His Eminence Sheikh Salah Al-Bedair, may Allah preserve him, delivered the Friday sermon entitled, “Ease of Worship in Ramadan”, in which he talked about the importance of increasing acts of worship and obedience and drawing closer to Allah in the month of Ramadan. In the opening of his sermon, Sheikh Al-Budair highlighted the fact that Allah has favoured this religion with simple rules for performing hajj and other acts of worship.

Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah, Who has the soundest judgement and Who has set forth what is lawful and what is unlawful. I praise Him for granting us knowledge and proper understanding of His religion, and for all the things that He has taught us. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partners, and I bear witness that our Prophet and master, Muhammad, is His servant and Messenger. May Allah bestow His bountiful and constant peace and blessings upon him and upon all his Household and Companions till the Day of Judgment.

O Muslims!
Fear Allah, for the fear of Allah is the source of all blessings, and knowledge wards off chaos and destruction.

"O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islam (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allah." (Al-Imran: 102)

O Muslims!
There is no Muslim who does not yearn to see and circumambulate the Holy Ka'bah. Performing voluntary hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) or umrah (lesser pilgrimage) is a virtue. Moreover, circumambulating the Ka'bah for those who are not in a state of consecration is an act of worship that brings them closer to their Lord. Performing umrah in Ramadan is a sunnah whose reward equals that of performing hajj with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Yet, it is better and closer to righteousness to forgo these acts of worship for the sake of creating comfort and convenience for fellow Muslims and reducing overcrowding which causes harm, hardship and difficulty, obstructs free movement and leads to trouble, chaos and tumult, which are all incompatible with the essence of worship. Creating convenience for the weak, the sick, the elderly, and other people who perform the Islamic duty of hajj and the required umrah is the common practice of the people of sound reason and good understanding of religion.

Wisdom, shrewdness and the understanding of religion prompt the Muslim to desist from anything that would harm him or harm others, even though doing so is a sunnah. Forgoing certain acts, if done with this good intention, is an act of worship that draws the servant nearer to his Lord.

Sheikh ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on his soul, said, “Leaving the repeated performance of voluntary hajj for the sake of creating convenience for the pilgrims and reducing overcrowding is an act whose reward, we hope, will exceed the reward of performing voluntary hajj, as long as forgoing voluntary hajj is done with this good intention”. Although the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, once liked to lengthen the prayer, he chose not to do so when he heard an infant crying for fear that his mother might be distressed. It was narrated by Abu Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Sometimes I stand for prayer wanting to prolong it, but upon hearing an infant crying, I make it short, lest I should cause distress to his mother” (Reported by Al-Bukhari).

O Muslims!
Taking contingencies, emergencies, and circumstances into account is a religious duty that is also supported by reason. The early Muslim scholars, may Allah have mercy on their souls, were agreed that a pilgrim circumambulating the Ka’bah may forgo touching and kissing the Black Stone in the case of overcrowdedness, in order to avoid harming himself or his fellow pilgrims, and that he may only point to it and say Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater than all) instead.

Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me, ‘What did you do regarding the Black Stone?’ I said, ‘Sometimes I touched it and kissed it, but sometimes I didn't.’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then said, ‘Very well done’” (Reported by Ibn Hibban). This means that he touched it and kissed it only when the area around the Black Stone was not crowded; otherwise, he would not do so, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, approved of his action.  

‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah narrated that Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said, “If the area  around the Black Stone is overcrowded, keep circumambulating without stopping by it”. Ibn Al-Qassim was asked, “Did Malik command the people to push and shove in order to touch the Black Stone?” He replied, “Yes, unless doing so was bound to cause harm”.

Walking fast (ramal) in the first three rounds of tawaf (circumambulating the Ka’bah) is a Sunnah that only men may observe, to the exclusion of women. Muslim scholars state that if, due to overcrowding, there is no way for a pilgrim circumambulating the Ka’bah to get through and walk fast, and if there is a risk that walking fast in the first three rounds of tawaf will cause harm to other pilgrims by pushing and shoving them, the pilgrim must give up walking fast in this manner because doing so is merely a sunnah and harming others is forbidden in Islam.

The person performing tawaf should also forgo performing the two-rak'ahs of the tawaf prayer behind Maqam Ibrahim (The Station of Abraham) in case of overcrowdedness, albeit doing so is a sunnah, if this is bound to cause harm to others. He should perform these two rak'as anywhere else away from the crowds. Whoever insists on performing them behind Maqam Ibrahim, thereby obstructing the free movement of fellow pilgrims and doing harm to them, is considered to have done wrong and to have committed a transgression and a sin.

The general rule in Shari’ah (Islamic Law) is that whatever is considered lawful for a person for his own benefit is conditional upon safety; that is, it must not lead to doing harm to others. Harm in Shari’ah is forbidden and must be removed and prevented, and any act that causes harm to Muslims must be stopped and abandoned.

O Muslims!
The common interest and the necessity sanctioned by Shari’ah support the wise decision taken by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, may Allah aid him, to reduce the number of pilgrims performing hajj and umrah at a fixed rate and for a temporary period until the completion of the circumambulation area expansion project, in order to protect their interests and safety. Complying with this decision is a religious duty and testifies to shrewdness, wisdom, faithfulness, and sense of responsibility.

I have said what you have heard, and I ask forgiveness of Allah for myself, for you, and for all Muslims, for any sin we have committed. Ask Allah for forgiveness, for He is the Most Forgiving to those who turn unto Him again and again in repentance.