On Immortality

From the Koran

Amherst D. Tyssen (1843-1930)

Who’ll bring the dead to life,

The grave’s dark prison burst?
Why, He that on the dead
Conferred their life at first.

’Tis strange that fleeting souls

Again to-day should wake,
But no less strange that here
They once their sojourn make.

Behold the human form

With strength and skill bedight,
Endowed with mind and will,
With hearing, speech and sight.

’Tis God’s o’erruling power

Has caused with wondrous care
These mortal frames to grow
Of water, earth and air.

Then cannot God preserve

Alive the soul He gave,
And bear it safely through
The crisis of the grave?
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Oh, yes, our spirits draw

Their essence from on high,
Of heavenly nature wrought,
Too noble e’er to die.

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 Oneness of God
and Humanity
Reflections on Hajj

Photographs by Aasil Ahmad

Indeed, the first temple set up for humankind

was the one at Mecca, as blessing and
guidance for all beings.
(q u r ’ a n 3 : 9 6 )

Then I saw the Ka’ba, a huge black stone house in the middle of the
Great Mosque. It was being circumambulated by thousands upon thou-
sands of praying pilgrims, both sexes, and every size, shape, color, and
race in the world….
My feeling there in the House of God was numbness. My Mutawaf
led me in the crowd of praying, chanting pilgrims, moving seven times

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around the Ka’ba. Some were bent and wizened with age; it was a sight
that stamped itself on the brain. I saw incapacitated pilgrims being car-
ried by others. Faces were enraptured in their faith.
malcolm x of the united states of americ a, 1964

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 And We made the House
a place of gathering for
humanity, and security.
(qur’ a n 2:125)
There it [the Ka’ba] stood, almost a perfect cube (as its Arabic name con-
notes) entirely covered with black brocade, a quiet island in the middle of
the vast quadrangle of the mosque, much quieter than any other work of
architecture anywhere in the world. It would almost appear that he who first
built the Ka’ba … wanted to create a parable of man’s humility before God.
The builder knew that no beauty of architectural rhythm and no perfection
of line, however great, could ever do justice to the idea of God: and so he
confined himself to the simplest three-dimensional form imaginable—a cube
of stone.
muhammad asad of galicia, 1927
It is here that the grand spectacle of the pilgrimage of the Musselman must
be seen—an innumerable crowd of men from all nations and of all colors,
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coming from the extremities of the earth through a thousand dangers, and
encountering fatigues of every description, to adore together the same God,
the God of nature…. All look upon each other as brothers, or individu-
als of the same family united by the bands of religion…. No, there is not a
religion that presents to the senses a spectacle more simple, affecting, and
majestic!
ali bey al-abassi of spain,1807
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And it is a duty of humanity to
God that whoever is able make a
pilgrimage to the temple….
(q u r ’ a n 3:97)
The scene around this [the Ka’ba], the most sacred spot in the Islamic
world, was one of amazing commotion and confusion, which suggested to a
European mind thoughts of traffic regulation, barriers, and turnstiles. But a
little thought was enough to convince me that nothing of the kind was either
feasible (though practicable enough if desired) or desirable. It would go
against the basic principles of Islam which, though essentially a democratic
and socialist creed, does prescribe and inculcate one element of individual-
ism, which at certain moments—and only at those moments—makes the
human ego all-important above the claims of society, race, and even family.
Each Muslim, man, woman or child, is personally responsible for the achieve-
ment of his own salvation at all costs. That is not only his responsibility but
his bounden duty to be performed without regard to the consequences to
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himself or others.… At such moments spiritual energy transcends the intel-
lectual, and those who believe in the basic doctrines of Islam can scarcely wish
it otherwise.… What matter then if a pilgrim occasionally loses control at the
sublime moment of his ecstasy? What matter if he crowds and crushes when a
little self-restraint, universally practiced, would create a steady and unimped-
ed flow at the physically narrow centres of exaltation and self-realization?
harry st. john philby of great britain, 1931
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 Note that the mountains Safa and Marwa are among
the emblems of God: so whoever makes the seasonal pil-
grimage to the House, or an off-season pilgrimage, it is
not held against anyone if he circles them both. And if
anyone willingly does what is good, God is
appreciative and cognizant.
(q u r ’ a n 2:158)

Pilgrim’s Progress
Ibrahim N. Abusharif
Abusharif wrote this piece after returning
from Hajj in January, 2007.
It is a Muslim’s sacred duty to live for
a few days as a pilgrim, a reasonable
requirement for a lifetime. The pilgrim-
age or the Hajj is a composite of rites that
are essentially reenactments of events
of the distant past and, at one point,
a grand dress rehearsal for what is to
come. Adam, Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael
f, and the Prophet Mu^ammad s are
the names most closely associated with
this rite, and what is asked of the pilgrim
is simply to emulate them, for the rea-
son that their deeds, however ordinary
they may appear, were connected to a
higher realm. The response to this call
remains a marvel, especially in an era
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principal struggles is to pierce outer
forms and imbibe the interior meanings.
But the struggle is magnified when living
in a context in which unexamined infor-
mation is constantly available and when
personal quiet and retreat are becoming
oddities to pursue.
vac ation
To call the Hajj experience a “vacation”
would put off a lot of Muslims, who
would consider the label a slight. But
what I wanted out of Hajj was precisely
a vacation, but in the original sense of
vacating my mind of the assumptions we
absorb as passive consumers of moder-
nity, and vacating the ephemeral iden-
tities we attach importance to. One of
the graces of the pilgrimage to Mecca
and its surroundings pertains to a kind
an academic, or a beggar; there’s no way
to really tell the difference. Rank and
pomp are divorced of status. Ego is dis-
possessed of platform. In this condition,
the Hajj does its work.
the “art of waiting”
The movements of the Hajj rites are not
very time-consuming. Surprisingly, what
takes up most of the time are the long
stretches within and between the rites
that can be easily mistaken as times to
“wait.” It is possible to miss the point
of the pilgrimage if we are not adept in
the “art of waiting,” as a sage once said.
In fact, what a pilgrim does during the
“wait” will largely inform the success of
the journey. Pilgrims do what this place
silently expects of them: supplicate to the
unseen God, remember Him in the holy
would think, even though everyone goes
to the same stations and performs simi-
lar acts. What goes on in the mind and
in the heart, the inner motions, ranges.
The dress, the motion, the crowds, the
“meanwhile,” and the heightened sense
of purpose and of the imminence of
our ultimate return draw out from the
pilgrim levels of resolve. For a precious
few days one almost becomes a seer.
Suddenly, no sham paradigm is safe. We
wish it can last. The rites are capped off
with farewell circuits around the Kaaba
back in Mecca, where it began days
before. The pilgrims then get around to
board the buses, and slowly the former
identities begin to emerge as we prepare
our papers and “ID’s” to board a plane.
It’s the daunting challenge of the pilgrim
to give honest reflection to the questions

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in which there is enormous pressure to
be devotees of the material world and to
succumb to the spiritual sloth this engen-
ders. Despite this, each year millions of
people drop everything in order to make
the pilgrimage, which has difficulty and
expenses. All are partners in a ritual that
remarkably still matters. One of life’s
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of anonymity that strips us down to our
indelible identity as creatures of a great
Creator. For a number of days, millions
of people of all races and status con-
verge for a single purpose. The pilgrim,
by choice, is one face among millions
of faces of all hues and textures. In the
crowd, I can bump into a CEO, a leader,
precincts. And so they ask for a good life,
another chance, forgiveness and mercy
for themselves and those they left behind
(for the living and the dead), knowl-
edge, success, succor, or for unaffected
glimpses of reality, sifting out the real
from the fake. The movements of the
pilgrims are not as choreographed as one
provoked by the ritual, especially when
he or she is back home driving a car,
mowing the lawn, waving at a neighbor,
or simply reading a newspaper.
the effect of reenactments
We make seven circuits around the tall
cube-shaped Kaaba, the first man-made
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building put into the service of remind-
ing people of their servitude to God.
Later we walk seven times between two
hillocks, the course that Hagar j took in
her desperate search for water, only to be
guided to the very spot of the great well
of Zamzam, which to this day offers drink
to thirsty travelers from all corners of the
earth. The walk between the two hillocks
is called sa¢y, which means striving, and it
is an essential rite of the Hajj. But as we
walk Hagar’s path, we ourselves are not
desperate, nor are we out of water. If we
tire, we can stop for rest, sip some water,
and then resume without the peril that
Hagar j � faced. Hence, there must be
important value in reenacting Hagar’s
walk, however symbolic it may be. We
may fairly conclude that the materials
and strict rationality of the duny¥ (the
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ephemeral world) are poor ushers in the
sacred climb. Instead, we are advised that
the invisible realm of sincerity, intention,
and symbolism are required accoutre-
ments for the piercing of the material-
istic veil. So we make circuits around
the ancient House, walk a path between
two hills, and, in Mina (a few kilometers
42
About twenty of us Muslims who had
finished the Hajj were sitting in a huge
tent on Mount Arafat. As a Muslim
from America, I was the center of atten-
tion. They asked me what about the Hajj
had impressed me the most. One of the
several who spoke English asked; they
translated my answers for the others.
My answer to that question was not the
one they expected, but it drove home my
point.
I said, “The brotherhood! The people
of all races, colors, from all over the
world coming together as one! It has
proved to me the power of the One God.”
malcolm x
away), toss seven pebbles at three pillars
that mark the spots where Satan tried to
tempt Abraham e away from God’s obe-
dience. These are rites of worship filled
with symbolism meant to quicken our
spiritual selves.
mt. mercy
The heart of the Hajj, its proving ground
and day, is at Mt. Arafat. On its plains,
slopes, and peak, millions of people
(can’t help but repeat that number)
gather from dawn to sunset for suppli-
cation and remembrance. The scene is
almost supernatural. The importance of
the Hereafter is stressed nearly on every
page of the Qur’an and countless state-
ments of the Prophet s. Firm belief in
the Hereafter is expected of us in the
here and now. Yet nothing in our normal
everyday lives compares to the spectacle
of all of humanity standing before God
for ultimate judgment. The Arafat expe-
rience offers something for our imagina-
tions, a glimpse of the inevitable. It helps
us to map additional meaning to the
words we read in the Qur’an—helps us to
tease out greater sense from the descrip-
And I, too, moved slowly forward and
became part of the circular flow around
the Ka’ba. Off and on I became con-
scious of a man or woman near me….
Among the many people in front of the
Black Stone, a young Indian woman:
she was obviously ill; in her narrow,
delicate face lay a strangely open yearn-
ing, visible to the onlooker’s eye like the
life of fishes and algae in the depths of
a crystal-clear pond. Her hands with
their pale, upturned palm were stretched
out toward the Ka’ba, and her fingers
trembled as if in accompaniment to a
wordless prayer.…
muhammad asad
tions the Book reveals. There is a glow
and ease associated with Arafat, which
abruptly alters at sunset when the throngs
of humanity board buses, SUV’s, and san-
dals and head for Muzdalifah, an exten-
sive plain that looks like a large parking
lot of gravel and stones. There we wait
until dawn before we head to Mina, tent
city, where the population (comparable
to Chicago) will cram together in an
area the size of a large mall. As citizens
of Mina for a few days, we are shown the
full range of human virtues and fallibili-
ties. Each day of our stay at Mina we take
small stones and toss them at large pil-
lars that represent Satan’s guile—small
stones doing mighty work.
medina
People of all races, headdress, and deter-
mination converge in Medina to visit
the Arabian Prophet s, which is not a
formal part of the Hajj. These folks are
driven to Medina by their love of the
Prophet s, which they imbibed through
the curious method of education. But
you sense nothing rote in their visit nor
in their emotions. And since when can
an emotion be passed down and kept
strong enough to drive people to make
the journey to the Prophet’s tomb? Love
cannot be taught, as they say. And this is
true. But when one learns more of the
life of the Messenger s, love seems to
be the crest of the education, where all
facts and roads lead. This is the Prophet’s
grace. Yes, Mecca is a majestic city. If
you knew nothing and merely opened
up your heart and stood on its hallowed
ground, you'd sense that this is a sacred
center, alive in more than one realm. It
is kingly. You feel you are in the pres-
ence of the August, the Wise. Medina,
though, is a light. It is friendly. You
come with your flaws and feel welcomed
nonetheless. Your humanity is accepted.
Just come with a willingness to climb.
Greet the host of the house, convey your
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regards and prayers of peace, and he will
respond. Walk up to him, and he will
know. Sit anywhere and reflect or read
or thumb your beads or raise your hand
in sure supplication or simply relax—it is
all accepted. It's all good. It is a gracious
place. The guests do not feel self-con-
scious. You are who you are.
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 concluding remarks
We each have a body, a fact we are con-
stantly reminded of, and a body does
have needs, organic and sensual, which
we cater to day and night. But to sub-
mit to the curriculum of fundamentalist
secularists that “body” defines human-
ity is a dereliction that revealed religion
has always warned of. We are created
from the clay of the earth but are also
infused with a soul that has no mate-
rial correlate in this world. Religion has
recognized this duality, not as a glitch in
our creation, but as a trial. Somewhere
in the teachings of all the great ones
(including Abraham, Moses, Jesus f,
and Mu^ammad s), there is an un-
asterisked point: in negotiating the mate-
rial and spiritual selves, one brushes
up against salvation. The choice, they
have stressed, comes down to the ques-
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IBRAHIM N. ABUSHARIF
BORN AND RAISED IN THE CHICAGO AREA, IBRAHIM N. ABUSH-
ARIF IS THE EDITOR OF STARLATCH PRESS AND A WRITER. HIS
ARTICLES HAVE APPEARED IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR,
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Q-NEWS, AND DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
AS WELL AS ON VARIOUS WEBSITES, INCLUDING ALTMUSLIM AND
BELIEFNET. FOR NEARLY A DECADE, HE HAS WORKED CLOSELY
ON A PROJECT TO TRANSLATE THE QUR’AN AND HAS RECENTLY
COMPLETED AN EXTENSIVE INDEX TO THE QUR’AN. HE IS ALSO
WORKING ON HISTORICAL NARRATIVES, AS WELL AS A NOVEL.
44
tion: what aspect of our humanity do we
devote ourselves to? For the Muslim, the
nurturing of the soul is paramount and
is guided by what we offhandedly call
in pamphlets the “Five Pillars of Islam,”
essential rites of worship that have been
passed down through the sound line
of prophecy. These pillars start to lose
their meaning when we forget a baseline
understanding of religion: Islam insists
that each of us is born into this world
with a pure condition, a state of grace, in
fact. While humans may be feeble, some-
times foolish, belligerent, and forgetful,
our center was made uncorrupt. This is
equally true for men and women. The
rites of worship and the way of life they
engender are meant to bring us closer to
our original state because it is not con-
fused about God nor indifferent to our
role in His world.
AASIL AHMAD: PHOTOGRAPHER
AASIL AHMAD LIVED IN THE OLD CITY OF FES IN MOROCCO FOR
ONE YEAR. IT WAS THERE THAT HIS INTEREST IN PHOTOGRA-
PHY BEGAN. SINCE THEN HE HAS TRAVELED AROUND THE
MUSLIM WORLD TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS. THE COLLECTION OF
HAJJ PHOTOGRAPHS FEATURED HERE WAS TAKEN USING ONE
OF TWO CAMERAS: EITHER THE NIKON FE2 OR THE MINOX ECX
8X11. AASIL ALSO STUDIES ART WITH MASTER CALLIGRAPHER
MOHAMED ZAKARIYA. HE LIVES IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA
WITH HIS CATS.
[I] went off alone to the top of Mount Arafat…. As I looked down on the great
throng, a grey rippling sea of black heads and white bodies extending from the sides
of the hill, thickly clothed with men to a mile and a half off on the south and half a
mile across, and remembered the distant countries from which they came and what
brought them, it was impossible to help a feeling almost of awe. It set one thinking.
Could all this be of no avail and all this faith be in vain? If so, it was enough to make
a man lose faith in everything of the kind.
john f. keane of anglo-india, 1877-78
During this period [of the Hajj] large crowds of pilgrims … were converging on the
city in such numbers that only God could count them…. The learned doctors are
right to compare it [Mecca] to the mother’s uterus that miraculously makes room
for its child.
ibn jubayr of spain, (1183-1184)
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MALCOLM X EXCERPTS FROM ALEX HALEY, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X
(NEW YORK: BALLANTINE BOOKS, 1992).
QUR’ANIC VERSES RELATING TO HAJJ EXCERPTED FROM
THOMAS CLEARY, THE QUR’AN: A NEW TRANSLATION (N.P. : STARLATCH PRESS, 2004).
ALL OTHER QUOTATIONS FROM ONE THOUSAND ROADS TO MECCA: TEN CENTURIES OF TRAVELERS WRITING ABOUT THE MUSLIM
PILGRIMAGE. EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY MICHAEL WOLFE (NEW YORK: GROVE PRESS, 1997).
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