The Suspension or Cessation of Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) by a Muslim Ruler

According to certain Islamic traditions, it is incumbent upon a Muslim ruler to pave the ground for Muslims to perform their ritual practices, including going on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Accordingly, on the one hand, a Muslim authority has the responsibility to provide facilities for people to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca in case people stop doing it, though he has to pay the cost of this religious expedition from public treasury, no matter the cessation of the pilgrimage is due to some problems such as road safety, or the insecurity of Mecca or some sort of occasional prohibitions by local rulers or even when the pilgrims cannot afford or bear the expense of the pilgrimage or when the pilgrims can afford the pilgrimage but refuse to do it and do not act on the divine commandments. On the other hand, according to what we conclude from the argument for the authority of a Muslim jurist, a Muslim ruler has the authority over all the affairs that can ensure that Islam and Muslim community are preserved. Therefore, if there is an interest more important than that of going on a pilgrimage to Mecca with the intention of not leaving the House of God without pilgrims, the Muslim ruler can order people to suspend their pilgrimage to Mecca or make them cease to go on a pilgrimage. The noticeable contrast between this order with that of the ruler that dictates people to go on a pilgrimage expedition to Mecca can be taken a contrast between a governmental law or decree and primary judicial decree.