Nonetheless, we are exempted from practicing this deed.

Nonetheless, we are exempted from practicing this deed.” He answered her, “This is true, but the best jihad is to perform an accepted Hajj .”[^4] Referring to the same tradition, al-Nasa'i reports the Holy Prophet (S) as saying, “The best and most comprehensive kind of jihad is to make a pilgrimage to the Holy House.”[^5] Thus, al-Nasa'i generalizes this ruling to include the old, the children, the weak, and women.

In this connection, the (‘a) have given a broader view to the ritual Hajj from this angle that it includes all the individuals of the virtuous community who may face exceptional circumstances that prevent them from carrying out the duty of jihad for legal and moral reasons. This view stems from the ’s attempt to maintain the idea and spirit of jihad and to declare the necessity of practicing this sort of devotional act under all conditions.

Of course, this concept is founded on the understanding of the of the Holy Prophet’s situation and content of this devotional duty. The partisans of the (‘a) and the individuals of the virtuous community came under exceptional political circumstances because the tyrannical rulers would wage unjustified campaigns against people for no reason other than gaining a dominant influence over them, making more profit, and levying more financial taxes.

This matter reached its climax when some rulers of the Umayyad dynasty refused to accept the conversion to Islam of some Christians so as not to be deprived of the tributes those people would pay as long as they were non-Muslims.[^6] Declaring their religion-based attitude to such practices, the (‘a) disallowed the individuals of the virtuous community to participate in such campaigns even though this attitude had a negative spiritual influence on the virtuous community since it deprived them of gaining the moral outcomes of carrying out the religious duty of jihad (struggle for the sake of Almighty Allah).

As a substitute, the (‘a) advised their followers to go for Hajj as frequently as possible because the practice of Hajj would compensate for the spiritual, educational, and ethical fruits of jihad of which they were deprived because of the political circumstances of those days. Of course, this concept is also founded on their understanding of the Holy Prophet’s tradition.

In the beginning of our discussion of Hajj , we have referred to the validly reported tradition of Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) who quotes the Holy Prophet (S) as saying: Hajj is one of the two jihads.