JEDDAH: Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Al-Obaikan, a prominent Saudi Islamic scholar, has rejected the views of Sheikh Saleh Al-Fowzan on the expansion of the Masaa (the walking area between Safa and Marwah) inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah, saying such views would create confusion among the public.
Al-Obaikan, who is a member of the Shoura Council, said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered the Masaa expansion to create more space for the growing number of pilgrims who come for Haj and Umrah every year.
He said Sheikh Al-Fowzan created fitna (sedition) in his controversial statement on the Masaa expansion, adding that he was in opposition to Al-Fowzan’s argument that the government should not listen to the views of foreign scholars on matters related to the Kingdom. Al-Obaikan said the expansion was ordered after considering the views of members of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars in the Kingdom and other scholars outside the council. “This is not the first time the Saudi leadership is accepting the views of some members of the council,” he said.
Al-Obaikan stated that no mufti has the right to impose his views on others. “The mufti is not a judge and has no right to impose his views on others, let alone the rulers.” He said no boundary for Safa and Marwah had been fixed during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions. “The latest expansion ordered by King Abdullah does not exceed the limits of Safa and Marwah,” he added. “Some scholars such as Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Muallami have allowed the performance of Saie (the walk) outside the Masaa area if necessary.” Al-Obaikan said the Masaa expansion was carried out after consulting historians and geologists. “The Safa and Marwah mountains are spread over an area more than the area covered by the latest expansion,” he said, quoting experts. “We don’t know any Makkan would deny this fact.”
He said the area of Masaa was not a matter to be determined through ijtihad or independent judgment. It must be decided by experts who know more about the two mountains and their borders. “Some people had objected to the expansion without any genuine reason or evidence,” he said. No scholar has the right to impose his views on people and put a condition that the ruler should follow a particular fatwa or religious ruling.
He added, however, that if the ruler takes a decision after consulting experts, he has to go ahead with the plan, depending on God. “The holy sites in the Kingdom are meant not for Saudis alone but for all Muslims,” he added. He said he was forced to give this reply to remove the confusion created by Al-Fowzan’s statement on the Masaa expansion.
