Hajj: Pathway to Salvation

 

[In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. As the world of Islam enters the Month of Hajj [Dhul Hijjah], Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius profoundly explains the larger, inner meaning and spiritual significance of this ultimate voyage to the House of God in Makkah that the Muslim pilgrim undertakes in quest of Divine pleasure and salvation]. 

 

The pathway to salvation 

 

‘The Hajj, being the fifth and last of the five pillars of Islam, it represents the readiness of the Muslim pilgrim to let go of all worldly attractions and desires, and to make the firm intention for a purified reform in his self and soul, to tread the pathway to Salvation, like a submitted soul offering his whole life and being to Allah, promising a complete reform within himself and seeking the help of Allah to achieve it.’

'Hajj' in Islam

  

Hajj is more than a get-together of Muslims from all over the world; it is akin to a training camp to prepare the Muslims for the afterlife. Pilgrims leave behind their busy world, dress in simple white sheets of cloth not unlike the ones they (all of us Muslims) will later be buried in, and concentrate on the concept of sacrifice - recalling Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his only son Hazrat Ismail (as) for Allah.

Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam and is accomplished every year in the last month of the Islamic Calendar, Dhul-Hijjah (or The Month of Hajj). All Muslims from around the world now converge to the Sacred Spot [called Al-Masjid Al-Haram] found in Mecca [Makkah], in Arabia [Saudi Arabia] to accomplish their pilgrimage. There, a number of ritual are carried out which reflect the efforts of Hazrat Ibrahim (as), who had left his second wife Hazrat Hajra (ra) and their young son Hazrat Isma’il (as) in its vicinity in the arid desert, and Allah rewarded Hajra’s struggle to find water with the well of Zamzam, a spring which made the region prosperous and a religious focal point after  Hazrat Ibrahim (as) and Hazrat Isma’il (as) built, or rather rebuilt, the Ka’aba (which existed since the time of Hazrat Adam (as) but which with time was neglected and forgotten by the people when they forgot Allah - the worship of one God). Among the rites and gatherings during the Hajj, there is also the gathering at the plain of Arafat, which reminiscences of the even larger gathering to come of the Day of Judgement.

Makkah & Madina: 'Hajj' & 'Ziarat'

 Hajj: the Sacrifice of Abraham (as)

Whenever Hajj is evoked, the Sacrifice of Abraham (as) is also evoked. It is reported that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: “When anyone of you intends to sacrifice the animal and enter in the month of Dhul-Hijjah (since the first of Dhul-Hijjah), he should not get his hair cut or nails pared till he has offered his sacrifice.” (Muslim).

So it is recommended for all those taking part in the animals (the Qurbani) not to cut their hair from the 1^st of Dhul-Hijjah. Note that the days and nights of Dhul-Hijjah are sacred and therefore fast (maximise this time in fasting) and do good works. Do not have suspicions, and do not make palavers, do not argue because all this is the work of Satan. Allah and His angels do not stay among those categories of people. Respect the elders, have love and obedience for them, supplicate Allah (Duahs) and remember Him (Zikrullah), read the Qur’an, try to transform yourselves, move away from evil deeds, replace all bad deeds with good deeds, so that you can have the love of Allah and that Allah (swt) be pleased with you.

It is Allah Who is the Almighty, the Creator of all things. He does not need our prayers and our actions as He clearly tells us in the Holy Qur’an:

“The first House (of worship) appointed for men was that at Bakkah (i.e. Makkah): Full of blessing and of guidance for all the worlds (for all people): In it are clear signs (such as) the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. And whoever disbelieves, then surely Allah is not in need of (any of His) creation.” (Al-Imran 3: 97-98).

In many other verses this concept is clearly exposed to humanity that Allah (swt) has no need of creatures and their prayers. This is also repeated in a Hadith Qudsi (Sacred Hadith) where Allah says:

“O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O my servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to become as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it.” (Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).

The Larger Meaning of 'Qurbani'

Whenever the month of Dhul Hijjah approaches, we remember the ordeal that Ibrahim (as) had to go through during his old age. 

It was a unique event of its kind, and which history has never mentioned one similar to it.

The Quran confirms this fact:

                        

“And when they had both submitted (to the command of Allah) and he put him down upon his forehead, 

We called to him, "O Ibrahim, 

you have fulfilled the vision. Thus do We reward the doers of good.

‘That was indeed a clear trial. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice.” (37: 104-108).

If Ibrahim (as) was the subject of such a trial, certainly the Supreme Creator does not require from us this heavy burden. But everyone must know that success in the life on earth, and especially that in the hereafter will never happen as long as the concept of sacrifice is not well rooted in the mind and heart of the believer (the servant of Allah).

The sacrifice is not limited to ‘Qurbani’ or ‘Udhiya’ (blood sacrifice) that everyone already knows. But this term has a much broader meaning. And so the term means to sacrifice in a larger than life way, to give oneself and one’s wealth for the cause of Allah (swt) acknowledging that His words are much better than those of mere humans. Islam is a religion that encourages the believer to sacrifice in all ways. The believer is obliged to sacrifice his life and his soul in order to make Islam prevail over all other religions. He must sacrifice out of his wealth and spend it in the way of Allah just like the Supreme Legislator has commanded.

Hajj: Fifth Pillar of Islam

The Month of Hajj: Dhul-Hijjah

The twelfth and last month of the Islamic calendar is the month of the pilgrimage (Hajj), commonly known as ‘Dhul Hijjah’. It is a month full of blessings and as the name indicates, it is in this holy month that we, Muslims perform the Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam. In this blessed month, one must make maximum of acts of worship (Ibaadat), such as: supererogatory (Nafil) prayers (Salaat), Tilawat-ul-Quran, fasting, reciting the Takbir and Tasbih and giving Sadaqaat etc. because there are many blessings and rewards in these works, especially during its first 10 days.

Hadhrat Hafsa (ra) said that there were four things that the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) never missed, and these include:

1. To fast the Day of Ashura (10^th of Muharram);

2. To fast from 1^st to 9^th day of Dhul-Hijjah;

3. To fast three days (13^th, 14^th and 15^th) every month (except the 13^th Dhul-Hijjah which is prohibited);

4. To perform before the mandatory Fajr Salaat two cycles of Sunnah prayers (Salaat).

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) demonstrated the virtues of the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.