century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, in his essay “The Vanity of Language”, warns us of this. He writes, “Rhetoricians pride themselves on deceiving not our eyes but our judgement, bastardising and corrupting things in their very essence.” The great late American independent investigative journalist I.F. Stone was more forthright and framed it this way, “All governments lie.”
The Establishment, the status-quo-maintainers, has set the gears in motion, with analysts and pundits driving the narrative, arguing the political alliance that will be best for the markets, investors and economy. The only thing democratic about capitalism is when choosing the ideology. But what flows from it is nothing but tyranny. Yet again, history repeats itself post-election, as it always does, with the narrative remaining the same. And every time, what’s starkly absent from the political discourse, whether in South Africa or elsewhere, is the well-being of the ordinary citizen.
The Capitalist West, because of its compulsive addiction to profits, welcomes an ANC and Democratic Alliance coalition. Such an alliance will deliver a fatal blow to the disenfranchised. The union is ostensibly anti-poor because that’s what a neo-liberal government is. It drives market capitalism, which is about individual consumption while ignoring all the externalities (adverse effects) associated with it.
A powerful counterweight is needed to restore the balance and address the appalling inequality present in our country. We may think that casting our vote was the only agency we had. That was the least of our power. A knowledgeable, benevolent and compassionate allied constituency that underwrites the social and economic upward mobility of all people is what will wrest us from this ignominy.
We have little agency in the coalition government that will emerge. But that’s not as critical as the diverse civil society alliances we may or may not forge and grow until the next election cycle. On this point, I wish to quote my favourite historian, Howard Zinn, who writes, “Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens against the obstacles to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
We cannot allow a mood of anti-politics to settle amongst us. That’s playing directly into the hands of the political elite. Civic engagement is crucial for weaving a socially responsible consciousness into a solidarity that can shake the power base and accord all South Africans a dignified existence.
Voting is over. Now, the real work begins.
Are you up for it?
Until next week, InshaAllah
Zaahied Sallie
Author of The Beloved Prophet – An Illustrated Biography in Rhyme
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