A controversy has erupted among the Islamic scholars in the State over the recent Haj pilgrimage on foot by a man hailing from here. Although Shihab Chottur began his 8,600-km journey from Malappuram in the first week of this month, he had hardly reached the State border when scholars began fighting over the righteousness of his deed.
The dispute began when Mujahid Balussery, a Salafi scholar in the State, said during a speech that Shihab was going for Haj in violation of Prophet’s Sunnah as it was not good to walk when vehicle facilities were available. Mr. Balussery exhorted Shihab to stop his journey and come back home, saying that pilgrimage on foot was not Islamic in modern age. “Please come back, Shihab. And that’s better for you,” said Mr. Balussery.
However, some scholars of the traditional Sunni groups criticised Mr. Balussery saying that Islam did not proscribe pilgrimage on foot. “True that it is better to travel by vehicle. But when a person decides to go on foot, there is no point in stopping him,” said Haris Madani, a young Sunni scholar.
