Quora Answer: Should Non-Muslims be Allowed into Makkah & Madina?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Should non-Muslims be allowed to enter Makkah? 

Before we talk about whether non-Muslims should be allowed into the Haramayn, Makkah and Madina, we have to understand how this prohibition came about, since it was not always so.  Historically, there was a major disagreement among the fuqaha’, the jurists on this.  Imam Abu Hanifah Nu’man ibn Tsabit’s (r.a.) opinion was that non-Muslims can enter Makkah and even al-Haram, the Sacred Mosque, as long as they do not do so for the sake of the haj or ‘umrah, which they are not allowed to perform.  This is the opinion of the Hanafi madzhab, and I believe this is the best opinion on the matter. 

The other major schools of jurisprudence had a different opinion.  Their basis is this ayat in the Qur’an, Revealed in the 9th year after Hijrah: 

سُوۡرَةُ التّوبَة

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّمَا ٱلۡمُشۡرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ۬ فَلَا يَقۡرَبُواْ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدَ ٱلۡحَرَامَ بَعۡدَ عَامِهِمۡ هَـٰذَا‌ۚ وَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ عَيۡلَةً۬ فَسَوۡفَ يُغۡنِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦۤ إِن شَآءَ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَڪِيمٌ۬ (٢٨) 

O you who believe!  Truly the pagans are unclean; so, let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque.  And if you fear poverty, soon will Allah Enrich you, if He Wills, out of His Bounty, for Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Surah at-Tawbah:28) 

The opinion of Imam Muhammad ath-Thahir ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Aashur (r.a.), as recorded in his Tafsir at-Tahrir wa at-Tanwir, is that the year is ascribed to them in the verse to emphasise the fact that the legal ruling is specific to them alone. 

Most mufassirun, exegetes, interpreted the first statement as metaphorical, that is, the polytheists are not literally impure, but their creed of associating partners with Allah (s.w.t.) is offensive in the Sight of Allah (s.w.t.).  This is also the opinion of Imam Abu ats-Tsana’ Shihab ad-Din Sayyid Mahmud ibn ‘Abdullah al-Husayni al-Aluwsi al-Baghdadi (r.a.), as recorded in his ar-Ruh al-Ma’ani fi Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azhim wa as-Sab’u al-Matsani; Imam Najm ad-Din Abu Hafsw ‘Umar ibn Muhammad an-Nasafi (r.a.), in his Madarik at-Tanzil wa Haqa’iq at-Ta’wil; Imam Abu as-Su’ud ibn Abu al-‘Asha’ir (r.a.), in his Irshad al-‘Aql as-Salim; Imam Muhammad ibn Yusuf bin ‘Ali Abu Ḥayyan al-Jayyani al-Gharnathi al-Andalusi (r.a.), in his Bahr al-Muhith; and Imam Abu al-Fadhl ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr Jalal al-Din al-Khudhayri as-Suyuṭhi (q.s.), in his Tafsir al-Jalalayn. 

From the exegesis of this verse, ahkam, legal rulings, were derived, and there were differences of opinion amongst the ‘ulama, scholars.  Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i (r.a.) interpreted the verse to mean that after that year, polytheists were not allowed to enter the Sacred Mosque of Makkah, yet they could enter other mosques, as only the Sacred Mosque was specified in the verse.  This was also the opinion of Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal (r.a.).  Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Malik ibn Anas (r.a.) understood the verse to be more general and, therefore, that polytheists could not enter the Sacred Mosque of Makkah nor any mosque whatsoever, which is a bit more extreme. 

Imam ash-Shafi’i (r.a.), Imam Malik (r.a.), and Imam Ahmad (r.a.), also understood the term, “Sacred Mosque,” to refers to the entire Sacred Precinct, that is, all of Makkah and Madina, as well as its outlying areas; hence, the legal ruling of barring non-Muslims from entry would apply to that whole area, not just the Sacred Mosque of Makkah. 

Imam Abu Hanifah (r.a.) understood the verse to refer only to the actual pilgrimage, not to mere entrance, and, therefore, that polytheists could enter any mosque, even the Sacred Mosque of Makkah.  The polytheists simply could not perform the pilgrimage, neither the haj nor the ‘umrah, as was customary among the polytheists of Makkah before the Revelation of the verse cited above.  This is found in Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ar-Razi al-Jaswswasw’s (r.a.) Ahkam al-Qur’an; Imam al-Aluwsi’s (r.a.) Ruh al-Ma’ani; Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ansari al-Qurthubi’s (r.a.) Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur’an; Imam Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn ‘Ali ash-Shirazi’s (r.a.) al-Muhadzdzab; Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Sharaf an-Nawawi’s (r.a.) Majmu’ Sharh al-Muhadzdzab; Imam Muhammad Amin ibn ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn ‘Abidin’s (r.a.) Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar; Imam ‘Ala ad-Din Abi Bakr ibn Mas’ud al-Kasani’s (r.a.) Bada’i as-Sana’i fi Tartib ash-Shara’i; and Imam Manswur ibn Yunus al-Buhuti al-Miswri’s (r.a.) Kashshaf al-Qina’a. 

In that time, since the early days of Islam, a lot of things have changed. We have had multiple instances where non-Muslims entered Madina with the intent to remove the body of the Prophet (s.a.w.), and they were caught.  The most famous incident occurred in in 557 AH / 1164 CE, in the time of Sulthan Nur ad-Din Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn ‘Imad ad-Din Zanki (r.a.), ruler of the Zangid dynasty.  We are living in an age where there are over a billion Muslims.  And the infrastructure of the Haramayn can barely handle the crowds, inside and outside the months of pilgrimage. 

In terms of whether we should allow, I follow the position of Imam Abu Hanifah (r.a.), and believe that we should.  There is no express prohibition against non-Muslims entering the Haramayn, and we cannot assume that every ghayr muslim, non-Muslim, is a mushrik, polytheist. 

In terms of logistics and security, even if the body of Muslim scholarship were to reverse their rulings and come to the position of the Hanafi madzhab, a lot of work needs to be done before we allow even more people into Makkah and Madina.  As it is, there are not enough toilets, medical facilities, and even accommodation.



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