Al-Ilhad wal-Zulm fi al-Masjid al-Haram bayn al-Irada wal-Tanfidh
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- Islamic University of Madinah
Al-Ilhad wal-Zulm fi al-Masjid al-Haram bayn al-Irada wal-Tanfidh (Deviation and Injustice in the Sacred Mosque Between Intention and Execution) is a scholarly treatise by Dr. Muhammad bin Saad bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud, a faculty member in the Department of the Quran and Sunnah at the College of Da'wah and Usul al-Din at Umm al-Qura University . The study examines the legal and exegetical dimensions of accountability for sins and sinful intentions within the sacred precinct of Mecca and al-Masjid al-Haram .
Background and Purpose
The author notes in the introduction that the motivation for writing the treatise arose during a visit to a close relative in Riyadh . When asked why he did not settle in the sanctuary of Mecca despite being free of his university commitments, the relative replied that he refrained out of fear of a single verse in the Quran : وَمَنْ يُرِدْ فِيهِ بِإِلْحَادٍ بِظُلْمٍ نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ("And whoever intends therein any deviation or injustice, We will make him taste a painful punishment", Surat al-Hajj, verse 25) .
This prompted the author to compile relevant Quranic verses, prophetic hadiths, statements of exegetes, and historical and linguistic sources to clarify the exact nature of accountability within the sanctuary, both for residents and visitors seeking to understand the causes and implications of divine punishment .
Contents and Methodology
The work investigates key terminological and legal distinctions surrounding the Meccan sanctuary :
- Linguistic and Exegetical Terms: The second chapter examines the concepts of intention (irada), deviation (ilhad), and injustice (zulm) as combined in Surat al-Hajj . It explores definitions of irada through classical lexicons such as Lisan al-Arab, al-Jawhari's equation of it with mashi'a (will), and al-Jurjani's definition in al-Ta'rifat as an inclination followed by a belief in benefit .
- Geographical Boundaries and Rulings: The author delineates the boundaries of the sanctuary, distinguishing the broader Haram (the city of Mecca and its surrounding area, where hunting and uprooting trees are prohibited) from the specific al-Masjid al-Haram and al-Bayt al-Haram (the Kaaba and its connected prayer rows), as well as the outer profane area (al-hill) containing the pilgrimage stations (mawaqit) .
- Accountability for Intentions: The treatise highlights the distinctive status of al-Masjid al-Haram, where a person is threatened with painful punishment for the mere unexecuted intention (irada) of committing injustice or deviation, unlike other places where accountability applies only to physically enacted sins . It also contrasts this heightened standard of deterrence with the multiplication of prayer rewards in the sanctuary to one hundred thousand prayers .
Publication
The study was published in the peer-reviewed academic journal Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah bil-Madinah al-Munawwarah (Issue 107, 1423 AH / 2002 CE) by the Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University of Madinah .
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