People are always eager to do the pilgrimage to the Kaaba for the fulfillment of a major duty of Islam and to ensure the forgiveness of their past sins. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says: “A pilgrimage offered in devotion and dedication to God can only be rewarded with admittance into heaven.”
A question was put to me whether the forgiveness ensured by offering the pilgrimage applies to major sins, such as the worship of graves and attendance of the death anniversaries of pirs? Can such sins be washed out merely by performing the pilgrimage?
Perhaps we need first to explain the expression, “the worship of graves”. We use this expression to denote the practices of some people who visit the graves of those whom they consider to have been saints or blessed people and ask them to accomplish certain needs of their own. They may do this at the Prophet’s grave in Madinah, but they do it more often in their own towns and villages, having elevated certain people to a saintly grade. All this is unacceptable in Islam. In fact it runs contrary to the very concept of God’s oneness on which Islam and all divine religions are based. It is not possible for any human being to remain within the fold of Islam while at the same time believing that a certain person, dead or alive, can be of any benefit to him in the hereafter. If he also believes that a dead person can answer any request or prayer, he is making a deity of him. That is polytheism, or, to use the Islamic term, shirk. Needless to say, there is no offense that is more serious or graver than this.
Unfortunately, people in many Muslim areas tend to think that pirs, who get their position merely through belonging to a family of pirs, should be obeyed in all matters. A person who has that rank may have very little knowledge of Islam, its beliefs, worship, systems, practices and values. Nevertheless, he does not hesitate to give guidance to all those who look up to him to provide such guidance. They give him money and gifts and humble themselves before him. They consider that if he is pleased with them, they are ensured salvation in the life to come. This is again a form of shirk, or polytheism, that is totally unacceptable.
Whether such thoughts, beliefs and practices are forgiven on the performance of the pilgrimage or not is a matter that needs clarification. The Prophet teaches us that a pilgrimage offered in devotion, sincerity and dedication to God ensures the forgiveness of all past sins. But when he says that, he only refers to sinful practices. He does not include false beliefs. Forgiveness is granted by God to people who do not associate partners with Him. In the Qur’an God clearly states a rule which must remain with us as part of our beliefs: “For a certainty, God does not forgive that partners should be associated with Him, but He forgives any lesser sin to whomever He wills. He who associates partners with God has indeed gone far astray.” (4: 116.) This means that when it comes to belief, we must be absolutely clear. No trace of polytheism may be allowed to creep into our minds. When we have reached this stage, the forgiveness of any sins is obtainable, with God’s grace. Once our beliefs involve polytheism in any shape or form, forgiveness is totally denied.
On this basis we can say without hesitation that if a person is guilty of entertaining such beliefs or following this line of practice that elevates a pir to a position of godhead, the offering of the pilgrimage will not bring him any forgiveness, even if he offers the pilgrimage every year. First, he has to eradicate any trace of polytheism from his beliefs. It is only then that he can hope for forgiveness.
In fact, the forgiveness of such practices does not require offering the pilgrimage. What it requires is for the person concerned to examine his beliefs in the light of Islam. He must first of all clearly understand the meaning of the declaration that brings a person into the fold of Islam, i.e. the Kalimah which can be stated in translation as: “I bear witness that there is no deity other than God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is God’s Messenger.” He should understand what godhead means and what the concept of God’s oneness actually means in beliefs and in practices. He should also be fully aware of what the declaration that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is God’s Messenger entails. It means that the Prophet Muhammad is the only person through whom we receive God’s instructions on how to conduct our lives, what principles to follow, what values to observe and what practices to adopt.
When we have understood that very clearly, we should mold our lives in accordance with this basic and fundamental aspect. We should always be keen to learn more about Islam so that our understanding of it is very clear. When someone suggests to us that a certain practice will improve our standing with God, we do not accept his statement without question. We look at it in the light of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. If we find it in accordance with those teachings, we accept it; if not, we reject it out of hand.
If a person who has been guilty of such beliefs and practices as the worship of graves and the attendance of pir anniversaries follows this course and examines his beliefs and practices in the light of the guiding principles included in the declaration of belonging to Islam, and then repents of what he had done in the past, gives it all up and starts to conduct his life in accordance with the Prophet’s teachings, he is sure to earn God’s forgiveness. He should then offer the pilgrimage as part of his duties as a Muslim. When he offers the pilgrimage with sincerity and devotion, he is forgiven all his past sins. As we all know, the pilgrimage is a duty of all Muslims who can afford to undertake the journey, physically and financially. What this means is that forgiveness of the aforementioned beliefs and practices can be earned through repentance and the rectification of one’s beliefs. The pilgrimage brings about the forgiveness of all lesser sins.