In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and all his Companions.
To proceed:
At the very heart of the Sharīʿah and its highest objective is dedicating all acts of worship sincerely to Allah alone—worshiping Him without associating any partners with Him—and blocking every pathway, whether big or small, that may lead to shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is the very foundation of the religion of all the messengers and the essence of Tawḥīd.
One of the clearest demonstrations of this objective is seen in the Ḥajj to the Sacred House of Allah. Tawḥīd is the central theme of Ḥajj; it is its fabric, its goal, its starting point, and its conclusion. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The very purpose of Ḥajj is to worship Allah alone in the places He has commanded us to worship Him; this is why Ḥajj is the hallmark of pure monotheism (ḥanīfiyyah). Some of the early generations even said: 'ḥunafāʾ lillāh' means 'those who perform Ḥajj for the sake of Allah alone.'" Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm 2/840 (1)
How true are his words! For the connection between Ḥajj and Tawḥīd is undeniable. It is enough to reflect on the fact that the Ancient House—the Kaʿbah—towards which pilgrims travel, was built on the solid foundation of pure Tawḥīd. Allah says: "And [remember] when We showed Ibrāhīm the site of the House [saying]: 'Do not associate anything with Me.'"
Ibn ʿAṭiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) commented: "This was the condition placed upon your forefather and all who came after him." al-Muḥarrar al-Wajīz 1308 (2)
Thus, true pilgrims are none other than those devoted to pure monotheism. Allah says: "And [they are] those who set out for the Sacred House seeking the bounty and pleasure of their Lord."
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah explained: "They turn toward His House seeking His bounty and pleasure, desiring nothing but Him, hoping in none besides Him, and fearing no one except Him."Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm 2/851 (3)
This is why the pilgrim, with the very first step he takes into this great act of worship, raises his voice in declaration of sincere devotion to Allah alone, affirming his unwavering commitment to this sacred covenant by saying: "Labbayka, Lā sharīka laka, labbayk" (Here I am, O Allah, here I am. You have no partner, here I am).
Realizing this Tawḥīd during Ḥajj takes many forms, among the most important of which is intentionally differentiating oneself from the idolaters.
This principle is supported by numerous evidences to the extent that it has become one of the clear objectives and lessons of Ḥajj. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: "It is well-established—especially in the rituals of Ḥajj—that the Sharīʿah intends for the Muslims to differ from the idolaters." Tahdhīb al-Sunan 2/310 (4)
Anyone who contemplates the practices of the Prophet (r) during Ḥajj will clearly see how he consistently avoided imitating the idolaters, making a point to distinguish himself from them. This is because resembling them is the root of corruption and the source of misguidance. How accurate are the words of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥasan (may Allah have mercy on him) who said: "The very cause of the disappearance of Allah’s religion and its laws, and the rise of disbelief and sin, is resembling the disbelievers." al-Durar al-Saniyyah 11/314 (5)
True wisdom lies in making sure that guidance is clearly distinct from misguidance, good from evil, knowledge from ignorance, and light from darkness.
The Prophet (r) proclaimed this great principle openly in his sermon on the Day of ʿArafah—the greatest religious gathering and the most honored Islamic assembly—when he declared: "Indeed, every matter of the Days of Ignorance is placed under my feet, abolished." Reported by Muslim (1218) within the well-known ḥadīth of Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him). (6)
Abū al-ʿAbbās Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "This includes both their customs and their acts of worship."Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm 1/305 (7)
What is meant here, specifically in relation to the rituals of Ḥajj, is the innovations and alterations they introduced to the teachings and practices of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) concerning Ḥajj. Imitating them in these innovations is forbidden. As for those practices which are part of our own religion, even if they happen to perform them as well, there remains no true resemblance between us and them in such cases. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah clarified this, saying: "We do not abandon what Allah has commanded us to do simply because the disbelievers also happen to do it. Moreover, Allah has never commanded us to do anything that they do without including some form of distinction that sets apart the pure and perfected religion of Allah from what has been abrogated and altered." Ibid. 1/421 (8)
There are many examples showing how the Prophet ﷺ deliberately opposed the practices of the idolaters during Ḥajj. Here are some of them:
The Idolaters' Corrupt Declaration of Talbiyah (Ḥajj Call): The idolaters used to declare: "Labbayk, lā sharīka laka, illā sharīkan huwa laka, tamlikuhu wa mā malak" (Here I am, O Allah, here I am. You have no partner except a partner who belongs to You; You own him and whatever he owns).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) opposed this and declared the Talbiyah based on pure Tawḥīd, announcing that Allah has no partner whatsoever, not in this declaration nor in any other act of worship, just as He has no partner in all praise, blessings, and dominion.
The Standing at ʿArafah: A group among the idolaters—Quraysh and those who followed them, known as al-Ḥums—would stop at the boundary of the Ḥaram near Namirah and proceed from there to Muzdalifah. They claimed, "We are the people of the Ḥaram; we do not leave it." The Prophet (r) opposed them by standing at ʿArafah and proceeding from there. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said: "We observe that in every place where the idolaters avoided performing the rituals, Allah made it obligatory to perform them there." Sharḥ al-ʿUmda – Section on Ḥajj 2/632 (9)
Leaving ʿArafah Before Sunset: The idolaters used to leave ʿArafah before sunset. The Prophet (r) opposed this and delayed his departure until after sunset.
Departing from Muzdalifah After Sunrise: The idolaters would leave Muzdalifah after sunrise. The Prophet (r) opposed them by leaving before sunrise. ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The idolaters used to delay their departure from Jamʿ (Muzdalifah) until the sun had risen on Thabīr (a nearby mountain), so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) opposed them by leaving before the sun had risen."Reported by al-Bukhārī (3838). (10)
Performing ʿUmrah During the Months of Ḥajj: The idolaters used to believe that performing ʿUmrah during the months of Ḥajj was among the worst acts of immorality on earth.Reported by al-Bukhārī (1564) and Muslim (1240) from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both). (11) The Prophet ﷺ ( opposed this by performing ʿUmrah during these months and instructing his followers to do so as well.
Observing Silence as a Ritual: Al-Bukhārī recorded in his Ṣaḥīḥ (3834). (12) that Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) once visited a woman from the tribe of al-Ḥums and found her refusing to speak. He was told that she had taken a vow of silence as part of her Ḥajj. He said to her: "Speak, for this is not permissible; this is from the practices of the pre-Islamic days of ignorance." Al-Khaṭṭābī commented: "It was among the rituals of the people of ignorance to remain silent during Ḥajj." Fatḥ al-Bārī (7/150) (13)
Circumambulating the Kaʿbah Naked or in Borrowed Clothing:
Among the innovations of the pre-Islamic idolaters was that anyone who was not from al-Ḥums was not allowed to make Ṭawāf except in clothes borrowed from someone of al-Ḥums. If they could not find such clothing, they would perform Ṭawāf naked. If they violated this rule by using their own clothes, they would discard those clothes afterward, considering them unusable.
Islam came and demolished all of these false practices, See: Fatḥ al-Bārī 3/483 (14) and the Prophet ﷺ forbade making Ṭawāf while naked.Reported by al-Bukhārī (1622) and Muslim (1347). (15)
Entering Homes from the Back After Ḥajj: The idolaters—except Quraysh—used to avoid entering their homes through the front doors after returning from Ḥajj, entering instead from the back. Allah revealed the verse: "It is not righteousness to enter houses from their backs, but righteousness is [in] the one who fears Allah. So enter houses through their doors."Reported by al-Bukhārī (1803, 4512) and Muslim (3026). (16)
These are just a few examples, not an exhaustive list.
It is truly unfortunate that some pilgrims today oppose the idolaters in one aspect but imitate them in another.
You see them verbally rejecting the idolaters' corrupted Talbiyah, yet in practice, they fall into similar errors—calling upon other than Allah and seeking help from beings besides Him. Their reality seems to echo the very Talbiyah they outwardly reject: "Labbayk, lā sharīka laka, illā sharīkan huwa laka."
You also find them opposing the idolaters in certain actions and timings of the rituals, yet imitating them in other ways—performing acts of worship in places where worship was never legislated, assigning times for worship without any valid proof, and inventing new acts of worship for which Allah has sent down no authority.
Or you find them carefully avoiding resemblance to the idolaters during Ḥajj, only to return home and adopt their lifestyles, customs, and appearances afterward.
Such people would do well to reflect on the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and adhere to his Sunnah, for in doing so lies success in this life and eternal happiness in the hereafter.
We ask Allah to rectify our hearts and our deeds, and the hearts and deeds of all Muslims, and to grant us understanding in His religion and steadfastness upon it. Indeed, our Lord is near and responsive.
