A fatwa issued by Muslim Brotherhood cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi about the annual Hajj pilgrimage has sparked condemnation from across the Muslim world.
The Qatar-based cleric tweeted that “Allah has no need for the Hajj. Any duty that He imposed is aimed at enriching his followers so that they can transcend to their maker on the spiritual, moral and psychological levels.”
“Seeing Muslims feeding the hungry, treating the sick and sheltering the homeless are better viewed by Allah than spending money on the Hajj and Umrah every year,” he added.
Doing the above would grant Muslims greater spiritual gratification than circumambulating around the holy Kaaba, he remarked.
Performing the annual Hajj is among the five main pillars of Islam that every able Muslim is expected to perform at least once in their life.
Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance Dr. Abdullatif al-Sheikh condemned Qaradawi’s fatwa, saying that he has long worked on sowing sedition among Muslims.
He deemed his latest tweets as “one of hundreds of terrorist fatwas.”
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that those who know Qaradawi’s history and methodology and have read his books and listened to his sermons are aware that he loves to create division among Muslims and spark strife among them.
He accused him of exploiting his latest fatwa to achieve political and partisan goals.
The fatwa falls in line with the calls made the Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite channel and the terrorist leaderships of the Muslim Brotherhood, continued the minister.
His fatwas have given rise to violent extremist groups, stated al-Sheikh.
Qaradawi’s fatwa is aimed at “bending religion to serve the Safavid and Brotherhood approaches that are allied against Islam,” declared the minister.
Qaradawi made his tweets soon after the Kingdom hosted yet another successful Hajj whereby the pilgrims were able to perform their duties with the greatest of ease and amid great security.
They all thanked the Kingdom and its people for all the facilitations they have been provided.
Qaradawi was placed on the terrorist blacklist by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on June 8, 2017.
