Academic questions Hadi’s call to postpone haj, umrah over polls

Academic questions Hadi’s call to postpone haj, umrah over polls

PETALING JAYA: An academic has questioned the call by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang for supporters to postpone going on pilgrimage until after elections to ensure victory at the polls, describing it as strange.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Izhar Ariff Kashim said that Muslims who had fulfilled the necessary requirements should instead be encouraged to perform their haj or umrah.

Izhar, who is with the faculty of Islamic studies, said it was mandatory for Muslims to perform their haj, especially when they have the opportunity to do so.

“Such opportunities don’t come easy as the visa issued to Muslims who want to perform the haj are limited,” he told FMT, referring to the 31,600 quota set by the Saudi Arabian government.

“So it would be odd for Muslims to reject the opportunity to perform the haj just so they can vote.”

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Izhar added that while voting, in the context of the Ayer Kuning by-election, was a responsibility, it should not be prioritised over performing the haj.

He also said he was confident that not many voters in Ayer Kuning would be going to Mecca – at most “maybe just three or four”.

“And when the opportunity (to perform the haj) comes, don’t spurn it without valid reasons.

“We don’t know when we will obtain a visa again, and there is no guarantee that one will be healthy enough to travel in the future. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

On Saturday, Hadi was reported to have said that Muslims should postpone their umrah or haj if they are supposed to cast their ballots in an election.

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According to Berita Harian, Hadi said victory at the polls must be prioritised to ensure that Islam remains in power.

Amanah deputy president Mujahid Yusof Rawa subsequently poured scorn on Hadi’s claim, made during the Ayer Kuning by-election campaign, saying it had no basis in Islam and was made purely for political interests.

Mujahid, a former religious affairs minister, said the Islamic pilgrimages could not be compared with voting, as the former involved Muslims saving up money and waiting to be allocated quotas, sometimes for years.

On the other hand an elected representative could die at any time, triggering a by-election, he said.