The month of Dhul-Hijjah is the month of Hajj. This great worship, which is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation on every Muslim able to perform it. Imam Bukhari has brought a hadith in his Sahih Kitab al-Iman which is the best description of the importance of Hajj in Islam:
It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was asked, “What is the best deed?” He replied, “To believe in Allah and His Apostle (Muhammad). The questioner then asked, “What is the next (in goodness)? He replied, “To participate in Jihad in Allah’s Cause.” The questioner again asked, “What is the next (in goodness)?” He replied, “To perform Hajj Mubrur” (Bukhari, Number: 26)
What is this Hajj? This is explained in another hadith as follows:
“Whoever performs Hajj to this House (Ka`ba) and does not approach his wife for relations nor commits sins (while performing Hajj), he will come out as sinless as a newly born child.” (Bukhari, Number: 1819)
The reward of this Hajj Mabarur has been described as follows in a Hadith.
“(The performance of) `Umra is an expiation for the sins committed (between it and the previous one). And the reward of Hajj Mabrur (the one accepted by Allah) is nothing except Paradise.” (Bukhari, Number: 1773)
There is no doubt that by its very nature, Hajj is the most comprehensive worship of the Abrahamic religion, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the epitome of all worship. One does not need to be a scholar to understand this fact. Every person who has had this privilege in life can understand this fact from his own experience. This is due to the reason that the believer, only because of faith in Allah and following the way of the Messenger, goes through hardships, spends money, endures distance from home, homeland and relatives, imposes strict restrictions of Ihram on himself, appears at the house of Allah and performs Hajj rituals, just to please Allah. This is the very sacrifice that makes Hajj the greatest act after faith and jihad.
However, what makes Hajj, Hajj is that it is actually a metaphor for Jihad. This is a metaphor for the war which was declared by Satan on the first day by saying “I will surely lead them all astray”. With this declaration, began the never ending war between Satan and his progeny against Adam and his progeny. Unfortunately, in every era, the majority of human beings instead of standing with their father Adam (peace be upon him) sides with Satan and starts fighting from his side. This is when, with collars of faith and pledges of obedience, the true Muslims stand up for the battle from God’s side. They face the arrows of desire and the evil spears of lust with the iron shield of patience and conquer every wall of prejudice with the sword of righteousness and truth. Hajj is like a training course for such people.
These believers respond to Abrahamic’s call and leave their homes abandoning worldly adornment and pleasures. Their first stop is at the military camp of Mina. Then in Arafat, in the form of the Imam’s sermon, before organizing forces, there are speeches, guidance, prayers and supplications to Allah. This army arrives at Muzdalifah, combining and shortening prayers in the metaphor of Jihad’s journey. And at the break of dawn, remembering the Lord, they attack the enemy. This act is called ‘Rami Jamar’ in the term of Hajj rituals, the act of pelting the devil with pebbles. With this first attack, they resolve to sacrifice themselves in the way of the Lord by making the sacrifice, shave their heads and obtain the honor of His slavery, and resolve to make Him the center of their lives by doing Tawaf (go around the Kaaba) of His house.
On the first day only the first big devil and for the next two or three days on all the three devils, this faithful pelting continues. These three devils are actually the symbols of the three things from which man is misled the most. The first is Iblis and his progeny. This is the greatest evil force. The second is man’s own self, which, if overcomes him, becomes the greatest companion of Satan. Third is man’s environment and the evil temptations found in it. These are the three places where a person has to fight against evil temptations throughout his life. After this pelting, these mujahids return home with the determination that life will be spent in servitude and Satan’s eternal challenge that God will not find the servant grateful, will not be fulfilled.
Unfortunately, nowadays though people go for Hajj in large numbers, they are not told about this true spirit of Hajj. So they consider it as a set of rituals which are just performed as tasks. Undoubtedly, when Hajj is performed by sacrificing financially and physically, it has a great reward in its place, but when people are not aware of the true spirit behind it, it does not effect their lives. They often think of it as a journey of atonement of sins and return to the same Satan-following life they were living before.
But if the spirit is repeated again and again, the pilgrimage does not remain just a journey but becomes a new beginning of life. The beginning that our society needs the most today.
Translated by Ali Zafar