Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
___________________
Alhamdu'lillaahi rabbil'aalameen, wassalaatu wassalaamu 'alaa sayyidil mursaleen
Assalaamu `Alaykum wa
Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu
The
Soul of Hajj
by Dr. Habib
Siddiqui
"...the performance of hajj is a simultaneous show
or exhibit of many things.
It is a show of creation. It is a show of history.
It is a show of unity. It is a show of Islamic
ideology."
______________________________________
No annual event on the face of
the globe, religious or non-religious, compares to hajj in terms of the sheer
number of participants, duration of the event and the breadth of agenda. In spite of this fact, it has always remained
equally fascinating and mysterious to not only non-Muslims, who are barred from
entering the holy city, but also to millions of Muslims, who had not performed
hajj.
What then is hajj? In essence, hajj is man╝s
evolution toward Allah; his return to Him.
It is a symbolic demonstration of the philosophy of creation of Adam
(AS), the first man. To further
illustrate this, it may be stated that the performance of hajj is a simultaneous
show or exhibit of many things. It is a
show of creation. It is a show of
history. It is a show of unity. It is a show of Islamic ideology. It is a show of Ummah,
the community of Muslims. That is why,
it is said in the Qur╝an: ôAnd
proclaim unto mankind the hajj .àThat they may
witness things that are of benefit to them.╜ (
Just as in any other good show or movie or theatre-play,
the following conditions prevail in hajj.
Allah is the stage Manager. The theme
portrayed is the actions of these main characters û Adam, Haw╝a
(Eve), Ibrahim, Hajera, Isma╝il (AS), and Shaytan. The main scenes are û Masjid
al-Haram, ╗Arafat, Mas╝a
(space between the mountains û Safa and Marwa), Mash╝ar (area
between ╗Arafat and Mina) and Mina.
Important symbols are û Ka╝ba, Safa, Marwa, day, night,
sunshine, sunset, idols and rituals of sacrifice. The dress and make-up are û ╗Ihram, halq
and taqseer
(part of ceremonies of hajj involving cutting of hair and nails, afterward). Lastly, the player of the show is û YOU û the Hajji.
You are the main feature of the performance. The role of Adam, Ibrahim,
Isma╝il and Hajera in
confrontation between Allah and Satan is all played by you. As a result, you are the hero of the show!
Hajj is a duty unto Allah for
mankind, for him or her who can find a way or means to get there (Qur╝an 3:97).
It is not a tax on your wealth, but a duty. Thus, to qualify, you must be sane and wise
to understand what you are getting into, and able-bodied to go through this
task, and lastly, have the means or resources to perform hajj.
The pillars of hajj are five û
(1) ╗Ihram, (2) waiting at ╗Arafat, (3) Tawaf
of the Ka╝ba, (4) sa╝iy
or running between the Safa and the Marwa and (5) cutting or trimming of hair. Others are not pillars, although some may
require kaffara or penalty, if not done. The person who puts on the ╗Ihram or
cloth for either ╗Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) or
hajj (greater pilgrimage) is called a Muhrim.
The months of hajj are the three. These are the Arabic months of Shawwal, Dhul-Qadah and first ten days of Dhul
Hijjah. Thus,
one cannot put on Ihram before Shawwal. Hajj and ╗Umrah
are performed in three ways û ifrad, tamattu and qiran.
1. Ifrad
involves first performing hajj and then Umrah.
2. Tamattu
is when one first performs Umrah and then hajj, both
in the same year with some break in between the two.
3. Qiran
is when one puts on the ╗Ihram with the intention of combining both hajj
and ╗Umrah without any break in between
the
two.
There are ten etiquettes of
hajj. These are:
The steps of hajj are the
following:
Miqat û putting on ╗Ihram at
designated places with wudhu.
The show of hajj begins with Miqat. At this
point, the participant must change his/her clothes. Clothes show individuality, status,
preference and distinction. They create
superficial barriers that separate man from man. The concept of ôI╜
(and not ôWe╜) emerges which gives birth to
discrimination. At Miqat
you assume your original shape as a ôman╜, just
one of ôchildren of Adam╜ who will die one
day. The cloth of ╗Ihram is,
therefore, the anti-thesis to that ôindividualism╜,
it is the kafan (or burial shroud). You wear the kafan,
the two pieces of cloth, just like everyone else. You join the mass, the multitude and become
nothing or just a drop of water in the ocean that has no special identity of
its own. An atmosphere of genuine unity
prevails everywhere. It is a human show
of Islamic unity, it is a show of universal brotherhood. The bodies were left in Miqat
and the souls are motivated here. This
is the beginning of your journey, your voyage to nothingness. There is no sex, no perfume, no shoes, no
sewn clothes and head covers for men, no face mask, no cutting of hair or
nails, i.e., absolutely no signs of aristocracy or distinction. In the state of Muhrim,
you don╝t even look in a mirror to see your own
image. You don╝t
hunt any animal, you don╝t uproot any
plant. So you kill the tendencies of
aggression by being peaceful to nature.
You cease to remain or behave as somebody. Hajj is a movement to returning to Allah,
just as Allah says in the Qur╝an: Wa ilal-lahil maseer (24:42), meaning, ôUnto
Allah is the journeying.╜ All your
selfish egos must be buried at Miqat. You witness your own dead body and visit your
own grave. By sacrificing your
individuality, you focus on reality, the basic purpose for which you were
created - that being a slave unto Allah.
Just as when you would be buried in two pieces of cloth, leaving behind
all your wealth and worldly belongings, here in Miqat
you practice a dress rehearsal for that inevitable event.
It is preferable that you enter Makkah
during the daytime.
Each step you take toward Ka╝ba,
your heart pounds. The weight of being
close to Allah╝s house seems to get heavier and
heavier. You are endowed with a mixed
feeling of love and fear. Love, because
you have waited this long to get here.
Fear, because you don╝t know whether you
can endure the strain of rituals of hajj, fulfill your duty unto Allah and be
born again as an innocent human being.
Make du╝a
(supplication) for Ka╝ba upon seeing it.
Remember this is the Baital Haram û the Sacred House -
appointed by Allah (Qur╝an 5:97). This is the first house of worship on the
face of the globe. It is to this house
that you face while praying. It is also
the direction in which your face would be turned when you are buried as
dead. It is the center of existence,
faith, love, unity and life. It has its
own history. It is called Baitil Masabatal-lin-nass wa amana, i.e., the House of
resort for mankind and a sanctuary (Qur╝an
2:125). It is also called Baitul Atiq
û the Ancient House û in the Qur╝an (
You perform Tawaf (circumambulation)
of Ka╝ba seven times, unless it is time for a
regular prayer led by an Imam, which you need to join in.
Just as planets of our solar
system orbit around the sun, you orbit around the world╝s
sun - the Ka╝ba, and become part of a universal
system. You demonstrate your love for
Allah by making Tawaf around His house. Tawaf should be started from the corner stone û the Black
stone, Hajr al-Aswad - with
Ka╝ba on the left. This is where you make a contract to join all
the tribes of the earth, and become like a drop of water entering the ocean.
The moment of truth has come and you must select your path, distinct from those
who had rejected their Creator. Three of
the seven Tawafs must be at a faster pace than normal
walking. You should try to touch the
stone with hand, and put your forehead on it and then kiss it. By touching the stone, you have shown your
allegiance to your Creator, who had sent this very stone from the heaven, so
that He could know your love for Him. By
touching the stone, you have cut off all forms of allegiance to anything other
than Allah, you have become free again from servitude of men and this world.[1][1] During Tawaf, you
become part of the cosmos. You forget
about yourself. You are in love with the
symbol of unity and servitude to Allah.
You see nothing but His symbols, the Ka╝ba
and the Black Stone, Hajr al-Aswad. By denying yourself you have become a lover
of Him just like Hajera who migrated to this land,
barren and rugged, without vegetation, without any forms of subsistence, but
with complete reliance in Her Lord, Allah Subhana Wa ta╝Ala (SWT). And Allah did not neglect either her or her
infant son. He brought out the Jamjam well and let people settle there, making it the most
important place in the
During Tawaf,
everyone encircles the Ka╝ba collectively. The movement is of one unit and there is no
individual identification of men or women, black or white, red or yellow. The movement has transformed one person into
the totality of a ôpeople.╜ All of the ôI╝s╜
have transformed into ôWe,╜ establishing the
universality of ummah with the goal of approaching
Allah. Likewise, all your self-centeredness must go and transform into
self-denial or ummah-centered activities. Allah╝s way
is the way of the people. In other
words, to approach Allah, you must first approach people. That is why, individual activities in Islam
are less meritorious than collective actions. You step out of the Tawaf cycle at the same place you started after completion
of the seven orbits. This is just like
being resurrected from the same spot where you would be buried.
After Tawaf,
perform two rakah of prayer behind Maqam-e Ibrahim in which you pray
Surah al-Kafirun in the
first rakat and Surah al-Ikhlas in the second.
Maqam is a very blessed place for
praying (Qur╝an 2:125). It is the nearest point to Allah. As a matter of fact, there is no place in
this entire earth where you get more reward than this place for praying. The stone has the footprint of Ibrahim (AS), the rebel against the established despot of
his time, Nimrod. He stood over this
stone to lay the corner stone - Hajr al-Aswad and to re-construct the Ka╝ba
and to pray (Quran 2:125). Do you now
understand where you are standing? By
standing on the same stone, you vow to become like Ibrahim
Hanifah wa Khalil-Allah, the upright friend of Allah, who was
uncompromising in his conviction of Tawhid. In Maqam,
symbolically, you shake hands with Ibrahim (AS) by
pledging the same dedication to Allah û i.e., to be like Ibrahim
and Isma╝il (AS), his son.
Run between the mountains - Safa
and Marwa - seven times, starting with the Safa and ending with the Marwa.
This is called Sa╝iy. Literally it means search, a movement with an
aim. It is depicted by running and
hurrying. Here you act like Hajera, the mother of infant Isma╝il. She had no food, no water, no shelter,
neither for herself nor for her child, but only uncompromising, relentless
faith that the God of Ibrahim (AS) will not leave her
and her only son without sustenance.
Remember, when Ibrahim (AS) left her and their
only son, Isma╝il (AS) near the
On the seventh day of Dhul-Hijjah, after the Zuhr
prayer, Imam explains the meaning of hajj and exhorts people to go to the
Visit and stay at Mina on the
eighth day (after arriving there in the morning) till the next Fajr (dawn prayer).
Go to ╗Arafat after sun
has risen on the ninth, stopping on the way at Namirah
and listening to khutbah before Zuhr
(mid-day prayer).
Proceed to ╗Arafat (five
miles further north) and seek Allah╝s
forgiveness there till Maghrib (prayer after sunset).
╗Arafat literally means
knowledge and science. ╗Arafat
represents the beginning of man╝s creation,
that of our forefather Adam. It was shaytan who misled our forefather by whispering to him
saying: ôO Adam! Shall I show you the tree of
immortality and power that wastes not away?╜ (Qur╝an
20:120) He caused the downfall of Adam
and Haw╝a (Eve). For years, they were separated from each
other having descended at different places.
It was in ╗Arafat that they met again. It was in a small rocky hill of Jabal al-Rahma in the center of ╗Arafat
that their sins were forgiven by Allah.
So, here in ╗Arafat, you act like Adam (AS) or Haw╝a
and seek forgiveness for you and your loved ones.
After sunset proceed slowly to Muzdalifah (halfway between ╗Arafat and Mina) without
praying (Qur╝an 2:198). However, the Imams Abu Hanifah
and Sufyan al-Thawri (R)
said it is permissible to pray Maghrib before
reaching Muzdalifah.
Spend the night before Eid in Muzdalifah. Pray Fajr early. Collect pebbles there (70 per person).
Muzdalifah is part of Mash╝ar-ul-Haram. Our Prophet Muhammad (S) prayed for long duration here. You must be in Mash╝ar by the nightfall (while you were at ╗Arafat during the day). Darkness engulfs you in Mash╝ar. ╗Arafat is knowledge, it requires daylight for clear vision. Mash╝ar literally means consciousness and understanding. Such blossom at night through deep reflection or meditation. So, Mash╝ar is the stage of insight while ╗Arafat was the stage of experience. Intuition needs no light. It can see in the darkness. It is the stage between knowledge and love, or ╗Arafat and Mina. Here you reflect upon yourself and strengthen your spirit. Are you not in the right way? Are you ready to fight against Satan or his insinuations? In Makkah, during tawaf you joined the crowd and became part of them. Here you are alone, despite being within a crowd. Here you are for yourself only. Therefore, confess your sins to Allah. And this night is a good cover for your tears. Take preparation for tomorrow by getting ready tonight. There is a great battle in which you have to participate tomorrow. So, collect your weaponry û the pebbles - before the day breaks. The pebbles will be used against your enemy. You have to act like Ibrahim (AS) here just as he fought against the insinuations of Satan on his way to sacrifice his beloved son, Isma╝il (AS).
Go back to Mina and throw seven
stones at Jamrat-ul Aqabah,
reciting Takbir each time. The remainder 63 stones should be thrown over
the next three days of Ayyam al-Tashriq
(11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul
Hijjah) at a rate of 21 stones per day. Every day, throw the first 7 stones at Jamarah near Mina, and the last seven at Jamarat al-Aqabah, located closer
to Makkah.
The tenth day has arrived. This is the day for sacrifice of animal. You are armed with weapons to fight Satan,
the enemy of your forefather, the devil who tried to confuse Ibrahim (AS). Mina
literally means love. Ibrahim (AS) felt too much love for his only son, Isma╝il (AS).
And Allah wanted to test how great or how real his love was for
Him. Ibrahim
(AS) saw a vision of sacrificing his most beloved son. That was the command from Allah to test Ibrahim (AS) of his love and devotion. Can Ibrahim (AS)
pass this test? He ponders on this
unusual, rather cruel, test. He has
grown old and he has no other offspring.
In his very old age, Allah has listened to his prayer and has blessed
him with this son through his second wife, Hajera. As a thanksgiving for answering to his
prayer, he has named his son, Isma╝il (meaning:
God listened [to my prayer]).
Yet, Ibrahim
(AS) was asked to settle Isma╝il and his mother
in the valley of Makkah when the child was still an
infant. And now that the lad has become
old enough to walk and reason, Allah wants him to sacrifice that son to prove
that his true love is only for Allah.
Just ponder on this for a moment (Qur╝an
37:102). Don╝t
you get a chill in your back? Satan tries to create doubt in his mind: ╗O
Ibrahim, are you sure you want to sacrifice your son,
your true love, your joy, the meaning of your existence, the fruit of your
life; who would there be after you to worship your Lord; don╝t
you have heart, any soft feelings toward your son?╝ Ibrahim (AS) is
momentarily confused. Should he or shouldn╝t he carry out Allah╝s
command, ôyou must sacrifice your son?╜ Is he dreaming or is it the reality? No, there is no confusion what he saw in his
vision is crystal clear; God truly wants him to sacrifice his beloved Isma╝il. He
wins over Satan, the sneaking whisperer.
But then Satan returns and tries to digress him from his task. Ibrahim (AS) wins
over again. But Satan does not give up
that easily, he tries to create confusion for the third time. Ibrahim (AS) wins
over Satan╝s temptations yet for the third
time. He is mentally all prepared to
carry out the task. His choice is
obvious û absolute obedience and devotion to Allah; Isma╝il
must be sacrificed. He wanted to share
the message with his lad. Thus, he talks to his young lad, Isma╝il
(AS), of his dream and asks his opinion.
And what does this ôgentle╜ son (whom
the Qur╝an calls Ghulamin
Halim) reply?
He calmly says: ôO my father! Do that which
you are commanded. Allah willing, you
shall find me of the steadfast.╜ (Qur╝an 37:102)
He answers like the rock of Gibraltar!
What did you expect? Did you expect the son of Ibrahim
(AS), the upright, to be any less faithful than his father? So, here in Mina, you act like Ibrahim (AS), the soldier of Tawhid
(monotheism), ready to defeat, subdue or shoot down your real enemy, the Satan
within you representing your personal egos, desires, cravings, and
preferences. These ôother╜
things, the ôidols╜, were distracting you from
the true worship of God. But here in
Mina, you are now ready to fight against these taghoots (demi-gods)
to show your true devotion and obedience to Allah. You fight Satan just as Ibrahim (AS) had fought against him. To mimic that event, you throw stones at
Satan at the three Jamarats.
Qurbani or sacrifice an animal, saying
only Bismillah.
When both the father and the
son - Ibrahim and Isma╝il
(AS) - had surrendered to Allah and Ibrahim (AS) had
flung Isma╝il (AS) down upon his face and was
about to put the knife on his son╝s neck, Allah
called Ibrahim (AS): ôO Ibrahim! You have already fulfilled the vision.╜ (Qur╝an
37:104-5) Ibrahim (AS) doesn╝t
have to sacrifice his son. Instead, he
should sacrifice this ram, which has been sent to him, as ransom for Isma╝il (AS).
Unlike the false-gods of polytheism, Allah, the One True God, is not
bloodthirsty. He just wanted to check
where Ibrahim (AS) stood in his devotion and love,
whether he was capable of overcoming his personal feeling of love for his son
to please Allah. A lesson was taught by
Allah û from now on there would be no human sacrifice in the altar of God. Sacrifice of a halal animal whose meat you can eat
and distribute among the poor is a sufficient substitute.
Ponder again. What was Ibrahim
(AS) asked to sacrifice? It was nothing
short of the most beloved thing/entity among his possession. But when he was ready, his Isma╝il was returned unto him, unscathed and
unharmed. And he was made a model for
humanity: ôAnd We left for him [Ibrahim
(AS)] among the later folk (the salutation): Peace be unto Ibrahim. Thus do we reward the good.╜ (Qur╝an 37:108-9) If you love something more than you
love Allah, then that thing has become your idol and you must be ready to
sacrifice that. Are you ready to
slaughter your worldly desires, worldly love, your Isma╝il
in Mina in order that you be free from all attachments save those of
Allah? If you are, then slaughter a
goat, sheep, ram, cow or camel as a ransom towards your Isma╝il. As Dr. Shariati
rightly puts it, ôTo offer a sheep instead of Isma╝il is a ôsacrifice╜,
but to sacrifice a sheep just for the sake of sacrifice is ôbutchery╜!╜
(Ref: Hajj by Dr. Ali Shariati) For surely Allah
says, ôTheir flesh and their blood do not reach
Allah, but the devotion from you reaches Him.╜ (Qur╝an
22:37)
Men should shave their head or
trim their hair, at least, one-quarter of head. Women should not shave their head,
but only trim slightly at the end of the lock of a hair.
After the Qurbani (sacrifice) of the animal, you have almost completed the basic requirements of hajj, so you can make an end of your unkemptness (Qur╝an 22:29). You have defeated Satan but you may not have succeeded in completely killing it. You may have defeated him outside but he comes back inside of you. So, you should stay the next three days in Mina and continue with your battling of the Satan at Jamarat.
After shaving or trimming the
hair, you should go to Makkah and make the Tawaf of visitation and run seven times between the Safa and the Marwa. Then your hajj is complete and you can come
out of ╗Ihram.
This is the latter tawaf of the Ka╝ba (Qur╝an 22:29), performed after you return from
Mina. In Mina, you have defeated Satan
and renewed your ties with Allah by following the footsteps of Ibrahim (AS). When
you first approached Ka╝ba you had not, by
then, purified yourself. You were still
impure and unconscious. In ╗Arafat
you gained consciousness. In Mina you
purified yourself. So, this is
appropriate that you do the tawaf and sa╝iy in the purified state before you return
home. During the rituals of hajj you
played the roles of Ibrahim (AS) and Hajera. Do not
replace your role-playing to something else when you return. Like Hajera, always
trust in Allah. Like Ibrahim
(AS) fight the fire of Nimrod, i.e., oppression. Like Ibrahim (AS)
be prepared to sacrifice your Isma╝il, i.e.,
love or desires, for the sake of your faith. That is the essence of hajj. You return to Allah the way He wanted you to
be: a slave totally dedicated to his/her Master.
In closing, let me quote from
Ali bin Uthman al-Jullabi
al Hujwiri╝s (R) Kashf
al-Mahjub. A
certain man came to Junayd [al-Baghdadi] (R). Junayd asked him
whence he came. He replied: ôI have been to hajj.╜ Junayd (R) said: ôFrom the time when you first journeyed from your home have
you also journeyed away from all sins?╜
He said, ôNo.╜ ôThen,╜ said Junayd (R), ôyou have made no
journey. At every stage where you halted
for the night did you traverse a station on the way to Allah?╜ He said: ôNo.╜ ôThen,╜ said Junayd (R), ôyou have not trodden
the road stage by stage. When you put on
the Ihram (pilgrim╝s garb) at the proper place
did you discard the attributes of humanity as you cast off your ordinary
clothes?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not
put on the Ihram. When you stood on ╗Arafat
did you stand one instant in contemplation of Allah?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not stood on ╗Arafat. When you went to Muzdalifa
and achieved your desire did you renounce all sensual desires?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not
gone to Muzdalifa.
When you circumambulated the Ka╝ba did
you behold the immaterial beauty of Allah in the abode of purification?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not
circumambulated the Ka╝ba. When you ran between Safa
and Marwa did you attain to the rank of safa (purity) and muruwwat
(virtue)?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not
run. When you came to Mina did all your
wishes cease?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not
yet visited Mina. When you reached the
slaughter place and offered sacrifice did you sacrifice the objects of sensual
desire?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not
sacrificed. When you threw the stones
did you throw away whatever sensual thoughts were accompanying you?╜ ôNo.╜ ôThen you have not
yet thrown the stones, and you have not yet performed the pilgrimage. Return and perform the pilgrimage in the
manner which I have described in order that you may arrive at the station of Ibrahim (AS).╜
May Allah grant us the vigor to
follow the dictates of hajj so that this duty is acceptable unto Him.
[This essay is based on the
book û Hajj by Dr. Ali Shariati.]
[2][1] [If it is not possible you can touch the stone with a
stick, and then kiss the tip of the stick.
If that is not possible because of too many people around it, then you
can make a flying kiss to it. During the
Tawaf, men should put the Ihram on in such a way as
to bare their right shoulder (╗ibtida)]
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