Ibraaheem, may Allaah exalt his mention, called people to visit Ka'bah, not himself

23-5-2016 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum. I have a question about the Hajj. When Muslims go to Hajj, are they going to see or visit Abraham? I ask because verse 22:27 states (what means) {They will come to you on foot and on every lean mount, they will come to you from every distant mountain pass.} Was this verse fulfilled in Abraham's lifetime (people will come from all these places to him personally), or was it a prophecy of the present time, when people go for Hajj from everywhere? If so, does this mean that when Muslims go to Hajj, they also go to Abraham? Many thanks.
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

This verse refers to the divine command to Muslims to perform Hajj. It has been reported that Prophet Ibraaheem (Abraham) may Allaah exalt his mention said, “O people, your Lord has taken this as His house (the Kaʻbah), so make Hajj to it.”

The verse does not intend merely visiting Ibraaheem as a person, nor is visiting him considered part of the rituals of Hajj. Al-Jassaas may Allaah have mercy upon him said, “This verse proves that Hajj was made obligatory at that time because Allaah commanded Ibraaheem to call people to Hajj...”

Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah may Allaah have mercy upon him said, “Performing Hajj to the Kaʻbah, which Ibraaheem built and called people to perform pilgrimage to it. The Prophets performed Hajj; Moosa (Moses) and Yoonus (Jonah) and other prophets performed Hajj to it...”

Ibn Katheer may Allaah have mercy upon him wrote:

“The verse means 'Announce (O Ibraaheem) the pilgrimage to mankind and call them to perform pilgrimage to this House which We have commanded you to build.' It was said that Ibraaheem said, 'O Lord, how can I convey this to people when my voice will not reach them?' It was said, 'Call them, and We will convey it.' So he, stood on his station (Ibraaheem’s Maqaam [place of standing]), on the Hijr (the area adjacent to the Ka’bah enclosed by a low semi-circular wall), on the Safa Mountain, or on the Abu Qubays Mountain, and said, 'O mankind! Your Lord has taken a House, so make Hajj to it.' It is said that the mountains lowered themselves so that his voice would reach all the regions of the earth and that those who were still in their mothers' wombs and their fathers' loins heard his call. The response came from everyone in the cities, deserts and countryside, and those whom Allaah has decreed it for will make the pilgrimage until the Day of Resurrection, 'At Your service, O Allaah, at Your service.' This is a summary of the narrations from Ibn ʻAbbaas, Mujaahid, ʻIkrimah, Saʻeed ibn Jubayr, and others among the righteous predecessors. And Allaah knows best...” [Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3:221]

Allaah knows best.

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