“My uncle and my aunt are among the pilgrims and I have no idea if they are alive or dead. I believe it is technically impossible to foresee this kind of situation, no matter what type of security measures the Saudi authorities undertake”
Furthermore, Saudi officials have said that police could not have done more to prevent it.
The Qadr is what Allah (swt) knows and wrote in the preserved tablet (al-Lowh al-Mahfooz) at the very beginning of creation. Allah (swt) says in Surat-al-Tawba (9:51):
“Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us”
In other words, nothing happens, except what Allah (swt) destined and wrote for the human beings and nothing happens against that which Allah (swt) knows. The Muslim knows that he cannot do anything against what Allah has determined and what he can and cannot accomplish are set by whatever Allah (swt) willed. This is part of our belief (Imaan). However, this is starkly different from fatalism (al-Qadaria al-Ghaibiya) where man surrenders himself to what is predetermined by becoming passive although it is impossible for anyone to know what Allah (swt) predetermined. We do believe that Allah knows and predetermined everything. But, this must not be linked with the actions that we undertake because we have no access whatsoever to this knowledge of Allah (swt). No one knows whether failure, success, obedience or disobedience will happen.
The Saudi authorities should be definitely be accounted for what happened in their capacity as organizers and custodians of the holy places. Adil from Canada said on bbc.co.uk
“The fact that the Saudi government has not learned from the past underlines the need to remove them as the keepers of Islam’s holiest place”
This situation clearly shows that the present buildings are not large enough to accommodate such a huge number of people at the same time. Drastic investment needs to be made in order to extend the current facilities while adhering to a strict standard of security. One really wonders where all the wealth that Allah (swt) has bestowed on that holy land has gone. In 2001 a conservative report on Saudi Arabia’s investment in the US was estimated at $900 billion. Saudi Arabia in 2005 had a record budget surplus of 57 billion dollars. The rulership decided to allocate $26 billion on the creation of a whole new city with seaside resorts and an 18-hole golf course in the middle of the desert, while it gave a measly $130 million for the Pakistan Earthquake.
January 14th, 2006 at 12:14 am
I need to verify this, but as far as I’m aware, in the late 19thC the hujjaj numbered approx 13 million - more than double in numbers yet with a fraction of the resources.
January 14th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
Also, there is that Hindu festival in the Ganges that accommodates about 20 million people. Then I was thinking, and I said to myself Hajj is a fard and must be carried out at least once in a lifetime. Now, the Saudi authorities only allow 2 million pilgrims per year. Assuming that each pilgrim only does it once in a lifetime, then over a period of 100 years, you will only have 200 million Muslims who have carried the hajj whereas the current Muslim population amounts to 1.4 billion. This 2 million quote is absolutely ridiculous; something needs to be done about it. I recently read that Tajikistan have only allowed 187 people to go hajj this year. Man, when will the other Takijks get a chance to do it?
January 14th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
I went to Saudi Arabia recently and visited many places, including cities in the East of the country. I was very surprised to see that there were many areas that were quite run down and saw Saudis living in real poverty. This isn’t because the country doesn’t have enough wealth or because of poor management, it is simply because the government doesn’t care about its people. The Saudi government controls the largest oil reserves in the world and chooses to invest their wealth in America rather than its own people. Whether the Hajj disaster comes down to poor organisation or an accident you can be sure that the royal family don’t care one bit.
January 14th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Isn’t the problem of poor management almost all over the world? I mean its not just in Saudi or any developing country. Isn’t management all over the world lacking in one thing or another?!
January 15th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Its about time the saudis sorted it out, by spending some of that oil profit theyve been hoarding.