In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Some Christians are not pleased that we go and worship God during Hajj, circumambulate the Kaaba, kiss the Black Stone, and throwing stones, etc.

And they say: How do you differ from the polytheists and the worshippers of idols and statues? You are all the same; they used to draw closer to stones and sanctify them, and you also draw closer to stones and sanctify them.

So we say: Use your minds a little; the polytheists believed that those stones were gods. We do not believe that the Kaaba is God, nor do we worship the Kaaba! The Kaaba is merely a sacred symbol in Islam; it serves as the spiritual focal point of the faith, being the direction (qibla) and the central point for pilgrimage (Hajj and Umrah). It brings believers together in a profound sense of unity and equality, followed by a feeling of harmony and oneness, reminding us of our true purpose in life.

You must understand that the foundation for us is God; the whole matter lies in faith in God. This is the first point, and this is the essence.

As long as we are convinced and believe that God is the true deity, the discussion ends. If He wanted, He could command us to walk on walls, live in water, or fly in the sky; it makes no difference, as long as the command comes from the God we believe in and are convinced of. We did not create an idol out of dates to eat when we are hungry; the Kaaba is merely a symbol; we do not worship it, but we worship its Lord.

And if prostrating towards the Kaaba is an act of worship to it, then our first qibla was Al-Aqsa Mosque in Palestine. Does this mean we worshipped Al-Aqsa Mosque? Or do the People of the Scripture worship their qibla?

The rituals of Hajj were originally present during the time of our Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail. It was the polytheists who stole those rituals from us and directed them towards idols at the behest of the devil.
All we did was restore the rituals and direct them to God without the additions of the polytheists. I mean, we are the original ones, O Christians, by God.

And if you say that we believe the Black Stone forgives sins, this is a wrong thought. It is more appropriate for you to say that prayer and fasting forgive sins, as he (ﷺ) said: "The five daily prayers, from one Friday to the next, and from one Ramadan to the next, are expiation for what is between them, as long as major sins are avoided" [Sahih Muslim].

Does this mean that we worship prayer or that prayer is what forgives sins? No, it is a means by which we worship God ( O you who have attained faith, be mindful of Allah and seek the means of approach to Him and strive in His way, that you may succeed ) [Al-Ma'idah 35], and neither prayer nor the Black Stone is a third party, as the polytheists used to worship stones thinking they would bring them closer to God.

There is a vast difference between someone who kisses a picture of a person out of devotion and worship, and someone who kisses a picture of their father, for example, out of respect and love. The former is a polytheist, while the latter is dutiful.

`Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) kissing you I would not have kissed you." [Bukhari]

On the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, circumambulating the Kaaba and saying:

"How pure you are and how pure is your fragrance! How magnificent you are and how magnificent is your sanctity! But by the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity of a believer—his wealth and his blood—is greater in the sight of Allah than your sanctity, and we are to think of him nothing but good."

(Narrated by Ibn Majah)

And one day, Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, looked at the House (the Kaaba) and said:

"(Addressing the Kaaba) How magnificent you are and how magnificent is your sanctity! And yet, the believer is more magnificent in sanctity to Allah than you."

(Narrated by At-Tirmidhi)

And God knows best.