By: OnIslam & Newspapers
Source: OnIslam
An unusual short video showing a Muslim pilgrim circumambulating the Ka`aba in Makkah’s Grand Mosque on a hoverboard has gone viral across social media; sharply dividing believers who have asked for a religious edict to explain whether this practice is allowed in Islam or not.
“If they lapse into silence, then we might have new innovations and inventions that might not be within the spirit of Umrah or pilgrimage,” stated blogger, Poor Saudi, urging religious scholars to speak out quickly on the issue, Gulf News reported.
The video showing a man performing tawaf, or circumambulation around the Ka`aba, while putting roller board has been widely shared on social media.
The circumambulation [tawaf], made seven times around the Ka`aba, is a requirement of the Muslim pilgrimages of umrah and hajj.
Saudi news site Al Marsad reported that most viewers of the video were shocked, saying that if he was physically able he should do it on foot.
They also agreed that there could be exceptions for people who have health issues, who can use a wheelchair, a common occurrence in the Grand Mosque.
“My view is that roller shoes should not be allowed,” Abdul Rahman, another blogger, said.
“People usually circumambulate the Ka’aba and focus on their prayers and supplications to God. This man and others would be focusing rather on keeping their balance on their moving shoes. They should not be allowed,” he said.
Others warned that without proper reaction from scholars, other violations might be seen in the tawaf.
“I believe that a ban should be imposed on such gadgets because many people would try to use them if there were no restrictions,” Bu Nawwas, another blogger, said.
“There are enough chairs to help the disabled,” he said.
Tawaf is one of the Islamic rituals of pilgrimage.
During the Hajj and Umrah, Muslims are to circumambulate the Ka`bah seven times, in an anti-clockwise direction.
The counter-clockwise encircling of the Ka`bah is believed to demonstrate the unity of the believers in the worship of the One God [Allah], as they move in harmony together around their central shrine, while supplicating to God “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik” [O my Lord, here I am at Your service, here I am].
According to Islamic tradition the tawaf of the Ka`bah is a depiction of the tawaf that runs above the Jannat al Firdaws in the seventh heaven where the Arsh [Allah’s throne] is situated.
Hajj 2015 is anticipated to fall between September 20 and September 25, taking place from the 8th to the 12th of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Hijri calendar.
According to a Gulf Today report, records showed an estimated 2.5 million Muslims from all over the world go to Makkah, Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage after Ramadan and prior to Eid Al Adha.