Pres Mahama’s directive on Hajj profit apt

Due to certain inconve­niences Muslims in the country undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage have been going through over the years, succes­sive governments have been trying to provide a facility that can help resolve the challenges.

On Friday, President John Dramani Mahama cut the sod at a ceremony for the construction of a permanent Hajj Village in Accra. (See lead story).

The Ghanaian Times believes that Muslims would sing the praise of President Mahama and his administration when the project materialises.

Therefore, hopefully, the Mahama administration would do everything possible to complete the Hajj Village and leave it as a memorable legacy.

We pray that all those who would help to bring the proj­ect into reality would enjoy the manifold blessings of Allah for themselves and their descendants.

Meanwhile, there is a serious issue President Mahama raised with the Hajj Task Force at the sod-cutting to the effect that it should channel any extra money that would be realised from organising this year’s pilgrimage into charity.

We believe this directive should be timeless in the sense that Hajj is an annual event and so every year’s task force cannot ignore it.

But while we say this, we still wonder how the task force can make profit from a religious undertaking that is supposed to be made extremely affordable for most Muslims.

It will be recalled that on Feb­ruary 5, this year, the Ghana Hajj Task Force announced a new Hajj fare of GH¢62,000, an equivalent of $4,130 at an exchange rate of GH¢15 to the US dollar, which shows a 17.3 per cent reduction in 2024 fare of GH¢75,000, facili­tated by the government.

However, we think the Presi­dent knows what members of the public, including even Muslims, do not know because according to him, as Vice President in 2009, he was charged to oversee the activities of Hajj.

This implies that he knows some goings-on relating to Hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, a spiritual journey of purification and not a profit-mak­ing enterprise.

But if there can be profit, then that profit must not be swallowed by private pockets and Alhaji Col­lins Dauda must be very vigilant in that respect.

Muslims are generally noted for giving than pocketing what they have to give out to others, hence the President’s directive would not be too difficult to comply with.

Besides, we know Muslims to be believing that Allah is watching all their deeds and so would not disappoint Him in this matter.

Then the reality is that Muslim communities in the country are generally poor and so any oppor­tunity to better them must not be allowed to slip by.

Already, there is the Zakat Fund meant to help the poor and the needy and if Hajj can bring about some funds, then those funds must come to enhance the efforts in the Zakat Fund in ways that can give the vulnerable living in Muslim communities meaning­ful lives.

It is worthy of note that there are Five Pillars of Islam, which are its core beliefs and practices, and all faithful Muslims strive to fulfil them.

These pillars are shahada (the profession of faith, the belief that “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammed (May the blessing of Allah be upon him) is the Mes­senger of God”; salat (prayer); zakat (alms giving); sawm (fast­ing) and hajj (pilgrimage).

It is instructive to note that while the first four pillars can be upheld anywhere, Hajj alone must be observed at a particular place, Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.

That means there are cer­tain implications, including the financial burden for those living distances away from Mecca.

The post Pres Mahama’s directive on Hajj profit apt appeared first on Ghanaian Times.

Read Full Story