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The
human body is a container of one's heart and mind. One's physical
activities express what one harbors in both whether faith or
unbelief or whether moral values or degrading ones. Hence, all the
heavenly laws, in general, and Islam in particular, are interested
in satisfying the bodily needs in a way that causes one no harm.
It
is only Allah the Creator Who have thorough knowledge about how
human bodily needs can be satisfied in a balanced way that does
not negatively affect the spiritual and intellectual aspects of
the human being. Allah Almighty says, "Should He not know
what He created? And He is the Subtle, the Aware."
(Al-Mulk 67:14)
Modernity
has achieved unprecedented strides in the fulfillment of the
bodily needs. It has invented all things that ensure the body's
comfort in terms of food, drink, ride or rest. A human being
nowadays can press a button to turn on or off a light; a second
button to talk to someone on the moon or on the other side of the
earth, etc.,.
One
thinks that he/she has achieved all types of comfort and leisure,
but he/she doesn't know that when one exaggerated in fulfilling
the bodily needs, he/she destroyed his/hers capabilities and
weakened his/her strength. With this mad pursuit of bodily
fulfillment the soul lost faith, and the mind diverted from the
true belief and moral ethics.
Moreover,
when one realized all kinds of physical pleasures, one found that
this is only a mirage of happiness. The happiness that one has
been seeking evaporated with the heat of desire and whimsical
pursuits .
And
yet, the human being is still searching for worldly happiness,
oblivious of the fact that the true comfort and happiness is in
the Hereafter. The only way to attain that happiness is through
abiding by the teachings of Islam so that all aspects of the
Muslim's life, spiritual, behavioral, mental, and physical are
founded on a balanced basis.
In
his book, Ar-Ryadah wa Al-Hadarah Al-Islamyah, Dr. Amin
Al-Khouli says:
The
philosophy of Islam does not aim at suppressing the needs of the
body or belittling its importance and humiliating it in the
pursuit of pure spiritual attainment. It does not forbid the
comforts of this life as some monks have done in their ascetic
approach to the life of this world. Those monks exaggerated so
much in suppressing their bodily desires to the point where they
tortured their bodies and thus lost the equilibrium of the human
nature [as Almighty Allah created it].
Islam
is the divine moderate way of life that does not plunge the body
into fulfilling its base desires, nor does it deny it the comforts
and enjoyments [it naturedly needs] .
Hajj,
which is a spiritual ritual in its first instance, does also give
the body physical strength to carry on with this life .
Hajj
has manifold impacts on the well-being of the body as follows in
the following points :
Strength
of the Body and Safety of the route
One
of the conditions of Hajj is ability, as Allah Almighty said,
"Hence,
pilgrimage unto the House (Ka`bah) is a duty owed to Allah by all
people who are able to undertake it." [Al-Imran — 3:97 ]
The
ability includes the body being able to withstand Hajj rituals as
well as travel and exhaustion implied. According to Ibn Hazm,
ability includes good health and the ability to walk. This is
because Hajj is a type of Jihad (sacred struggle) and it requires
an able body so that its rituals may be performed properly .
Islam
has permitted those who have a financial means but not bodily
ability to perform Hajj by delegating someone to perform it on
their behalf. This is to ensure that they do not feel a depressive
mood because of their thought that the weakness of their body has
prevented them from earning the reward of Hajj. This would have
also positive effect on one's physical health.
This
shows that Islam is considerate of people's health and does not
overburden them beyond their capabilities. At the same time, it
does not deny them the reward that may be achieved by allowing
someone who is bodily unable to make Hajj, to delegate someone
else to go in their place if the former is financially able .
Having
the ability also includes the availability of a safe way where
robbers and the like may not bring physical harm to the person
performing Hajj. Should there be any danger of this kind, Hajj
would not be due for a person, even if he/she has the finances and
the physical ability to perform it.
Teaching
Personal Hygiene
It
is recommended before ihram to shave pubic and underarm
hair, clip the nails, trim the moustache, perform ghusl and
put on perfume. Before one's entrance into Makkah, Mina, and
`Arafat, it is recommended to perform ghusl. All of this
shows us the degree of care that Islam shows toward the personal
hygiene of the pilgrim
It
is also Sunnah to change the white clothes of Hajj every time they
get dirty so that the Muslim stays clean and be presented cleanly
among the people. All of these good manners portray to us a
picture in which the person's spiritual engagement in the rituals
of Hajj does not keep one from maintaining tangible physical
cleanliness. This is because the relationship between the
spiritual aspect of Hajj and the physical one is highly strong.
For example, a Muslim who does not perform ghusl before
Tawaf may distract his companions by his body odor.
Developing
a Culture of Disease Control and Prevention
One
of the rulings of Hajj is that a person who has a contagious
disease is not required to perform Hajj so that he/she would not
cause harm to others by his presence. This is derived from the
following example,
`Umar
ibn Al-Khattab passed by a leprous woman doing tawaf round
the Ka`bah, and he said to her: " O' servant of Allah,
do not make people uneasy. Better that you stay in your
house," so she did so. A man said to her after `Umar's death,
"The one who forbade you has died, so you can come out [to
perform Hajj]." But the woman replied, 'I am not going to
obey him when he is alive and disobey him when he is dead."
The
woman followed the order of `Umar with a contented heart, seeking
the reward of her obedience from Allah Almighty. She saw in
`Umar's words a general juristic ruling applicable to all people
in her conditions, not an administrative order peculiar to a
certain time. And as an enlightened true believer, she followed
that ruling to avert her fellow Muslim pilgrims her contagious
disease.
If
a sickness is not contagious, then there is no blame on the person
to go and perform Hajj if they are able to complete the rituals.
But out of mercy, Allah Almighty has given those people some
dispensations to alleviate their burden. For example,
It
is reported that Umm Salamah said, "I mentioned to the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that I was
not feeling well." He said: "Make Tawaf behind the
people while riding." (Al-Bukhari)
These
regulations and others indicate that the physical conditions of
the pilgrims are taken care of in the regulations of Hajj. There
should be no overburdening upon them so as they are caused more
physical harm than can be treated.
Encouraging
Physical Exercise
Hajj
is one of the rituals in which a lot of walking is done: while
traveling or inside Makkah; while inside Ka`bah during Tawaf;
during the Sa`y between Marwa and Safa; while running between the
two green markers; while going out to Mina or Arafah; while coming
back to Muzdalifah and then Mina and so on.
These
long distances are all usually covered by walking. Walking is a
good exercise for the body. It has so many health benefits and can
reduce the risk of many diseases.
We
ask Allah the Almighty to enrich our knowledge and help us to act
upon the righteous acts of what we know; and to make this effort
in our scale of good deeds on the Day when we come to meet Him,
the Ever-kind, the Most-Merciful. And we end our Du`aa' with: alhamdulilahi
rabbil`alamin (All praise are due to Allah the Lord of the
Worlds).
Read
Also:
Perfect
Impact of Hajj
Spiritual
Impact of Hajj
The
Universal Lessons of Hajj
*
Salahuddin Sultan graduated with high
honors from the Faculty of Dar Al-`Ulum, Cairo University, in
1981. He received his MA and PhD degrees in Islamic jurisprudence
from the same faculty. He established the American Islamic
University in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Detroit, Michigan. He
is also a member of many fiqh, da`wah, and scientific
organizations, such as the European Council for Fatwa and Research
and the Fiqh Council of North America. He is also a member of the
boards of directors of the American Islamic University and North
American Islamic Society.
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