Why non-Muslims cannot visit Makkah

Q.1. Many friends who are non-Muslims wonder why they are not allowed to visit Makkah and Madinah while Muslims are allowed to visit their holy cities and shrines. Please comment.

Q.2. Is it obligatory for a person working in Jeddah to do the tawaf of farewell every time he travels home on his annual leave?

S.M. Ahmad

Jeddah

A.1. To start with, the restriction on entry to Makkah and Madinah is not made by any political or human authority. Thus it cannot be questioned as though it is something that a government or a leader has put it in place. Nor can the argument of equal treatment be given here. Moreover, Muslims have not asked the authorities of any religious place to make that place open to them. They decide to invite visitors or prevent them. Suppose, for argument’s sake, that the Vatican authorities decide to ban non-Catholic people from visiting their city. Will anyone have the right to question them? It is their city and they do in it what they like.

Having said that, we may add that the prohibition gives a clear indication that God wants to keep Makkah a city for worship and security. As such it cannot be transformed into a tourist resort. That is totally unacceptable. The same applies to Madinah which has been restricted to non-Muslims by none other than the Prophet himself. When God and His Messenger decree something, the only thing open to us is to obey their decree.

A.2. No, that is not required. The tawaf of farewell is required at the end of the pilgrimage. So, if a resident of Jeddah offers the pilgrimage, he or she should do the tawaf of farewell at the end of their pilgrimage, like all pilgrims who come from outside Makkah. When a person leaves Jeddah to go home, he leaves it without having to visit Makkah. If he fears that he may not come back and wishes to make his final day in Jeddah one of worship, and he goes to Makkah for tawaf or Umrah, that is a highly rewarding action, but it is a matter of his own choice.

Defending the Prophet

Q. Sometimes we are at a loss how to defend the Prophet against detractors who may accuse him of different things. This is due to our lack of knowledge. Recently, someone was accusing the Prophet of being a womanizer, having married 11 women including a child of 9 years. Could you please explain the truth in all this, so that we could answer such people?

M. Azmath

Jeddah

A. There is no doubt that Prophet Muhammad had the most immaculate history. He was the perfect example for mankind to emulate. However, people who are devoid of faith and knowledge will always talk, sometimes with ignorant hostility, trying to show him in an unfavorable light. The truth about the Prophet is a shining example of the highest standard of morality. There is nothing in his history that we may wish to hide or for which we need to seek justification.

Having said that, I would like to add that it is true that the Prophet married a total of 11 wives, but his marriages were for very good reasons. You need only to remember that he lived with his first wife, Khadeejah, for 25 years without marrying a second wife, although polygamy was the norm in his society. Later, after her death, he married others, sometimes on instructions he received from God, and at other times as he felt the benefit or the need to do so. His marriages had social, legislative or political reasons. It is also true that Ayshah was much younger than him when he married her, but we must not judge this according to our norms, but to the norms of the society in which he lived. I have written a book, Muhammad: Man and Prophet, on the Prophet’s life, and I have shown that Ayshah’s age at the time of her marriage was nearer 18. If you require a full study of the Prophet’s life, you need to read at length. The scope of this column will be too small for the purpose.

Information about books

Q. Is there an English translation of the book Asbab Al-Nuzool by Imam Al-Suyooti? Would you know where I can get it?

I hope to translate Sayyid Sabiq’s book Fiqh Al-Sunnah into my Tamil mother tongue. I need to get in touch with his publisher or his family. Could you help?

Could you also let me know your opinion of Imam Al-Ghazali’s book Ihyaa Uloom Al-Deen, as I have received contradictory information about it.

S. Anwar

A. I am not aware that Asbab Al-Nuzool has been translated into English.

Sayyid Sabiq’s book has been published in Arabic by many publishers. However, one of them may hold the copyrights. The best way is to get hold of a copy and write for information about contacting the author’s family, without mentioning your intention of translation. When you have received the contact address, you may write to the family concerning copyrights.

Al-Ghazali’s book is a very good one. However, the main criticism some scholars outline about it is that it includes many Hadiths which are poor on authenticity. Otherwise, there is no doubt that the book is very useful.

Imam Al-Bukhari’s work

Q. Imam Al-Bukhari lived in Bukhara which is over one thousand miles from Makkah and Madinah. Bearing in mind that at his time there was no printing press and no fast means of transport, how come he managed to collect his great volume of books, which is said to have comprised just under six hundred thousand Hadiths. He included in his Sahih only 7,275. As such, is he not a rejecter of Hadith?

M.H. Khan

Karachi

A. It is true that Al-Bukhari was born in Bukhara, which is a very long way away from Makkah and Madinah. However, he started traveling in pursuit of Hadith study at an early age. His travels took him to many centers of learning, including Baghdad, Kufah, Basrah, Syria and Hijaz. He studied under a very large number of teachers and scholars, said to number more than one thousand teachers. When he selected the Hadiths to include in his Sahih, he was in Madinah. It took him 16 years to make his selection. He wanted to include only the most authentic. When he made up his mind about a Hadith, he would offer the prayer of istikharah, and would only include it if the sign was favorable. As such, his book is considered as the most authentic work of human beings. It is certainly the most authentic after God’s book, the Qur’an. It seems that our reader has heard some things about Imam Al-Bukhari which paint him in bad colors. If so, he should read some reliable works before making any judgment. There is no doubt that Imam Al-Bukhari was a model scholar who served Islam most sincerely and produced a most reliable work. May God shower His blessings on Imam Al-Bukhari.