[Sidenote: Hajj]
“_They who shall disbelieve, and obstruct the way of God, and hinder
men from visiting the holy temple at Mecca, which We have appointed
for a place of worship unto all men: the inhabitant thereof and the
stranger have an equal right to visit it._”
Islam is scattered in many lands; but the idea of Muhammad was of a
universal Kingdom. The idea was never realized, but the grip of the
master hand is felt to this day. Each of the duties of the Faith is a
symbol of its unity; but the constraining symbol is the centralization
at Mecca. This is the sole remaining sign of the great vision. Islam
is far scattered; it is broken into many sects; there are language
separations, and deeper racial separations; but the whole unwieldy
system and following is bound together by the Mecca pilgrimage, the
least spiritual thing in the whole system. Muhammad made a brave battle
for the unity and pure spirituality of God. But it was the deepest
desire of his heart to win Mecca. He did so at the expense of his
central belief. Mussulmans visit the idolatrous city to-day as they did
in the long past idolatrous ages. The visible church of Islam is not a
pure and beautiful and worthy mosque; it is the old idolatrous stone of
Mecca.
Every true Muslim is bound to visit Mecca at the least once in his
lifetime.