Eid on the Hill
Photo by Elijah Mears
By Salam Al-Marayati
During Hajj, Muslims are accustomed to witnessing millions of pilgrims descend to the valley of Mina from the heights of Arafa and make their way to the Kaaba. In the days of the pandemic, the cohort is reduced to a few. Many from America had planned to perform the Hajj this year, but they had to cancel after being informed that the annual pilgrimage will involve only those living inside Saudi Arabia.
In Los Angeles, the Muslim community is accustomed to praying among thousands of others during Eid ul Udha (Feast of Sacrifice). Instead, many celebrated this year at home. Yet whether we are among thousands here, millions in Mecca, or a few at home, the essence of the Hajj remains—human equality.
When Abraham raised the foundation of the Kaaba, the most sacred shrine in Mecca, he was accompanied by only his wife, Hajar, and his son, Ismail. The pandemic has forced all of us to return to family as the nucleus of society.
THE ESSENCE OF THE HAJJ REMAINS-HUMAN EQUALITY.
Abraham built the Kaaba with his son Ismail, and made the house of God a property of the people. Believers from the four corners of the world congregate in Mecca and illustrate the diversity of Islam. This diversity in Islam can be found in America as well. American Muslims are Black, Brown, white, and everything in between.
When I performed the Hajj in 1991, I was astonished by the array of colors in Mecca, much like Malcolm X was surprised to pray alongside white people with blue eyes. After that experience, Malcolm X felt that the issue of racism was resolved for himself personally and that the lessons of Hajj could help America overcome racism. To myself, Malcolm X, and other Muslims, to believe in one God is to believe in one human family.
Hajar, a great woman of faith and ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad ran between the hills of Safwa and Marwa, looking for water. We follow in her footsteps as part of the Hajj rituals, and we are taught to keep moving in our search for solutions. However, effective movement cannot happen without balance.
The Kaaba, the shrine at the center of Islam’s most important Mosque, gives us that symbol of centeredness, finding God in the center of humanity as people circumambulate the shrine during Hajj. The pilgrims wear the simplest of attire so that no one stands out--poor or rich, easterner or westerner, king or commoner. It is a reminder that the foundation of faith can only be preserved through human equality and an unhindered access to our Creator.
Islam preaches that social harmony is achieved by the God-centeredness of individuals who want to pursue equity in their dealings with one another. Making our soul as the center of our being, and not allowing it to be devoured by our carnal being, is a key to spiritual enrichment.
This year, I attended a special Eid prayer, the first of its kind, on Capitol Hill. The service included Muslims interning in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
HE (ABRAHAM) PRAYED FOR THE PROSPERITY AND SECURITY OF THOSE HE WOULD NEVER SEE AFTER HIM. HE PRAYED FOR THE FUTURE.
Like the Kaaba is the property of the people, the U.S. Capitol is the people’s house. Like the few followers who performed the Hajj at the beginning, our country was small at the start of our democracy. Great things can begin with few.
On this Eid ul Udha, during a global pandemic, we the people endeavor to form a more perfect faith, one that returns to the essence of Abraham’s message in celebrating and congregating the human family. Abraham, the father of the three great monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – provides us a key to interfaith harmony. He prayed for the prosperity and security of those he would never see after him. He prayed for the future.
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Salam Al-Marayati is the President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.
