Epigraph:

Every human life is precious and sacred and saving one is like saving the whole of humanity. (Al Quran 5:32/33)

An empty Kaaba a sight never seen before the Coronavirus pandemic.  Suggested reading by the Muslim Times: Coronavirus teaches us once again: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  The Muslim Times is promoting secularism in every country of the world

The Muslim Times’ Chief Editor’s comment: Dear Muslim brothers and sisters, let us learn to think with greater flexibility; please meditate on the reality that the whole of the Surah Hajj of the holy Quran will be understood fresh in the context of Coronavirus’ times; likewise each and every verse of the Quran should be understood in the context of our times and not like it was understood by scholars or religious leaders of your choosing of the past. Please, please, let us live in the present and future and less so in the past. May Allah bless all of us with wisdom, humility and forbearance.

Source: The Guardian

Hajj pilgrimage could be cancelled because of coronavirus

Saudi authorities pave way for first closure of annual Islamic event in Mecca since 1798

By Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent

The biggest occasion in the Islamic calendar, the annual hajj pilgrimage, has become the latest global event to be jeopardised by coronavirus, with Saudi authorities suggesting travellers delay plans to visit Mecca in late July.

The comments have been widely interpreted as clearing the ground for a cancellation of this year’s event, a rare occurrence in modern history: the last such closure took place more than 200 years ago.

Aside: Scope, Style and Preservation of the Quran

• Sometimes the Quran is Written on Stone and Often on Paper?

• The Scope, Style and Effect of the Holy Quran

• The History of the Qur’anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation

• Sources or Criteria for Interpretation of the Holy Quran

• The Quran Gives Principles of Justice, But No Judicial System

• The Quran Only Means What Our Wisdom and Intentions Dictate: A Progressive Understanding

• The Holy Quran and the Seventh Century Arabian Metaphors

• Is God Alive or Dead: A Metaphor for the Scriptures from the US Constitution?

• God Is Living, So Why Does Religion Treat God As Dead?

• I was an Isis sex slave. I tell my story because it is the best weapon I have

Mecca and Medina, the two holy cities that are hubs of the pilgrimage, have both been in effect closed to visitors for the past month, a step that was not taken during the 1918 flu pandemic. Saudi officials have sealed the country’s borders to foreigners and imposed widespread restrictions on movement inside the kingdom, partly in the hope of eradicating the disease before the hajj.

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