Pilgrimage Not Prison, Psalms 84:1-6, Quran 22:29, 3:96

Psalms 84
“How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty. 1
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 2
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 3
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. 4
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 5
As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.” 6

Quran 22
“So let them complete the rites prescribed for them, make their promises, and circle the Ancient house.” 29

Quran 3
“The first house appointed for humanity was that at Baka. Full of blessing and of guidance for all systems.” 96

The freedoms produced by the democracy and free market economy of the United States are among the greatest ever established. However, when the limits on these freedoms are ignored by its citizens, these very same freedoms often morph into unethical behavior, corruption, criminality, and prison, whether an actual prison or metaphorical one.

We all know that the home is the best places to begin preventing the thinking that lead to greed, which in turn lead to the “big house”; virtuous thinking like humility, delayed gratification, and patience, which can also be learned by taking a trip to “the house”, which is referenced in the Scriptures above.

The ritual involves circling the four corners of the Kaaba, also known as “the house” in Beka/Mecca. Since there is no real inherent value in walking around in circles; and with so many people there, doing so without purpose is futile at best, and harmful at worst. Some people, out of arrogance and impatience, push and shove while circling the house. And again, with so many people in the crowd, people get hurt. Some visitors of the house, as do some American prisoners, allow arrogance and impatience to throw them into “the revolving door” of destructive.

Here are my thoughts on how this works…

Corner 1: At the house, whether in Beka/Mecca or in America, we should learn to pray for and to work for what we want, but we should also learn to make peace with the idea of not having all the things we want until we reach heaven, or until we are able to obtain it in the right way, and we should also learn to continue to enjoy our walk with or with out some of those things; or we can push around to corner two.

Corner 2: We can become impatient because we did not get what we wanted when we wanted it, and we can begin to obtain those things in the wrong way, and continue shoving our way to corner three.

Corner 3: We can eventually feel guilty (or at least feel fearful of getting caught) and decide to stop pushing and shoving, and to resume our walk, peacefully around to corner four, which is also corner one.

Corner 4/Corner 1: Pray for and work for what we want, but make peace with the idea of not having it until we reach heaven, or until we can obtain it in the right way, and to continue to enjoy our walk with or with out those things, or we can shove our way back to corner two.

Now that I think about it, there are other similarities between Mecca and prison, but without getting too political, let’s just stick with the similarities during the pilgrimage. During the pilgrimage, much like prison, there is a lot of waiting around, a lot of reflecting, and plenty of time for soul-searching. Often, people consider themselves reformed, transformed, and born again. Perhaps taking your child on just one trip to this small house can prevent future trips to the big house.

What do you think? Post a comment.