Column: Hajj--a manifestation of human equality

Yesterday, some two million Muslims ended their pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. Hajj is a tribute to the patriarch of the monotheistic religions-Abraham. Born to a father who made idols and raised in a society which practiced idolatry, Abraham searched for one God and submitted to His will so completely that when God asked him to sacrifice his beloved son Ishmael (who was replaced by a lamb from heaven), he submitted unconditionally. So pleased with Abraham's devotion, God preserved his story in the Quran and made his tradition an obligation for the believing Muslims for all times.

Aside from its religious significance, hajj is also a great manifestation of human equality where Muslims of all colors, races and socioeconomic backgrounds stand and pray together as human beings in front of their God. It was this equality and diversity at hajj that so impressed Malcolm X that he said in a letter from Mecca to his assistant in Harlem, "You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought-patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. During the past 11 days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass and slept on the same rug--while praying to the same God--with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the deeds of the white Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana." The diversity at hajj that impressed Malcolm X is also a testament to the social equality inherent in Islamic ethics.

Although throughout history the victors always fettered free individuals of the defeated nation in shackles of slavery, it is an irrefutable fact that among the civilizations of the world, Muslim polity was the first to give rights to slaves and facilitate their transition to mainstream society, even though it did not ban the practice. On the contrary, many other civilizations failed to do so; such cases abound, dating from the ancient Egyptians' enslavement of the children of Israel to the Romans whose sociopolitical system depended on slavery to the Hindu society where lower castes (untouchables) were and are treated in sub-human manner to slavery among the pre-Islamic Arabs to the "enlightened" Europeans who enslaved millions of Africans in the worst type of bondage the world has ever seen.

Islam introduced the reformation in the institution of slavery by providing incentives for the believers in manumission and by changing the nature of master-slave relationship. The Quran described freeing the bondman as part of following the "steep" path, or the difficult path of virtue (90:13). In another verse God says, "Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good to parents, kinsfolk and what your right hands possess [slaves]: For Allah loves not the arrogant, the vainglorious" (4:36). Muhammad (pbuh) said that those whom you call your slaves are also your brothers. God has put them under you so feed them what you eat yourself, clothe them in what you wear yourself and do not load them with work too heavy and if you do then assist them in it. Furthermore, Muhammad (pbuh) said that no master should say "my slave" rather say "my man," when referring to those under him. Similarly, a slave should not call his owner "my master/lord"; rather, say "my guardian," thus restoring lost human dignity among humans. As a consequence of these and many other laws, slavery in Islamic society was phased out during early years of governance.

Not only was the institution of slavery greatly undermined in Islamic lands, the prevalence of racial and ethnic discrimination also diminished. Islam reformed societies starting from the individuals. Without such deep-rooted change in the attitudes of people, Muslims could not have become as diverse a group as they are and be able to develop societies where multiple ethnicities coexisted. Hajj is a snapshot of this Muslim diversity and a symbol of Islam's tolerance.

Hamza Aziz is a Trinity junior. His column appears every third Wednesday.