MAKKAH: Sheikh Abdul Rahman al Sudais, the Imam of the Grand Mosque, said on Sunday that Islam and Muslims had nothing to do with terrorism and those spreading anarchy should be brought to justice.

He was delivering a sermon from Nimra Mosque to nearly 1.5 million pilgrims who had converged on Mount Arafat and its vicinity as part of the Haj.

“A person who saves one life saves the whole humanity and a person who kills one person kills the whole humanity,” he said, quoting from the Holy Quran while urging scholars to forge an atmosphere of peace and love.

Ulema, he added, were successors of prophets and urged them to stop people from violence and terrorism and preach the true teachings of Islam.

The imam said Muslim scholars should try to get close to people and treat them in a friendly way.

He advised Muslims not to indulge in sectarianism and keep unity in their ranks. “Hold firmly to your faith in Allah and do not become divided.”

He emphasised that Muslims were like one body and they should stand united like a solid wall.

Muslim rulers advised to be just and evenhanded

Muslims should work together for spreading good and banishing evil. It was the responsibility of Muslims to promote justice, he added.

Sheikh Rahman said Muslims had an obligation to their relatives and neighbours. “Respect your parents and be good to them and fellow Muslims. Muslims are brothers and they should feel pain and sorrows of each other. The honour, property and blood of one Muslim is forbidden for other Muslims.”

It was the need of the hour that the Ummah held consultations and dialogue to overcome its problems, he added.

Sheikh Rahman urged Muslim rulers to treat people with justice and fairness.

He said Muslims could succeed in this life and the Hereafter by following Allah’s commandments.

“Allah selected Islam as the religion for Muslims and no religion is more truthful than it.”

For the first time in years, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz al Sheikh did not give his Arafat sermon.

Okaz newspaper cited health reasons, but the sheikh still attended the sermon given by Imam Rahman.

Saudi authorities deployed drones to watch over the pilgrims as part of stepped up efforts to avoid a repeat of last year’s crush. Although they announced an investigation into the tragedy, no results have yet been released.

Among the safety measures was the distribution of a bracelet which stores pilgrims’ personal data, while roads have been widened in the Jamarat area

In one of the deadliest disasters in decades, the crush killed nearly 800 people, according to the Saudi authorities, though counts by countries of repatriated bodies showed over 2,000 people may have died, more than 400 of them Iranians.

“I have prayed to God to have mercy on us, give us relief and resolve Syria’s crisis,” said Um Fadi, wearing a long black embroidered dress and headscarf native to her home in southern Syria. “From the bottom of my heart, I pray that God lift this agony from Syria and its people.”

“I have the impression of standing exactly in front of God,” said Khadem Ndyaye, 47, of Senegal. “Muslims came here from everywhere and we are all the same. If the entire world was like that, there wouldn’t be any war. Here we feel that Islam is a religion of peace.”

Indian pilgrim Mohammed Arafan, 40, said he felt “chosen by God” for being able to perform Haj. “It’s beautiful to see Muslims of the world pray together here.”

Pilgrims from Iran did not perform Haj this year because talks between Riyadh and Tehran over Haj arrangements broke down in May.

Published in Dawn September 12th, 2016