Boycott Hajj and Omrah! Boycott Saudi Arabia! Ceasefire now!

Written By Diana Jarrar

As Muslims, we learned since childhood that the core beliefs and practices of Islam are the Five Pillars. Those are:

Shahada (Profession of Faith acknowledging “there is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God,”

 Salat (Prayer),

Zakat (Almsgiving),

Sawm (Fasting), and

Hajj (Pilgrimage) if one possesses the physical and financial means to do so.

Incorporating the first four pillars into our daily routines is easily attainable without leaving home or making any financial sacrifices. However, my concern revolves around the fifth pillar, which demands both financial investment and travel to another country: Saudi Arabia.

I appreciate the inclusion of the phrase “if you are capable”. While I meet the physical and financial requirements, it’s the moral aspect where I find myself unable to participate.

Saudi Arabia’s actions deeply offended me on multiple levels. Their treatment dissidents, human rights activists, and independent clerics seemed to distort the essence of Islam, portraying it as a religion that is repressive and dogmatic. This contradicts the values I believe Islam should uphold—freedom and equality for all, with a strong emphasis on women’s rights.

The Quran notably contains a chapter titled “women,” but none specifically for “men”. The Quran emphasizes equality and Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon primarily focused on urging men to treat women with care and to avoid any form of oppression. History showcases many inspiring examples of Muslim women leaders, warriors, and educators such as Nusaybah bint Ka’b, who fought in battle to protect the Prophet. Khawla bint al-Azwar who donned armor and fearlessly attacked the Byzantine soldiers to save her captured brother. Ghazala al-Haruriyya who taunted the Umayyad general, who was running away, saying, “You may be fierce like a lion against me, but you act like an ostrich that panics at the sound of a sparrow’s chirp.”

From Spain to Samarkand, there were countless educated women that both men and women sought after for their knowledge. Umm al-Darda as-Soghra and Fatima al-Samarqandi were renowned legal scholars. The first Muslim university was founded by Fatima al-Fihri.

Sayyida al-Hurra, a female pirate leader, allied with Hayreddin Barbarossa in order to protect Morocco from the Spanish armada. Malahayati, a 16th century Indonesian admiral, commanded a fleet that included female warriors, protecting the kingdom from Portuguese and Dutch invaders.

It’s disheartening to acknowledge that the choice to avoid visiting a nation governed by oppressive rulers renders me unable to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam. In my pursuit of finding an alternative, I decided to redirect my efforts to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem instead of Al Ka’aba. During my countless visits, I always feel a sense of pilgrimage, akin to the spiritual significance others experience at al-Ka’aba during Hajj, if not even more profound. While some may question whether this substitutes the traditional pilgrimage, I find solace in knowing that my contribution aligns with my beliefs. There are individuals like me who, despite not being able to visit Saudi Arabia, find spiritual fulfillment elsewhere. While many in my community embark on journeys to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah, including my family through a business that organizes such trips, I hold no ill feelings. I am genuinely happy for their experiences and the success of their family’s business, even though, regretfully, I cannot partake in it myself.

In 2016, Saudi Arabia made the decision to implement a government initiative with the goal of promoting economic, social, and cultural diversification. This program aimed to achieve several objectives, including the inclusion of women in the workforce, enhancing international competitiveness, boosting the public investment fund, attracting foreign direct investment, increasing non-oil exports and revenues and allowing women to attend sports events and drive vehicles. I hoped that this could potentially mark a positive beginning for Saudi Arabia, signaling an end to its lengthy period of darkness.

In 2018, I was reading Malcolm X and his experience in Hajj when he said: “there were tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we’re all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and nonwhite”. His description made me cry and ignited a desire to embark on the Hajj journey myself. As I contemplated adding my name to the Hajj list, fate intervened with a news notification: Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi Arabian journalist, had been brutally murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Khashoggi was known for his dissenting voice, criticizing the Saudi government, particularly King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. His principled stance against the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen and his advocacy for progressive views cost him his life.

Reflecting on Saudi Arabia’s actions, I couldn’t ignore their extensive involvement in fostering Wahhabism through financial support to madrasas in Pakistan, which played a role in shaping extremist ideologies like that of the Taliban, responsible for grievous devastation in Afghanistan. During the Syrian crisis, Saudi Arabia chose to shut its borders to Syrian refugees, aligning with several Persian Gulf countries in denying entry, exacerbating the plight of those seeking safety and refuge. In Saudi Arabia, migrant domestic workers have been subjected to physical, mental, and sexual abuse, as well as enduring extended work hours, unpaid wages, passport confiscation, and being denied basic necessities such as food, rest, and medical care by their employers in private residences and recruitment agencies.

Saudi Arabia’s consistent silence in the face of severe atrocities and genocides in various Muslim countries. Their lack of intervention and, in some cases, support for oppressors have perpetuated suffering in regions like Bosnia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, and Palestine. This complicity contrasts starkly with the humanitarian values Islam upholds, leaving many disillusioned by their actions.

In September 2023, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America were collaborating to improve relations with Israel, despite Israel’s ongoing expansion into the West Bank, including entering cities like Jenin and engaging in acts of violence, destruction, and terror against its inhabitants. The events on October 7th caused a delay in these plans. What steps did Saudi Arabia take? In the midst of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, there are reports of Shakira dancing near an image of the Ka’aba during her concert in Saudi Arabia. There are rumors circulating about intentions to demolish Uhud mountain and replace it with a medical facility, which would result in the destruction of the tombs of the Sahaba buried there. Initially, my decision to boycott Hajj was based on personal reasons. However, now I see the value of engaging in conversations with others who have made similar choices or have had negative experiences in Saudi Arabia.

Boycotting Hajj and Umra transcends merely abstaining from a pillar of Islam; it signifies a stance against the expenditure of over $12 billion annually, funds that fuel violence and devastation against our fellow Muslims in various countries. This boycott isn’t just a refusal; it’s a resounding protest against the grave injustices, slavery, fundamentalism, and intolerance perpetuated by Saudi Arabia.

By boycotting Saudi Arabia, we actively reject inhumanity and bigotry. This action serves as a powerful message aimed at steering Saudi Arabia toward a more righteous path. Additionally, it stands as a call to the United States and Israel to cease the ongoing the war in Gaza immediately. It’s our collective responsibility to terminate global genocide and put an end to the suppression of freedom of speech, journalism, and scientific exploration.

Boycotting Saudi Arabia is about fostering a conducive environment for individuals like me, who, at present, find themselves unable to fulfill Hajj. This boycott aims to create an opening for a leadership that prioritizes the well-being of the community and all Muslims. It’s a stand to reshape the narrative and pave the way for a future where justice, equality, and compassion prevail.

According to the Quran, God emphasizes the significance of the pillars of Islam, which are personal and serve as a means of expressing gratitude to Allah and living a righteous life. I’ve always been curious about the reason behind the name ‘pillars of Islam’. I couldn’t find the term mentioned in the Quran. The Quran references Prayer 67 times, almsgiving (zakat) 28 times, Fasting (sawm) 13 times, and Hajj (pilgrimage) 11 times. While the Quran references justice 28 times, fighting injustice 200 times, honesty 153 times, life 145 times, forgiveness and its meanings 234 times. Considering these numbers, we would assume that if these are considered ‘the pillars of Islam’, then the following points can be considered ‘the foundation of Islam’. It is important to recognize that if the foundation is weak, the pillars will ultimately collapse.

 The Quran highlights the following aspects:

1.     Prioritizing Protection of every Human Life per what Allah said in Surat Al Maida, Surah #5 (the table), “that is why we decreed for the children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, without its being guilty of manslaughter or corruption on the earth, is as though he had killed all mankind, and whoever saves a life is as though he had saved all mankind. Our apostles certainly brought them clear signs, yet even after that many of them commit excesses on the earth. (32))”

2.     Justice, per what Allah said in Surat Al Maida, Surah #5 (the table), “O’ you who have faith! Be maintainers of justice, as witnesses for God’s sake, and ill feeling for a people should never lead you to be unfair. Be fair; that is nearer to God wariness and be wary of God. God is indeed well aware of what you do (8)”. And in Al Nahal Surah (the Bees) “indeed, God enjoins justice and kindness, and generosity towards relatives, and He forbids indecency, wrongdoing, and aggression. He advises you so that you may take admonition.(90)”

3.     Religious Freedom, per what Allah said in Surat Yunus (Jonah): “Had your Lord wished, all those who are on earth would have believed. Would you then force people until they become faithful? (99)”

4.     Equality, per what Allah said in Surat Al Hujurat, surah number 49 (apartments) “O mankind! Indeed, we created you from a male and a female and made you nations and tribes that you may be well accounted with one another. The noblest of you in the sight of God is indeed the most God wary among you. God is indeed all-knowing, all-aware. (13)”

5.     Mercy and Forgiveness, per what Allah said in Surat Al Nur surah number 24 (the light) “The well-off and opulent among you should not vow that they will give no more to the relatives, the needy, and those who have migrated in the way of God; let them excuse and forbear. Do you not love that God should forgive you? God is all-forgiving, all-merciful. (22)”

The history books document several instances where the Hajj pilgrimage was boycotted. One example was in 512 Hijri / 1118 AD Abd AlQader Al Jazari (562Hijri/1167AD) said in his book ‘’Al-Durar Al-Fari’ad Al-Munazimah fi Akhbar Al-Hajj wa Tareek Makkah Al-Mu’azzamah’. “the Emir of Mecca, Qasim bin Abi Hashim Al-Hasani, built warships, loaded them with fighters, and took them to Aydhab (= an Egyptian port that was on the Red Sea). They plundered the merchants’ vessels and killed a group of them, and those who were safe from them came to Bab Al-Afdal Ibn Abi Al-Jayyoush (d. 515 AH/1121 AD), Minister of Home Affairs of Egypt, and they complained [to him] about what was taken from them.”

The Minister of the Fatimids, Al-Afdal Al-Jamali, responded strongly to the rulers of Mecca who were attacking the vital Egyptian port. In 514 AH / 1120 AD, he made a decisive move that effectively stopped their aggression. He decreed: “Prevented…people from performing Hajj and cut off the Mirah Tax from the Hijaz”. Minister Al-Afdal’s decision to prohibit Egyptians from participating in Hajj appears to have also affected Moroccan, African, and other passengers who were planning to join them at that time. The nobles of Mecca were forced to yield to Cairo’s requests. 

AlJazari continues: “Sherif Qasim wrote to Al-Afdal that what he took from the merchants would be returned to his masters, and that whoever of the merchants was killed would have his money returned to his heirs, and he would return the money in the following year.”

 Ibn al-Jawzi tells us - in ‘Al-Muntazim’ - that the pilgrims in 557 AH/1162 AD “arrived in Mecca, but most of them did not enter [it] for the corruption that took place, but rather a group entered on the day of the Eid and performed Hajj, and most of them returned to their country and did not perform Hajj.”

In the face of Mongol attacks, Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah made a ruling in 640 AH/1243 AD that placed a greater emphasis on prioritizing jihad. This involved the participation of everyone in defending Iraq and its capital, Baghdad, even if it meant sacrificing the effort for Hajj. Hence, in “the year six hundred and thirty-four, the Iraqi [al-Rukb] did not perform the Hajj because the Tatars entered Baghdad, so [the Caliph] Al-Mustansir gathered the scholars and asked them if they can abandon the Hajj for the sake of jihad, so they gave him a fatwa to do so.” As documented by Al-Jazari in ‘Al-Durar Al-Fara’id’.

See below the tables with dates and reasons when Hajj was boycotted or not performed for various reasons.

I had some doubts while writing this. What if I was wrong? I went to pray and seek guidance from God, and as I opened the Quran, it randomly opened to Surah Al-Tawba (Repentance), Chapter 9. “The polytheists may not maintain God’s mosques while they are witness to their own unfaith. Their works have failed and they shall remain in the fire forever ( 17 ) only those shall maintain God’s mosques who believe in God and the last day, and maintain the prayer and give the Zakat, and fear no one except God. They hopefully, will be among the guided. ( 18 ) do you regard the providing of water to Hajj pilgrims and the maintenance of the holy mosque as similar in worth to someone who has faith in God and believes in the Last Day and wages jihad in the way of God? They are not equal with God, and God does not guide the wrongdoing lot. ( 19 )”

What if we boycott Hajj and Omrah for one year? Two years? Three years? Until the day where the holy mosque falls under believers’ hands who care for all Muslims and humanity all around the world! Boycott Hajj and Omrah! Boycott Saudi Arabia! Ceasefire now!


73 AH/693 AD

the Umayyads and the Zubayrids conflicts

As Al-Tabari (d. 310 AH/923 AD) says in his history: “Al-Hajjaj (d. 95 AH/714 AD) performed Hajj with people this year. And Ibn al-Zubayr was confined... [in] Mecca... and neither he nor his companions performed Hajj that year because they did not stop at Arafat.”

145 AH/763 AD

When the Alawites revolted - in Hijaz and Basra; Their revolution reached Egypt, the Levant, and all the horizons of the Islamic world. 

The Abbasid governor of Egypt, Yazid bin Hatim Al-Muhallabi Al-Azdi (d. 170 AH/786 AD), did nothing but “prevent people from performing Hajj in the year one hundred and forty-five. No one from Egypt nor from the Levant performed Hajj in that year. Because there was turmoil in the Hijaz over the matter of Banu al-Hasan” in their revolt against the Abbasids; As Ibn Taghri Bardi (d. 874 AH/1470 AD) mentions in ‘Al-Nujoum Al-Zahira.’

168 AH / 785 AD

The scarcity of water on the Hajj

Ibn Saad (d. 230 AH / 845 AD) - in ‘Al-Tabaqat Al-Kubra’ - narrates that in 168 AH / 785 AD “[The Abbasid Caliph] Al-Mahdi (d. 169 AH / 786 AD) went out intending to perform Hajj... There was little water on the way, so the Mahdi feared that those with him would be thirsty. He returned from the road and did not perform Hajj that year”

272 AH/886 AD

The pilgrims suffered greatly from the Arabs blocking their paths and attacking their lives and property.

Imam Ibn Asakir (d. 571 AH/1175 AD) narrated - in ‘The History of Damascus’ the Emir of Egypt assigned Khumarawayh Ibn Tulun (d. 282 AH/896 AD) to the Turkish commander Saad al-Aasar (d. 273 AH/887 AD). The governorship of Damascus, and one of his greatest achievements was that he “opened the path to the Levant for the pilgrim, because the Bedouins had conquered the road before Saad’s governorship, and he had canceled the Hajj via the Levant route for three years, so Saad went out to the Bedouins and confronted them and killed a great number of them, and opened the way for the pilgrim... so they loved him.” The people of Damascus” for this reason, until Al-Dhahabi described him - in the “History of Islam” - as “he was venerable, just, and beloved to the people of Damascus”

313 AH/926 AD and 314 AH/927 AD

Batinian Qarmatians / Abbasside Conflicts

In the year 313 AH/926 AD, they wanted to seize Basra and Ahvaz. According to Ibn al-Atheer in ‘Al-Kamil’: “So [their army] marched from Hijr, intending to attack the pilgrim” coming from the direction of Kufa, and was able to defeat the Abbasid forces, so “the defeated ones entered Baghdad..., and the people of Baghdad were afraid and the people moved to the eastern side [of it]. ], and no one of the people performed Hajj this year.” 
Al-Dhahabi narrates - in ‘Al-Ibra’ - that in 314 AH/927 AD, “no one from Iraq performed Hajj for fear of the Qarmatians, [rather] the people of Mecca fled from it for fear of them.” As for Taqi al-Din al-Fasi, he confirms - in ‘Shifa’ al-Gharam’ - that this ban extended over the following two years. “No one from Iraq made the pilgrimage to Mecca for these three years out of fear of Al-Qarmati.”

317 AH / 930 AD To 338 AH / 950 AD

The Qarmatians - under the leadership of Abu Taher al-Janabi (d. 332 AH / 944 AD) - were able to attack Mecca itself, causing one of the most horrific massacres of the Holy Mosque in the history of Islam. 
The horrific crimes of the Qarmatians in the Noble Sanctuary had the greatest impact on interrupting the Hajj for many years throughout the fourth century AH.

 Al-Dhahabi narrates - in ‘Al-I’bar’ - that their army “killed about thirty thousand people in Mecca and outside of it. and enslaved women and boys.”

Regarding this, Al-Masoudi (d. 346 AH / 957 AD) says in ‘Al-Tanbih wal-Ashraf’: “Furthermore, Hajj was invalidated, so he did not perform the Hajj in 317 AH / 930 AD due to the entry of Abu Taher... Al-Janabi Al-Qarmati... into Mecca, and his entry into it was on Monday of the seventh day of Dhul-Hijjah, and Hajj has never been invalidated - since the beginning of Islam - other than that year”

Ibn Khaldun says - in his history - that in 317 AH / 930 AD, “the pilgrimage was interrupted because of the Qarmatians, and they returned the Black Stone in the year three hundred and thirty-nine by order of [the Fatimid Caliph] Al-Mansur Al-Alawi (d. 341 AH / 953 AD), the owner of Africa, and his speech in this regard to their prince Ahmad ibn Ubayy Saeed (d. 359 AH/970 AD).”

 Ibn al-Jawzi says: “It appears that no one performed Hajj [from] the year three hundred and seventeen to the year three hundred and twenty-six for fear of Al-Qarmati.”

Ibn Taghri Bardi assures us - in ‘Al-Nujoum Al-Zahira’ - that the Qarmatian danger remained present until the end of the fourth decade of this century. It is mentioned that in 335 AH, “no one from Iraq performed Hajj for fear of the Qarmatians,” and in 338 AH, “the Qarmatians moved, and no one from Iraq performed Hajj this year.”

361 AH/972 AD

Despite the attempts of the central authorities in the Hejaz region - whether in Iraq, Egypt or elsewhere - to eliminate by military force the tampering of the carriages with pilgrim passengers; This did not deter the aggressors, including bandits and others, whether inside the Arabian Peninsula or on the road before reaching it.

Ibn al-Jawzi says that in 361 AH/972 AD, “Hajj’s books came that Bani Hilal intercepted them and killed many people, so the Hajj was disrupted, and only those who went with Sharif Abu Ahmad al-Musawi (d. 400 AH/1010 AD) on the road to Medina and completed their Hajj were greeted.”

363 AH/974 AD

water scarcity

Al-Dhahabi informs us - in ‘Al-Ibr’ - that in 363 AH/974 AD, “the Iraqi tribes did not perform Hajj because they reached Sumaira, and they saw the crescent of Dhul-Hijjah and knew that there was no water on the way, so they returned to the city of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace,” and did not perform Hajj.

371 AH / 982 AD

the Abbasids and the Fatimids conflict

Al-Fassi (d. 832 AH / 1429 AD) noted - in ‘Shifa Al-Gharam bi Akhbar Al-Balad Al-Haraam’ - when he said that the Iraqis performed Hajj in 380 AH / 991 AD, even though “from the year seventy-one (= 371 AH / 982 AD) no one from Iraq performed Hajj, due to strife and discord. (= the conflict) between the Iraqis and the Egyptians,”

384 AH/995 AD

Fear of Qarmatians.
In the face of the  recurring annual calamities from the bedouins in the road, the Abbasids and others had no choice but to submit to the demands of the bandits. They would give them known money as a royalty to secure the pilgrims’ route instead of assault, theft, and murder. However, the delay or damage of this money - before it reached the leaders of these sectors - was one of the major pretexts with which they prevented the Hajj.

“the pilgrim returned to Baghdad, but no one from Iraq performed the Hajj for fear of the Qarmatians.” According to Ibn Taghri Bardi in ‘Al-Nujoum Al-Zahira’.

Ibn Al-Atheer mentions that in 384 AH/995 AD, “the pilgrims returned from Al-Thalabiyah (= Green Bid’ah, located today in the Hail region in northern Saudi Arabia), and no one from Iraq and the Levant performed the Hajj. The reason for their return was that Al-Usayfir, the Prince of the Arabs, intercepted them and said: The dirhams that the Sultan sent in the first year were in short supply.” (= alloy) painted (= adulterated), and I want compensation, so the correspondence (= negotiations) and correspondence took a long time, and time was running out for the pilgrims, so they returned to their country and did not perform Hajj!!

401 AH / 1011 AD

Interruption of the Hajj from the direction of Iraq and the regions of Khorasan and Central Asia beyond it, which continued for several years due to the deteriorating conditions in Iraq, the center of the Abbasid Caliphate and its Buyid and then Seljuk sultanates. in the same year 401 AH / 1011 AD, the pilgrims of Egypt were unable to perform their duties due to the deteriorating security conditions and the internal conflict between the Fatimid forces and the Emir of Palestine, Hassan bin Al-Jarrah (d. after 415 AH / 1025 AD)

Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1200 AD) - in his ‘AlMuntazem’ history writes: “no one from Iraq performed Hajj”

which is what Afif al-Din al-Yafi’i (d. 768 AH/1367 AD) expressed - in ‘Mirror of Heaven’ - by saying: “The people of Iraq did not perform Hajj due to the corruption of time.”

 “no one from Egypt performed Hajj this year”; According to Al-Maqrizi in ‘Ittiaz Al-Hanafa’.

Ibn Adhari al-Marrakshi (d. after 712 AH/1312 AD) says - in ‘Al-Bayan Al-Maghrib’ - that “no one performed Hajj this year (= 401 AH/1011 AD) from the Levant, Iraq, Khorasan, or other horizons, except the people of Yemen and a small group of those who were In neighboring Mecca.”

406 AH/1016 AD

Scarcity of Water

Al-Dhahabi also mentions - in ‘History of Islam’ - that in 406 AH/1016 AD, “the news reached Baghdad - after it was delayed - that many of the pilgrims had perished, and they were twenty thousand, but six thousand of them surrendered, and that the matter became severe and their thirst became severe until they drank the urine of camels, and no one performed Hajj. This year.”

407 AH/1017 AD

struggle over the Buyid throne

“people did not perform Hajj... from Khorasan or Iraq,” and this was - as it appears from Ibn al-Jawzi’s words

409 AH/1019 AD

Fear of Bedouin Bandits

According to Ibn al-Atheer. In the year 409 AH/1019 AD, the pilgrims of Iraq set out, “and the Arabs (= the Bedouins) intercepted them between the palace and the Hajj (= today the town of Al-Ba’ath in Hail, Saudi Arabia), and they asked them for an increase in their fees, so they returned from the palace and the Hajj was canceled this year.” 

411 AH/1021 AD

War and Famine

Ibn al-Jawzi mentions - in ‘Al-Muntazim’ - that in 411 AH/1021 AD “a war occurred between the sultans at Wasit [in southern Iraq], and their famine intensified... and the Hajj was canceled that year.” 

415 AH/1025

Bedouin attacks on the path of Hajj

Al-Maqrizi informs us - in ‘Itti’az Al-Hanafa’ - that in Dhul-Qi’dah 415 AH/1025 AD, the Moroccan caravan arrived as usual in Egypt, and then “the Moroccan pilgrim went out to Mecca, but no one from the people of Egypt accompanied them; and when they crossed the pool of Al-Jub [north of Cairo] a group of [ Caesarean soldiers and slaves, and there was a conflict between them..., [then] those who left for the Moroccan Hajj returned after they had been plundered, wounded, and robbed, and no one from Egypt made the Hajj this year.”

417-423 AH / 1027-1033 AD

seven consecutive Hajj seasons (between the years 417-423 AH / 1027-1033 AD), six of which the Iraqis did not attend due to the situation in their country. And Bedouin attacks on the path of Hajj

Imam Al-Suyuti records - in ‘Hasan Al-Muhadha’: “no one from the people of the East nor from the people of Egypt performed the Hajj either.”

Ibn al-Jawzi says - in his mention of the events of the year 422 AH/1032 AD - that “people did not perform Hajj this year from Khorasan and Iraq due to the interruption of roads and the increase in turmoil”

424 AH/1034 AD

Fear of Bedouin Bandits

 According to Al-Fassi in ‘Shifa Al-Gharam’. Al-Dhahabi narrates - in ‘The History of Islam’ - that in 424 AH/1034 AD, “neither the Iraqis nor the Egyptians performed Hajj for fear of the [Bedouins] of the desert, and the people of Basra performed Hajj - with those who guarded them - so they betrayed them and plundered them”

430-445 AH/1040-1054 AD

The Seljuk/Ghaznavid conflict over control of the regions of Central Asia and Iran - as well as the internal unrest in Egypt and the Levant as a result of the ministers’ dispute over the Fatimid administration

Ibn al-Jawzi says that “people from Khorasan and Iraq did not perform Hajj this year as well as Egypt and the Levant,”

“In the year four hundred and thirty, the Hajj was suspended from all the regions. No one performed the Hajj, neither from Egypt, nor from the Levant, nor from Iraq, nor from Khorasan.” According to Al-Suyuti’s expression, he mentioned several Hajj seasons “in which the people of Egypt performed Hajj alone”

441 AH/1050 AD

Sunni/Shiite sectarian strife

Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH/1373 AD) mentions - in ‘The Beginning and the End’ - that in 441 AH/1050 AD “AlRawafed (= Shiites) and the Sunnis fought. Corruption took place in Baghdad that will be mentioned for a long time, and not one of the people of Iraq performed the Hajj!”

485 AH/1093 AD; and 486 AH / 1094 AD

dispute between the princes of the Seljuk House over the throne

“The tribes of Iraq did not perform the Hajj, but the tribes of the Levant did the Hajj, so the owner of Mecca, Muhammad bin Abi Hashim, plundered them, and the Arabs plundered them ten times, and those who were spared [among them] arrived in a strange state.” According to Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH/1348 AD) in ‘Al-Ibr’.

504 AH/1110 AD

Scarcity of Water

“A Khurasan pilgrim arrived in Baghdad, then they departed to Kufa, and they were told: There is no water on the road, so they returned, and none of them performed the Hajj.” According to Ibn al-Jawzi in ‘Al-Muntazim’.

514 AH / 1120 AD

The Minister of the Fatimids, Al-Afdal Al-Jamali, did not stand for the attacks of the rulers of Mecca on the most important Egyptian port, so he issued his retaliatory decision. Minister Al-Afdal’s prevention of Egyptians from Hajj, which seems to have also included Moroccan and African passengers and others who were joining them at the time

“prevented... people from performing Hajj and cut off the Miri Tax from the Hijaz”; According to Al-Jazari.

557 AH/1162 AD

Corruption in Mecca

Ibn al-Jawzi tells us - in ‘Al-Muntazim’ - that the pilgrims in 557 AH/1162 AD “arrived in Mecca, but most of them did not enter [it] for the corruption that took place, but rather a group entered on the day of the Eid and performed Hajj, and most of them returned to their country and did not perform Hajj”

562 AH/1167 AD and 563 AH/1170 AD

Ayyubid/Fatimid conflict, The Egyptians were unable to perform the Hajj for two consecutive years.

 “the merchants in Mecca did not sell anything, as was their custom, because the Egyptian pilgrims did not come because they were preoccupied with the fighting that had happened to them.” According to Abdul Qadir Al-Jazari (d. 977 AH / 1570 AD) in ‘Al-Durar Al-Fari’ad Al-Munazim fi Akhbar Al-Hajj wa Tareek Makkah Al-Mua’azamma’

Al-Dhahabi tells us - in the ‘History of Islam’ - that in 563 AH/1170 AD, “the Egyptians did not perform Hajj because of the woe it caused their king and the preoccupation with the war of Asad al-Din” Shirkuh.

615-628 AH/1218-1231 AD

Mongol Invasion Hajj remained difficult for millions of people.

624-627 AH/1228-1231 AD Ayyubid weakness after the death of Sultan Saladin and his brother, nicknamed Al-Adil (d. 615 AH/1219 AD), and in light of the entry of Al-Adil’s sons into the struggle for power The Levantine Hajj was disrupted 

In 617 AH / 1220 AD, Abu Shamah Al-Maqdisi (d. 665 AH / 1277 AD) says in ‘Al-Dhayl Ali Al-Rawdhatain’ - in that year, “no one from the Persians performed Hajj because of the Tatars.”

In the year 618 AH/1221 AD, “no one from the Persians, nor from Hamadan, nor from Isfahan performed Hajj, for fear of the spread of infidels in the country and beyond”; According to Al-Jazari.

Imam Ibn Kathir tells us that “people did not perform Hajj after this year (= 628 AH / 1231 AD) also due to the large number of wars and fear of the Tatars and Franks,”

Ibn Katheer says in the events of the year 627 AH/1231 AD: “None of the people of the Levant made the Hajj in this year, nor in the one before it, and likewise in the previous ones as well. These are three years in which no one traveled from the Levant to Hajj.”

630 AH/1233 AD

Tatar attacks on Iraq

“The people of Iraq did not perform Hajj in these years to focus on the issue of Tatars.” According to Al-Dhahabi in ‘History of Islam.’

634-640 AH / 1237-1243 AD

Tatar / Abbasside Conflicts

Al-Fassi says that in 634 AH/1237 AD, “he did not perform Hajj...he went to Iraq, and the Iraqis did not perform Hajj for five consecutive years after this year, from the year thirty-five to the year six hundred and forty.” This is what Al-Dhahabi confirms by saying that “no one also performed Hajj in [this] year (= 635 AH / 1238 AD) from Iraq because of the Tatars’ defeat of the Caliph’s army and the taking of Erbil last year.”

In “the year six hundred and thirty-four, the Iraqi [al-Rukb] did not perform the Hajj because the Tatars entered Baghdad, so [the Caliph] Al-Mustansir gathered the scholars and asked them to abandon the Hajj for the sake of jihad, so they gave him a fatwa to do so.” As reported by Al-Jazari in ‘Al-Durar Al-Fara’id’.

640-650 AH / 1243-1252 AD

Jihad against the Mongols

According to what was mentioned by Ibn Al-Jawzi, a contemporary of those events, when he said that in 650 AH / 1252 AD, “people made Hajj from Baghdad, after ten years in which the Hajj was invalidated, since Al-Mustansir died. And until this year”

648 AH/1251 AD

Mamluk/Ayyubid conflict

“no one from the Levant or Egypt performed Hajj this year.” As confirmed by Ibn Taghri Bardi in ‘Al-Nujoum Al-Zahira’.

655 AH/1257 AD

conflict over Mecca’s emirate between its nobles and the Sultan of Yemen, Al-Muzaffar Al-Rasuli (d. 694 AH / 1295 AD)

The historian of Mecca, Abd al-Malik al-Isami (d. 1111 AH/1700 AD), records - in ‘Samt al-Nujum al-Awali’: “no one from the people of Hijaz performed Hajj, and no one of the kings’ banners was raised in Mecca”

656-666 AH / 1258-1268 AD

Mongols’ occupation of Iraq

In “the year six hundred and sixty-six, the Iraqi [al-Rukb] performed the Hajj from Baghdad, which was the first Hajj they performed after the Tatars took control of Baghdad” since the year 656 AH/1258 AD; As Al-Jazari mentioned.

709 AH/1310 AD

Mamluk civil war

“No one from the Levant performed Hajj due to the state’s turmoil.” According to Ibn Taghri Bardi.

736 AH/1336 AD

The struggle of their Mongol princes over the throne after the death of Sultan Abu Sa’id Khubudbanda (or Kharbanda) 

Al-Fassi records by saying that “in the year seven hundred and thirty-six the Iraqi tribe did not perform Hajj... due to the death of Sultan Abu Saeed bin Kharbanda, the king of the Iraqis, and the leadership changed after him. The interruption of Hajj among the Iraqis lasted for many years.”

803 AH/1400 AD

Timurid Mongols - in Central Asia with their capital, Samarkand - under the leadership of the Uzbek leader Tamerlane (d. 807 AH/1405 AD), invaded the Levant in the year 802 AH/1399 AD and Iraq in 803 AH/1400 AD, then invaded Anatolia in 805 AH/1402 AD. He destroyed much of the city and committed the largest massacres at that time.

“In the year eight hundred and three, no one from the Levant made the Hajj on the usual route, and the reason for that was that Tamerlane went to the Levantine country in that year and seized it and destroyed it. The devastation that occurred in Damascus was greater than in other Levantine countries because of the burning of it by the Tatars when they took control of it.” According to Al-Fassi.

804 AH / 1401 AD

Timurid wars and attacks

Al-Maqrizi (d. 845 AH / 1441 AD) tells us - in his book ‘Al-Suluk’ - that in 804 AH / 1401 AD, “no one from the Levant, Iraq, or Yemen performed Hajj in this year,”

821 AH / 1419 AD

Tamerlane Occupation

“The Iraqis did not perform the Hajj from Baghdad in the year eight hundred and twenty-one, and perhaps the reason for that was what was said that King Shah Rukh bin Tamerlane (d. 851 AH/1447 AD) took [the city] of Tabriz from Kara. Sunqur [the Turkmen], father of the Sahib of Baghdad”; According to Al-Fassi.

824 AH/1421 AD

Shah Rukh’s threat continued for years

“no one from Iraq or Yemen performed Hajj.” As Ibn Fahd Al-Makki (d. 885 AH/1480 AD) says in ‘Ithaf Al-Wari Bi Akhbar Umm Al-Qura’. 

828 AH / 1425

In light of the weak grip of the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt on the Hijaz

 Ibn Shaheen Al-Malati (d. 920 AH / 1515 AD) mentions - in ‘Nail Al-Amal’ - that the year 828 AH / 1425 AD passed and “no one from Iraq performed the Hajj, and they were told that the reason for their obstruction [was] fear for themselves from the coming of the Emir of Yanbu, for he had corrupted The path of the pilgrim”

1078 AH/1668 AD

Turmoil in the areas

AlIssami AlMakki says that on the 5th of Dhu al-Hijjah, “the Egyptian convoy (= the official delegation of pilgrims) entered Mecca, and the pilgrims that year were few... and on the eighth day, the Syrian, Yemeni, and Medinan pilgrims entered... As for the people of Iraq, the people of Najd, the people of Hijaz, and the rest of the Arabs [they] did not perform Hajj, due to the fatigue, hunger, and fear that caused them to go to sleep”

1111 AH / 1700 AD

Bedouin Attacks

Adel Manna’ mentions in his book ‘The History of Palestine at the End of the Ottoman Period 1700-1918’: “The rulers of Damascus increased the Taxes that were enforced of Palestinian counties that are designated to protecting the annual Hajj. But that wasn’t enough to stop the attack on the pilgrims. In the year 1700–1701 AD, Wali AlSham, Sharkas Hassan Basha lead the pilgrimage himself, but that did not stop the great attack that the Arabs made on the pilgrims.”

1170 AH / 1757 AD

Bedouin Attacks

Adel Manna’ mentions: “Hussein Basha Makki had to prepare the pilgrimage party that was attacked by the bedouins that year and they plundered it and attacked them with swords on the guards and pilgrims, they killed 20000 victims”


Contemporary Calls to Boycott Hajj and Omrah:

  • https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/02/mohammed-bin-salman-is-making-muslims-boycott-mecca-hajj-islam-pilgrimage-saudi-arabia/

  • https://www.change.org/p/boycott-umrah-and-hajj-to-protest-saudi-arabia-s-lack-of-support-for-gaza

  • https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australian-muslims-are-joining-international-calls-to-boycott-the-hajj/p4sd2lwt5

  • https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1UZ01Q/

  • https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-boycotting-hajj-might-be-uncomfortable-but-its-necessary/

  • https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/10/saudi-arabia-hajj-boycott-jamal-khashoggi.html

  • https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/reliving-parkland-in-el-paso-hong-kong-protests-intensify-canadian-muslim-boycotts-hajj-sam-rudy-more-1.5240818/why-a-canadian-muslim-is-boycotting-the-hajj-over-saudi-war-crimes-1.5240836

  • https://www.change.org/p/muslims-around-the-world-all-people-of-conscience-boycott-the-hajj-boycott-weapon-sales-to-saudi-arabia

  • https://www.marketplace.org/2019/07/18/why-some-muslims-are-boycotting-the-hajj/

  • https://peoplesworld.org/article/should-muslims-boycott-their-pilgrimage/

  • https://www.change.org/p/حملة-مقاطعة-الحج-والعمرة-موجه-الى-كافة-المسلمين-والاتحاد-العالمي-لعلماء-المسلمين

Sources:

Diana Jarrar
Previous

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Invasion to Palestine