By Sikander Iqbal

“O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Ḥarām after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allāh will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing and Wise.”[1]

In the above verse, Allāh ﷻ forbade the entry of polytheists into the sacred precincts due to the variance in the approach to cleanliness and purity. According to the majority of commentators, the prohibition was enacted in nine Hijrī, due to the fact that the Prophet ﷺ had made the proclamation of withdrawal through Abu Bakr and Alī (may Allāh ﷻ be pleased with them) during the Hajj season in the 9th year.

POLYTHEISM AND IMPURITY

From the perspective of our own objective moral basis that is Sharī’a, which aligns with our fiṭra (primordial disposition), certain things, actions, and beliefs are considered impure. Polytheists…