RNA – In an interview, Ayatollah Abbas Ka’bi, a member of the Assembly of Experts for Iran’s Khuzestan province, said that delaying Hajj for those who are able and their names have been declared by Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization is considered a cardinal sin,
He noted that in one of the reasons for the obligation of Hajj is mentioned in the Holy Quran God says, “In it are manifest signs [and] Abraham’s Station, and whoever enters it shall be secure. And it is the duty of mankind toward God to make pilgrimage to the House —for those who can afford the journey to it —and should anyone renege [on his obligation], God is indeed without need of the creatures.”
He pointed to the fact that the Holy Quran refers to abandoning the Hajj as an act of “kufr” or disbelief and added, “Those who are able and they have reached the deadline to perform their Hajj but haven’t performed their Hajj or have delayed it due to flimsy excuses, have certainly committed a sin.”
Ayatollah Ka’bi emphasized on the fact that Hajj is obligatory, cannot be delayed and should be performed as soon as possible and said, “The only cases where the Hajj can be abandoned is when a government bans one from attending, a person is sick or suffering from poverty but if a person doesn’t have any of these excuses and neglects his Hajj, it’s mentioned in narrations that if he was to die, according to Islamic law, he hasn’t died.”
The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom said that currently, the government of Saudi Arabia has called on Iranians to be prepared to perform the Hajj and has provided the conditions and laid the groundwork and has guaranteed the security, dignity, honour and comfort of the pilgrims to the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization of Iran.
“For this reason, there is impediment for Iranians to perform the Hajj and there are not excuses for anyone,” he said.
Referring to the sabotage by some individuals to encourage the people not to perform Hajj, he referred to a narration from Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq which says that an individual who prevents others from leaving for Hajj or advises them not to perform Hajj, will suffer from tribulations in this world and will be subjected to punishment in the Hereafter.
Ayatollah Ka’bi said none of charity, alms and good works a person does while Hajj is his responsibility are sufficient but rather that person must certainly perform his Hajj to ensure his actions reach perfection.
He said that the Hajj takes precedence to a great number of good deeds and it’s said in a narration that if someone spends even one dirham on the path of performing Hajj, it’s better than spending a million dirhams in other acts of charity and good deeds and added, “According to narrations and the philosophy of Hajj, Hajj guarantees the benefits and interests of this world and the hereafter. It’s appropriate for the believers to appreciate performing the obligatory Hajj and refrain from abandoning it.”
Ayatollah Ka’bi said that the issue of Hajj is separate from the bilateral relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia regarding political affairs and added, “Regarding the issue of this years’ Hajj, the Saudi government has given guarantees and we hope that this year, the pilgrims to the Sacred House of God are able to perform the Hajj with security, dignity, and comfort.”
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