Sounds like the sign of vanity of a demented old man.
Anyone looking for signs of logic and rationality from a Muslim are going to be sorely disappointed.
These are the people who have placed a black rock in the middle of a huge square (at 5 feet high so it is ideal for kissing), and they circle this rock trying to get close to it to kiss it because they believe it "absorbs sins."
They also think Abraham actually built the first altar (kaba) for the rock! Yea right! Abraham, who followed God's prescription for blood sacrifice to the letter of the law and who abhorred idol worship was going to build this abomination.