The government of Saudi Arabia has launched a metaverse program that allows Muslims to see and visit the Kaaba virtually. Seeing this technology, a controversial discourse emerged that the Hajj was carried out in the metaverse.
This debate is quite lively in the Middle East. It was the Turkish clerics who spoke first. Quoted from Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News, the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), after reviewing it for a month, issued a decision that visiting the Kaaba in the metaverse is not considered a pilgrimage.
"Hajj in the metaverse cannot take place. People can visit the Kaaba in the metaverse but it will not be considered as worship," said Diyanet's Department of Hajj and Umrah Services Director, Remzi Bircan.
They decided Hajj should be performed in the real world. Kaaba through VR is considered the same as VR services in a number of world museums.
This virtual Kaaba visit can be done to introduce the Kaaba to Muslims before visiting the Kaaba. According to him, this virtual visit can help prospective Hajj or Umrah pilgrims.
Virtual visits can be made to introduce as well as to prepare, or commonly referred to as Hajj rituals, as well as ritual exercises at Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory. As well as to explore factually so that there is adequate knowledge before carrying out worship.
So, is Hajj valid if it is done through the metaverse? MUI asserts that it is not legal.
Hajj is a mahdlah worship, dogmatic in nature, the procedure for its implementation is based on what has been exemplified by the Prophet.
The rituals of Hajj are also carried out in relation to places, such as tawaf, by physically walking around the Kaaba 7 times, not in wishful thinking or around a picture of the Kaaba, or a replica of the Kaaba.
Masjidil Haram Denies
Because of this furore, the Grand Mosque in Mecca immediately denied it. The busy Metaverse, which is called the virtual Hajj, is actually a Hajar Aswad exhibition to give an experience that feels like visiting there.
"There was no initiative from us to launch 'Hajj and Umrah in the metaverse'. This is an exhibition of the Black Stone in a museum in Makkah that is taken out of context. The media must be responsible for reporting and taking information from authentic sources," wrote the Grand Mosque through Haramain Sharifain Twitter account @hsharifain.
To note, the metaverse is like moving our world into a virtual world. Everything we do in the real world can be done in cyberspace through avatars, from buying virtual land to office meetings.