Hajj Season is Back

Hajj Season is Back

Farid ud Din Ahmed

Once again the Hajj season is back with its spiritual tidings and again it present a precious opportunity to the Islamic world to reconnect the hearts with the Qibla of creation, an opportunity for the meeting of hearts with friends who have been detached from one another. The Hajj also brings elation and jubilation to the body. The acts of worship and rituals of Hajj are for the purpose of providing an opportunity to gain a spiritual experience.

Pilgrimage (Hajj) is an obligation for Muslims according to the precept of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah.

“……Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah, those who are able to make the journey.......”"(3:97)

This means that Hajj being one of the five fundamentals of Islam, is a duty imposed on all Muslims and which they cannot avoid so long as they are able to find out means to do so, at least once in life time. It is an act of universal worship which manifests unity and harmony among the Muslims of the world. It is a multipurpose Divine injunction. Like all other forms of prayers, it demands an external and internal loyalty to Him.

While the external performances, like physical ceremonies and oral recitations end with the pilgrimage in few days, the spiritual aspects of the exercise continue to impact one for the rest of his life. The spiritual contents of Hajj include not only the pre-Hajj attitude, the rites and symbolic expres-sions of it at Makkah Mukarramah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalfa, but also what one does after performing Hajj.

 When the pilgrims are exalted with the pilgrimage of the holy places, their fortune touches the peak and they receive good news from the Cherisher of the Holy House that their invocation would bear fruits in the twinkling of an eye.

 The distinction of this worship is that the pilgrims have to put on a similar unsewn dress (Ihram) without any discrimination in the jurisdiction of Haram (the sanctuary of Makkah) and thus Hajj presents a practical model of unity and uniformity among the Muslims of the world. When the pilgrims assent their presence in the court of Allah, the ground of Arafat presents a scene of religious ardour, an example of which is impossible to be presented by any other religious faith of the world.

 The worship of Hajj is the bearer of great auspiciousness and excellence, as five times prayer, is a worship which bestows man with closeness to Allah and according to Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is the "Meraj" of a true Muslim. But when a pilgrim offers prayer in Holy Ka‘bah, he reaches the height of the Meraj. The Hajj experience has to be made part of life. It should continue to overflow the boundaries of Haram. It is a pursuit for shaping our life in search of virtue. It is a carving of the soul in quest of the Light of Allah. It is a revolution of mind where new forces condition it.

Hajj is a spiritual fight against temptations and conceit. All ceremonies are centered on the demonstration of greatness of Allah and the equality of man. Hajj is a climax of spiritual discipline with a deep consciousness of the presence of Allah. It is an achievement, under conditions of humility and desire of service to mankind in all situa­tions of life.