Al-Qalam 
By Imam Dr A. Rashied Omar
At sunset on Sunday, 7 July 2024, South African Muslims entered the new lunar month of Muharram and welcomed the New Hijri year 1446. As we welcome the New Year 1446, we recommit ourselves to the sanctity of human life. We pray that we never become desensitised by the wanton killing of innocent human beings of the past year and that the New Hijri year 1446 will bring greater peace with justice.
Given the colossal loss of human life that we have experienced during the past year in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and other war-ravaged locations in the world, as conscientious Muslims and responsible global citizens, we cannot allow our hearts to become deadened by this lamentable and tragic state of our world.
One important way in which we can resist the temptation to become desensitised and prevent our hearts from becoming deadened to the almost daily slaughter of innocent children, women and men is to remind ourselves again and again of the great importance Islam places on the sacredness and preservation of human life (See Qur’an 5:32; 6:151; 17:33; & 25:26).
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) exemplified this supreme objective of Islam: sanctifying, revering, upholding the sacredness of, and preserving human life. This is most strikingly illustrated in the following prophetic tradition (hadith) narrated by the companion Abdullah ibn `Umar (RA), who reported that he saw the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) making Tawaf by circumambulating the holy Ka’bah and, while being captivated by its beauty, he began talking to the Ka`bah and confessed to it by saying: “How pure you are and how pure is your fragrance! How great you are, and how great is your sanctity! I swear by the one in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad. The sanctity and sacredness of the life of a believer, their property, and their blood is greater in the eyes of Allah than your sanctity. And [you are] to assume nothing of him but good.” (This ḥadith is recorded in the Sunan of ibn Mājah)
In light of the above Islamic teachings on the supreme sanctity and sacredness of human life, we grieve the tragic death of over 1300 Hujjaj during the recent Hajj period. I would like to raise a troubling and challenging question? Is the relative silence and lack of outrage within the global ummah on the tragic deaths during the recent Hajj a reflection of the state of the ummah that we have become desensitized to, and our hearts have become deadened to the loss of human life? We seek refuge in Allah from such an ignoble plight!
From my own preliminary research, it appears that the tragic loss of life during the recent Hajj period was precipitated by inter alia three key factors: the intense heat, the large numbers of people who performed the Hajj without Hajj visas, and despotic and maladministration by the Saudi authorities.
Intense
The most significant of the above factors was undoubtedly the intense heat in Saudi Arabia, which averaged close to 50 degrees centigrade. The higher-than-average summer heat is, in turn, precipitated by climate change. A colleague of mine who lives in the capital city of Riyadh informed me that the heat was so intense during the month of Hajj that some residents found that the water flowing from their taps was boiling hot.
By the Mercy of Allah, Muslims follow a lunar calendar, which means that the Hajj season moves through the various seasons of the year: summer, autumn, winter, and spring. Over the next couple of years, however, the Hajj period will coincide with the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere.
Prospective Hujjaj, especially the elderly and infirm, will therefore need to take the sweltering heat into account if they are by means and accredited to perform their Hajj.
We call on the Saudi Hajj authorities and other independent Muslim bodies to undertake a thorough investigation as to the precise causes of this tragic loss of human life during the recent Hajj and to recommend mechanisms that may prevent this from occurring in the future.
We pray that Allah grants all the Hujjaj who passed away during the recent Hajj the status of martyrs and their families lots of patience.
Muharram Mubarak. May the New Hijri Year 1446 Bring Great Peace with Justice.
