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Allah
says, [That
they may witness things that are of benefit to them]
(Al-Hajj 22:28). The benefits of Hajj are both worldly and
religious (spiritual). With regards to the religious benefits, the
one who goes for Hajj earns the pleasure of his Lord and comes
back with all his sins forgiven. He also earns immense reward that
he cannot earn in any other place; one prayer in the Sacred Mosque
in Makkah, for instance, is equal to a hundred thousand prayers
elsewhere, and Tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka`bah) and Sa`i
(pacing between As-Safa and Al-Marwah) cannot be done anywhere
else. Other benefits include meeting other Muslims and discussing
their circumstances, meeting scholars and learning from them and
asking them about one’s problems. Whereas the worldly benefits
include trade and business, as well as other kinds of earnings
that have to do with Hajj.
Furthermore,
there are many virtues of the rituals of Hajj and there is much
wisdom to be found behind them. Whoever is blessed with proper
understanding of them is blessed with much goodness. For
example:
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When a person travels to perform the rites of Hajj, he is
reminded of his journey to Allah and the Hereafter. When he
travels, he leaves behind his dear friends, wife, children,
and homeland, and the journey to the Hereafter is similar.
-
The one who goes on this trip equips himself with enough
provisions to help him reach the sacred land, so let him
remember that for his journey to his Lord, he needs to have
sufficient provisions to help him get there safely, as well.
Regarding this, Allah says, [And
take provision, but indeed, the best provision is taqwa (fear
of Allah)]
(Al-Baqarah 2:197).
-
Traveling is a kind of torment and the same is true, but on a
larger scale, of the journey to the Hereafter. Ahead of man
there are the stages of passing away, the grave, the
gathering, the accounting, the scales and As-Sirat (a bridge
that will be laid across Hellfire, for people to pass over on
the Day of Judgment), followed by either Paradise or Hell. The
blessed one will be the one whom Allah saves.
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When the pilgrim puts on the two garments of his ihram, he
cannot help but be reminded of the shroud in which he will be
wrapped after he dies. This prompts him to give up
disobedience and misdeeds. Just as he gives up his regular
clothing for Hajj, likewise he has to give up sins. Just as he
has put on two clean, white garments, he has to make his heart
clean and pure, and guard his senses so they remain clean and
pure, uncontaminated by the stains of sins and disobedience.
-
When he says “Labbayk, Allahumma, labbayk (Here I am
at your service, O Allah, here I am)” at the miqat
(the place where one enters into the state of ihram), he means
that he has responded to his Lord; so how can he still insist
on sinning and not respond to his Lord’s call to refrain
from disobedience? When he proclaims “Labbayk, Allahumma,
labbayk,” he must also take it to mean, “I am
responding to Your prohibition of committing sins, and this is
the time from which I am giving them up.”
-
By ceasing to do some originally permissible things, let alone
forbidden matters, while in the state of ihram and keeping
himself busy with the Talbiyah and dhikr (remembrance
of Allah), the pilgrim gives himself a good idea about how a
Muslim should be. In this way, he trains himself to give up
some things that, in principle, are allowed but that Allah has
forbidden for him at the time of ihram. So how come he
violates the commands of Allah and commits forbidden deeds, at
all times and in all places?
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When he enters the Sacred House of Allah, which He has made a
sanctuary for mankind, the pilgrim remembers Paradise, which no one can reach without striving hard and making a
rigorous effort—the greatest thing that will keep a person
safe on the Day of Resurrection.
-
Kissing the Black Stone, which is among the first rituals to
be carried out, teaches the visitor of Allah to honor the
Sunnah and to not oppose the laws of Allah with his feeble
reasoning. He comes to recognize that there is wisdom and
goodness behind the laws and rites that Allah has prescribed
for mankind and trains himself to submit totally to his Lord.
It is narrated that `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said
after he kissed the Black Stone, “I know that you are only a
stone and that you can neither benefit nor harm. If I had not
seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kiss you, I
would not have kissed you” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
-
When the pilgrim does Tawaf, he is reminded of his father
Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) who built the house
so it would be a place of resort for mankind and a haven, and
that he called them to perform pilgrimage to this house.
Moreover, our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) also called humanity to perform pilgrimage to this house,
to which prophets Musa, Yunus, and `Isa (peace and blessings
be upon them) also came for the same purpose. This house was a
symbol and a meeting place for these prophets.
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When the pilgrim drinks the water of Zamzam, he is reminded of
the blessing that Allah has bestowed upon mankind in the form
of this blessed water, from which millions of people have
drunk throughout history, yet it has never dried up. The
pilgrim is encouraged to make du`aa’ (supplications) when he
drinks it, according to the hadith in which the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “The
water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for” (Ibn
Majah and Ahmad).
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When he does the Sa`i, the pilgrim is reminded of the trial
that afflicted Hajar, the mother of Isma`il (peace and
blessings be upon him). He remembers how she ran back and
forth between As-Safa and Al-Marwah searching for water that
would save her from what she was suffering, and especially so
she could give her little son, Isma`il (peace and blessings be
upon him), water to drink. When one remembers the struggle and
patience of this great woman, it makes it easier to bear
one’s own problems and to face, with full determination, the
challenges of life.
-
The standing in `Arafah reminds the pilgrim of the throngs of
people on the Day of Resurrection. If the pilgrim is tired due
to being in a crowd of thousands, how will it be to stand
among the hordes of people on a day that is as long as fifty
thousand years?
-
When he throws the pebbles at the Jamarat (the three stone
pillars in Mina), the Muslim trains himself to obey Allah
unquestioningly, even if he does not understand the reason and
wisdom behind this act, and cannot make the connection between
rulings and their purpose. This is a manifestation of complete
submission to Allah.
-
When he slaughters his sacrificial animal, the pilgrim is
reminded of the great incident when our father Ibrahim
submitted to the command of Allah to sacrifice his only son
Isma`il (peace and blessings be upon him) after he had grown
up and become a helping hand for him. He is also reminded that
there is no room for sentiments that go against the commands
of Allah. This teaches him to respond to what Allah orders, as
Allah tells us that Isma`il (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, [“O
my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah
wills, of the patient”]
(As-Saffat 37:102).
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Once the pilgrim comes out of the state of ihram that he was
in and things that had been forbidden to him become
permissible again, he is thus taught about the consequences of
patience and that after hardship comes ease. The one who
responds to the call of Allah will have joy and happiness and
such delight that cannot be felt by anyone except those who
have tasted the sweetness of obedience, such as the joy felt
by one who is fasting upon breaking his fast or by the one who
prays during the last part of the night, after he has finished
praying.
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After he concludes performing all the rituals of Hajj as they
were prescribed by Allah and in the manner that He loves, the
pilgrim has hope that his Lord will forgive all his sins, as
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) promised in the
hadith:
Whoever
does Hajj for the sake of Allah, shunning (during his Hajj)
all sexual matters, and keeping away from sins, will come back
as (free from sins) as he was on the day his mother gave birth
to him. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
This
encourages him to turn over a new leaf, free of evil deeds.
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When he comes back to his wife and children and experiences
the joy of meeting them again, this reminds him of the greater
joy of meeting them in Paradise. This also teaches him that the greatest loss is losing
one’s self and family on the Day of Resurrection, as Allah
says, [Indeed,
the losers are the ones who will lose themselves and their
families on the Day of Resurrection. Unquestionably, that is
the manifest loss!]
(Az-Zumar 39:15).
*
Excerpted, with some
modifications, from:http://www.alminbar.com
**
Sheikh Muhammad Saleh
Al-Munajjid is a prominent Saudi scholar. He is the supervisor of
the Web site Islam Question & Answer
(http://www.Islam-qa.com/). |
