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Nigeria: Memo to Umrah Returnees

Adamu Adamu

10 October 2008

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opinion

Now that another Hajj season has come, I wish to extend my belated welcome to Umrah pilgrims to the house of God who were guests of Allah during the blessed month of Ramadan. It is almost two months since your return .May Allah accept worship done for his sake . As we all know, Umrah is supererogatory hajj and the hajj is a pillar of Islam; so the position of Umrah in Islam is well known. In the Holy Quran, we read.

"Verily the first house (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakka (Mecca), full of blessing and guidance for the worlds. In it are manifest signs -the Maqama Ibrahim. Whosoever enters it attains security. And Hajj to the house is a duty that mankind owes to Allah for those who can afford the expense. And whoever disbelieves Allah stands in no need of any in the worlds.

"Verily safa and Marwah are of the symbols of Allah . So it is not a sin on him who performs hajj or Umrah of the house to perform the tawaf between them.And whoever does good (will find) Allah most grateful,aware. "And perform the hajj and umrah properly for Allah".Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported the prophet (SAW) saying "The (performance of) Umrah is expiation for his sins committed (between it and the previous one). And the reward of hajj mabrur (the one accepted by Allah) is nothing except paradise.

With the help of God you have undergone a process of spiritual rebirth and understood well what should occupy the time and struggles of man; and you have gained insights into the why of life and comprehended the rites of hajj and umrah. This is no mean achievement in life. May the almighty enable us to understand the true meaning of the tawaf and sa'ay and the why of the timings of this ritual. The Umrah is a time for reaping benefits.

Over the years, these benefits have been reaped by hundreds of thousands of Nigerian Muslims. Every year 50,000 - 60,000 Nigerian pilgrims perform the Umrah. Each of these pilgrims pays between N75,000 and N100, 000 as airfare depending on the airline used. With competition in the aviation industry today, it has become possible, within the last years of the decade, to pay N85, 000 for carriage and accommodation, but many Nigerians still go by the more costly European airlines and many team up in fours and fives to put up in hotel rooms priced at $10,000 during the last ten days of Ramadan.

While many pilgrims land in the Holy land with BTA of $500 only, many others go with a shopping purse of several thousand dollars. The majority spend between $1,000 and $2,000 on shopping for the 10-day stay. It is therefore reasonable to assume an average expenditure of $2,000 for each individual pilgrim. By any standard this adds up to a significant, and perhaps indefensible level, of expenditure by members of a community that is behind in all indices of development.

It can be seen that Umra-goers annually spend N3.75 billion on air tickets, N3.275 billion on accommodation and a whopping N13.50 billion for shopping. This gives a total of annual expenditure of N20.625 billion. For the past decade alone a total of N206, 625,000,000 has been spent on Umrah. N206 billion Naira! Much could have been achieved with a 206 billion Naira ten-year development plan for Northern Nigeria.

But even within the Umrah itself, some hidden, almost inconsequential everyday expenditure could still amount to substantial spending that could have been harnessed for something better.

After surveying the crowd and daily traffic of Nigerian pilgrims in front of and between, the Mecca Hilton and Inter-Continental hotels, with its Fagge like milieu, not unlike the choked atmosphere of frenzied businessmen dealing in currency of politicians planning to rig an election or top civil servants hanging out, someone suggested it was all indicative of opportunities missed. Going by the cost of their shadda, the crisp finesse of their damanga and the perfect fit of their Russell or Broomleys and their unending long-distance cellular phone calls to Nigeria to tell folks at home how little they had slept, how copious the tears of the Imam of the Haram were, and to ask about politics back at home, it'sestimated that the phone bill for the fortnight of the Umrah period alone would be enough to pay for the entire cost of the upkeep - board, lodging and tuition - of all the almajirai who roam the streets of Kano.

But a mind that is fixated on the annual trip to Umrah does not notice its culpability or responsibility in the outstretched hands of kids standing by the traffic lights of all the street junctions of all Northern cities. When Sultan Muhammad Bello wrote in his Kitab tanbih al-raqid ala ma yaftur al-hajj min al-mafasid, he might have been referring to our times. He said: "We read in al-Qut, 'A man came to bishr al-Harith and said, 'I have decided to go on hajj so give me some instructions. Bishr asked him, 'How much have you put aside for expenses? '2,000 dirhams, he replied. He asked 'What do you seek by your hajj an excursion, yearning for the House, or the desire to please Allah? 'The desire to please Allah,' was his reply. Bishr said 'You can spend the 2,000 dirhams and be certain of gaining Allah's pleasure Will you do that? The man replied 'Yes' Bishr went on, 'then go and give it to ten of the following: a debtor to discharge his debts, a poor man to set him back on his feet, the father of a large family to provide nourishment for it, and to someone bringing up an orphan to help him out. If you feel strongly in your heart that you should give it to just one of them, then do that. Bringing happiness to the heart of a Muslim, relieving someone's grief, removing hardship from someone whose belief is uncertain is better than a hundred hajjs, after the obligatory hajj of Islam. So go and give it out as I have told you. If you do not, then tell me what is in your heart. 'He said, Abu Nasr, I feel more strongly in my heart that I should travel. 'Bishr smiled and said to him, When wealth is amassed from the fifth of trade and doubtful things, the self demands that it used for a purpose which will make it a public display of good action and drawing near to Allah, but Allah only accepts the actions of those who have taqwa. The scholars of old used to look at the rich people who went to Makka and say, 'Do not say that so and so has gone on hajj. Rather say that he has gone on a journey."

And if, as people say, half of the Umra-goers are public servants who, by law, have only their salaries as income, the question of the lawfulness of means to pay for Umrah becomes relevant. But even if people have found a way of making halal money, it is not unlikely that at least one Umra-goer does so with embezzled wealth. Such a one ought to know that desisting from stealing public funds will get him greater spiritual reward than his multiple trips to Saudi Arabia.

Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported the Holy Prophet (SAW) to have said, "When a man goes out on hajj with wholesome provision and puts his foot in the stirrup and cries. At your service!, O Allah, at Your service,' a caller calls out in the heaven, "A Your service! Your provision and your mount are lawful and your hajj is accepted and not obstructed." When he leaves with foul provision and puts his foot in the stirrup, and calls, at your service, a caller calls out from heaven. 'Your provision is unlawful and your maintenance is unlawful and your hajj is obstructed and not accepted.

Anas ibn Malik (RA) said the Holy Prophet (SAW) said, "A time will come to people when the rich among them will perform hajj as an excursion , the middle class for trade, the Qur'an reciters to show off and the poor to beg."

Sultan Bello quoted Ibn Farhum saying that Malik used to say that doing hajj using haram wealth does not fulfil the hajj.

He once stood up in Masjid al-Haram during the hajj and called out. 'O people! Whoever knows me, knows me. As for the one who does not know me, I am Malik ibn Anas. Anyone who performs hajj with haram property has no hajj."

Therefore for those who go to Umrah with public funds, simply desisting from betraying the trusts given to them will be better for them than going to Umrah, or sponsoring others to go on their behalf.

And if people insist on going year in-year-out because of spiritual benefits, it is not as iif there are no alternatives to it. It is reported in Tirmidhi that the Holy Prophet (SAW) said, "Anyone who prays Subh and then sits in the place of prayer remembering Allah until sunrise and then prays two raka'at will have a reward equivalent to a complete Hajj and Umrah." The Prophet then added "Complete, complete, complete."

Also, according to an authentic hadith, attending Jum'ah is equal to the Umrah. The great Said ibn al-Musayyib used to say.

"I prefer it (Jum'ah) to the Umrah." The Sultan said, "Many people find it easy to go on Umra and give sadaqa, while it is not easy for thyem to settle debts and avoid doing injustices. Similarly it is hard for many people to avoid acquiring haram and doubtful property, but easy for them to spend it on the hajj and sadaqa."

To be continued

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