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For
any deed to be accepted from an Islamic perspective, it has to
meet certain criteria: it should be both righteous and sincere.
Allah the Almighty says in His Ever-Glorious Qur’an: [whoever
expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the
worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner]
(Al-Kahf 18:110).
It
is clear that righteousness and true respect for Allah—which
excludes the worship of anything else—are the criteria of true
worship. This is the divine rule, and Hajj is no exception. So for
Hajj to be accepted by Allah the Almighty, it has to meet these
criteria and thus its prerequisites, which will be highlighted
here, must be met.
Some
things are required of those who intend to perform Hajj while they
are preparing themselves for that lifetime journey; other things
are required while they are performing the rites; and others are
required from them after they return home.
Before
Setting Off
During Hajj
After Returning Home
Before
Setting Off
1
- One who intends to perform Hajj should provide for all
the expenses of the journey from lawful gains. On the authority of
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Verily Allah
is Good and He accepts only what is good. He has commanded the
believers with what He had already commanded the messengers as
saying: [Oh,
messengers, enjoy what is good and do good deeds.]
And He said:
[O
you who believe, enjoy what is good from what We have provided you
with.]”
Then he said, “A man makes a long journey, appears disheveled
and covered with dust, stretching his hands to heaven and saying,
‘O my Lord! O my Lord!’ But his source of food is unlawful,
his source of drink is unlawful, his source of clothing is
unlawful. How could his prayer be accepted then?” (Muslim).
This
hadith makes mention of a man who worships Allah dearly and prays
to Him so much that he has no time to clean his body; but in spite
of that he eats from the unlawful and uses unlawful things. The
prayers of such a person are not in any way answered by Allah the
Almighty.
So
the lawful earning of food, drink, clothing, and everything else
should be every Muslim’s primary concern. This is the first
precondition for one who intends to go on Hajj for Allah.
2
- One should pay back others’ rights and should return
trusts to their owners.
3
- One should advise one’s family to commit themselves to
the dictates of their religion and the guidance of their Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him).
4
- If the pilgrim is a woman, she should look for a mahram
to accompany her and assist her in performing the Hajj rituals; or
she can look for safe company with whom she fears nothing for her
religion, life, or property. It is transmitted on the authority of
Ibn `Abbas that a man said, “O Allah’s Messenger! I have
enlisted in the army for such-and-such battle and my wife is
proceeding for Hajj.” Allah’s Messenger said, “Go, and
perform the Hajj with your wife” (Al-Bukhari).
During
Hajj
1
- Pilgrims must stick to the example of Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in Tawaf, Sa`i, Rami,
and all other Hajj rituals. This can be understood from his
saying, “Learn from me your rituals (of Hajj)”
(Muslim). This commitment to the Sunnah of the Prophet tends to
make one’s Hajj valid, one’s sins forgiven, and one’s deeds
accepted.
2
- Pilgrims should not associate anything with Allah in
terms of worship or reverence.
3
- Pilgrims should avoid making any false statements.
4
- Pilgrims should perform every rite sincerely and loyally
to Allah alone.
5
- Pilgrims should honor the rites and symbols of Allah.
Indeed,
points 2–5 can be understood from the Ever-Glorious Qur’an
where they are summed up in three verses:
[That
and whoever honors the sacred things of Allah, then that is better
for him with his Lord. The cattle are lawful to you, except those
(that will be) mentioned to you (as exceptions). So shun the
abomination (worshipping) of idol, and shun lying speech (false
statements). Hunafa’ lillah (i.e., worshiping none but
Allah), not associating partners (in worship) unto Him; and
whoever assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from
the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown
him to a far off place. Thus it is and whosoever honors the
Symbols of Allah, then it is truly from the piety of the hearts.
In them are benefits for you for an appointed term, and afterwards
they are brought for sacrifice unto the ancient House.]
(Al-Hajj 22:30–33)
6
- In the same vein, pilgrims should observe the
best of all morals, as breaching any moral value may ruin all
their endeavors to reach an acceptable Hajj. Allah the Almighty
says in His Ever-Glorious Qur’an:
[The
Hajj (Pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months
(i.e., the 10th month, the 11th month and the first ten days of
the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, i.e., two months and ten
days). So whosoever intends to perform Hajj therein (by assuming
ihram), then he should not have sexual relations (with his wife),
nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj. And whatever
good you do, (be sure) Allah knows it. And take a provision (with
you) for the journey, but the best provision is at-taqwa
(piety, righteousness). So fear Me, O men of understanding!]
(Al-Baqarah 2:197)
Hence,
pilgrims should watch their tongue and keep away from nonsense and
empty debates. They should also abstain from violating
prohibitions or harming anyone or anything. Also, maintaining
patience keeps them alert all the time to any breach or violation
by any of their senses.
As
pilgrims should keep away from all these bad things, they should
at the same time do their best to acquire as many good deeds as
they can. So they should perform as many of the acts of worship as
they can.
All
these things and more can be understood from the aforementioned
Qur’anic verse. Any lapse done in the precinct of the Sacred
House, however slight or trivial we may deem it, is a violation
that should be avoided. Allah Almighty says: [And
whoever inclines to evil actions therein or to do wrong, him We
shall cause to taste from a painful torment]
(Al-Hajj 22:25).
It
was related that once when `Abdullah ibn `Umar was arguing with
his wife, he went out of the precincts of the Sacred House. When
asked why he had done so, he replied, “I do this to conform with
Allah’s saying [and
whoever inclines to evil actions therein or to do wrong, him We
shall cause to taste from a painful torment].”
The
Prophet’s Companions used to honor Allah’s symbols to this
great extent, venerate the Sacred House, and avoid anything
related to argumentation or controversy in any way, even if it
were permitted.
In
this way they deserved to aspire for their Hajj to be accepted by
Allah!
After
Returning Home
After
pilgrims properly finish all the prescribed rites—while cloaking
themselves with the best of all manners, committing themselves to
the Sunnah of the Prophet, and devoting all their movements and
even their silence to Allah alone—they still have some things to
observe after returning to family and property. This makes their
Hajj a never-ending ritual, even if they never perform it again in
their life. This can be explained as follows:
1
- During Hajj, the pilgrims have attained a great dose of taqwa
(piety), and hence, after their return they should be in constant
fear of Allah and His mighty status. They should observe all their
moves in order not to violate any of the rules set by Allah the
Almighty to guide humanity to the right path.
2
- Throughout Hajj, the pilgrims should have realized
the reality of tawheed (oneness of Allah). Thus
after their return they should sincerely observe the following:
a.
invoke none but Allah;
b.
seek refuge from none but Allah;
c.
ask no one but Allah for everything;
d.
make oaths in no one’s name but Allah’s;
e.
dedicate vows only to Allah;
f.
recognize that legislation is the right of Allah
alone.
On
the contrary, if pilgrims return with any sort of lack or
distortion in their creed, they have learned nothing from that
magnificent journey.
3 -
It is the responsibility of each and every pilgrim to observe
the moral code observed during Hajj. So if, before going on Hajj,
any were reluctant to abide by the best of all manners, they
should, after their return, be more committed and constant in
observing the moral system of Islam, which is a unique and
distinguished one.
At
the end, there is one remaining question: What is the value of an
accepted Hajj, a Hajj mabrur?
To
answer this question, let’s recall only three Prophetic hadiths.
Abu
Hurayrah narrated: Allah’s Messenger was asked, “‘What is
the best deed?” He replied, “To believe in Allah and His
Messenger (Muhammad).” The questioner then asked, “What is
the next (in goodness)?” He replied, “To participate in
jihad in Allah’s cause.” The questioner again asked,
“What is the next (in goodness)?” He replied, “To perform
Hajj mabrur” (Al-Bukhari).
Abu
Hurayrah narrated: Allah’s Messenger said, “Whoever
performs Hajj to this House (Ka`bah) and does not approach his
wife for sexual relations nor commits sins (while performing
Hajj), he will come out as sinless as a newborn child” (Al-Bukhari).
`A’ishah
narrated that she said, “O Allah’s Messenger! We consider
jihad as the best deed. Should we not fight in Allah’s cause?”
He said, “The best jihad (for women) is Hajj mabrur”
(Al-Bukhari).
I
do not think I need to add anything to this. What can anyone say
after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says and
teaches?
But
what does all this mean? It means that pilgrims must spare no
effort in adhering to these criteria and observances in order to
render their Hajj valid and acceptable by Allah. If these criteria
were not met while they are performing the rituals, their Hajj
will be nothing more than one similar to the pilgrimage the
polytheists used to perform in pre-Islamic times and it will bear
no fruits whatsoever.
Would
anyone like to go on Hajj—with all the difficulty and tremendous
expenses of the journey—and come back empty-handed, without any
reward from Allah? I doubt it.
References
1
- Translation of the Qur’an by M. M. Pickthal. (digital
form)
2
- Translation of Sahih Al-Bukhari. (digital form)
3
- An-Nawawi Forty-Two Hadiths, published by El-Falah
Foundation for Translation, Publishing and Distribution.
4
- For Our Ummah to Regain Its Memory by Dr. As-Sayed Rizq
At-Tawil (Arabic).
*
Ali Al-Halawani is the Managing Editor of the Shari`ah Department
(Eng.). He graduated from Al-Azhar University and got his MA on
Religious Translation from the Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages),
Al-Minia University. He writes occasionally for www.islamOnline.net.
You can reach him at alihalawani72@iolteam.com |
