وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَٰذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ

“And when Ibrahim said: My Lord! Make this city secure, and save me and my sons from worshipping idols:” (Holy Qur’an, 14:35).

Allah made a secure land for the people, and a place to peace. Its remembrance fills people with security and calm. Its rites widely spread on earth peace and deep respect for life. Within man the incentives for vice and aggression diminish, and also those impulses which call him to unjustly shed blood and transgress the limits set by Allah.

It was so heinous a behaviour that the angels wondered before the creation of man: How can man be qualified to be the viceroy of Allah on earth when he makes mischief on earth and sheds blood...

قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَنْ يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ

“.. Will Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, and we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness? He said: Surely I know what you do not know.” (Holy Qur’an, 2:30).

Is it not sufficient for him to be doomed to death and non­existence that he holds such criminal tendencies?

Is it not fair that he who celebrates the praise of Allah and extols His holiness is qualified to inhabit the earth, respect life, and Allah's will and wisdom?

For the purpose of completely wiping this crime off the face of the earth and obliviating it. Islam plants in the Mus­lim who performs Hajj an inclination to call for security and peace.

Its growth inculcates in him the percept of the holiness of life, so that he perceives that nobody deserves to live except he who respects life. Those who humbly celebrate the praise of Allah, who know Him are qualified to inhabit the earth...

The pilgrim finds the rites of Hajj an enlightenment urging him to respect life, practiced and deeply felt in the secure land of Mecca; the land of security and peace. So, Allah has made the Sacred House and the sacred city (Mecca) a pilgrimage for people, and a secure place towards which the fearing souls resort. Near it, the hearts that have lost the delectation of life find refuge.

Not only worldly fears dissipate in the Sacred House, but sins are also shed. It is the place where one repents returning to his Creator, winning His remission. In the Qur'an, many verses emphasize the security and sanctity of the Sacred House.

Words like “security” and “haram” are repeatedly mentioned, to show man the value of his life. Thus man is disillusioned from fear, his greatest complex, and the misadventure that follows him everywhere:

فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَٰذَا الْبَيْتِ

“So let them serve the Lord of this House.” (Holy Qur’an, 106:3).

الَّذِي أَطْعَمَهُمْ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَآمَنَهُمْ مِنْ خَوْفٍ

“Who feeds them against hunger and gives them security against fear.” (Holy Qur’an, 106:4).

وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَٰذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ 

“And when Ibrahim said: My Lord! Make this city secure, and save me and my sons from worshipping idols:” (Holy Qur’an, 14:35).

فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ مَقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا ۚ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ 

“In it are clear signs, the standing place of Ibrahim, and whoever enters it shall be secure, and pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah, (upon) everyone who is able to undertake the journey to it; and whoever disbelieves, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, above any need of the worlds.” (Holy Qur’an, 3:97).

وَإِذْ جَعَلْنَا الْبَيْتَ مَثَابَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَأَمْنًا وَاتَّخِذُوا مِنْ مَقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى ۖ وَعَهِدْنَا إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ أَنْ طَهِّرَا بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْعَاكِفِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ 

And when We made the House a pilgrimage for men and a (place of) security, and: Appoint for yourselves a place of prayer on the standing-place of Ibrahim. And We enjoined Ibrahim and Ismail saying: Purify My House for those who visit (it) and those who abide (in it) for devotion and those who bow down (and) those who prostrate themselves.” (Holy Qur’an, 2:125).

وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ

“I swear by the fig and the olive,” (Holy Qur’an, 95:1).

وَطُورِ سِينِينَ 

“And mount Sinai,” (Holy Qur’an, 95:2)

وَهَٰذَا الْبَلَدِ الْأَمِينِ 

“And this city made secure,” (Holy Qur’an, 95:3)

إِنَّمَا أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ رَبَّ هَٰذِهِ الْبَلْدَةِ الَّذِي حَرَّمَهَا وَلَهُ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

“I am commanded only that I should serve the Lord of this city, Who has made it sacred, and His are all things; and I am commanded that I should be of these who submit;” (Holy Qur’an, 27:91)

جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيَامًا لِلنَّاسِ وَالشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ وَالْهَدْيَ وَالْقَلَائِدَ ذَٰلِكَ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

“Allah has made the Kaaba, the sacred house, a maintenance for the people, and the sacred month and the offerings and the sacrificial animals with garlands; this is that you may know that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and that Allah is the Knower of all things.” (Holy Qur’an, 5:97).

أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُ مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَرِّ مَا دُمْتُمْ حُرُمًا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ

“Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food, a provision for you and for the travelers, and the game of the land is forbidden to you so long as you are on pilgrimage, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, to Whom you shall be gathered.” Holy Our'an (5:96).

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُحِلُّوا شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ وَلَا الشَّهْرَ..

“Oh you who believe! Do not violate the signs appointed by Allah nor the sacred month…” (Holy Qur’an, 5:2).

The above cited text are by no means the only one refer­ ring to the security, peace, holiness and respect of life, rather, these are only a few of the Qur'anic verse mentioning the holiness of the Sacred House (Ka'ba) , the sacred land (Mecca) , and the sacred month (the pilgrimage month).

They emphasize forbiddance of such aspects of Hajj as the killing of animal or hunting them, cutting tree or shrubs growing in the sanctum sanctorum. Killing any living thing including pests like insects and reptiles as long as they are on pilgrimage.

By doing so, Islam aims at implanting within man respect of security, love of peace, and save him from mischief, crime and the shedding of blood.

Hajj is genuinely a peaceful trip to the city of security and peace. It is a journey through which the pilgrim feels the value of security in himself and the community. Thus, he becomes aware of the Omnipresence of his Creator Who made this sacred place a secure one: In it, his self feels calm.

He could seek refuge Allah's wrath by hoping for His remission, feeling His ever-close mercy, and entering under His protection. The pilgrim returns ready to repent, and plans a new phase of his life.

How beautiful is the discernment of this truth by Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (‘a) when he addresses the pilgrims by saying:

“And move into Allah's security, His shade and protection. His help to you to attain your goal of entering the sanctuary, and entering the House while deeply knowing the greatness of its owner, His Highness and Omnipotence.”1

• 1. Shaykh Muhammad Hassan Al-Na’ini, Rawal’ Mukhtar min Al-Haj (Excellent Chosen Texts from Al-Hajj, P.33, Quoted from Al-Bihar, Chapter of Al-Hali, P.38.