A DEEP YEARNING TO PERFORM HAJJ (Very beneficial, authentic article)
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A Deep Yearning to Perform Hajj
by Shaykh Mawln Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullh
Hajj is one of the fundamental pillars of Islm. Raslullh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam has said
?Islm is founded on five (pillars) bearing witness that there is no deity except Allh and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allh, establishing salh, paying zakh, performing hajj and fasting in the month of Ramadhn.? (Al-Bukhrī
Hajj is no insignificant ritual. Rather, it is a great worship which encompasses both physical struggle and sacrifice of wealth. It is an ?ibdah of expressing love for the Creator and showing a personification of the submission of Ibrhm ?alayhis salm.
It is for this reason severe warnings have been stated for that person who neglects this great act of worship without any valid reason.
The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said
?He who possesses enough provisions which will suffice for him to reach the House of Allh, and he does not perform hajj, then there is no care whether he dies as a Jew or a Christian, and that is because Allh ta?l has mentioned in His Book ?As a right of Allh, it is obligatory on the people to perform hajj of the House ? on everyone who has the ability to manage his way to it. And if one disbelieves, then Allh is independent of all the worlds.?? (At-Tirmidhī
Imm Al-Qurtub rahimahullh and Imm Ibn Kathr rahimahullh have narrated in their works of tafsr that ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhu would say
?I have resolved to send a few men to the villages and look for those people who possess the means to perform hajj but do not do so, and impose jizyah upon them, because Allh says, ??And if one disbelieves, then Allh is independent of all the worlds.??
After scrutinising the verse quoted above and all the warnings narrated in the ahdth regarding those upon whom hajj is fardh but fail to perform it, the majority of ?Ulam have concluded that such people are near to disbelief. Such is the gravity of the non-performance of hajj.
However, leaving aside the warnings, hajj and everything related to it is so blessed and virtuous that every Mu?min should harbour a deep-felt yearning and desire to perform it year after year.
Let us take a look at some of the virtues associated to this great worship.
- Travelling
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?Whoever sets out intending the Sacred House and mounts his camel, his camel will not raise a hoof and place it down except that Allh will write a good deed for him, forgive a sin of his, and raise his rank due to it, until he reaches the Ka?bah?? (Al-Bayhaqī
? Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum narrates a lengthy hadth in which he states that he was sitting with the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam in the Masjid of Min, when a person from the Ansr (Ansrī and a person from Thaqf (Thaqafī came into his presence. Upon greeting with salm, they said, ?O Messenger of Allh! We have come to ask you?? upon which the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?If you so wish I can inform you of what you have come to ask me, and if you wish I can remain silent and you can go ahead and ask.? They both said, ?O Messenger of Allh! Tell us.? Then the Thaqaf turned to the Ansr and said, ?Ask.? So he said, ?O Messenger of Allh! Tell us.? So he said, ?You have come to me to ask me regarding your leaving home intending the Sacred House, and the reward that lies in it for you?? He remarked, ?By the being who has sent you with the truth, this indeed is what I came to ask you regarding!? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?When you leave your house intending the Sacred House, your camel does not raise a hoof and place it down except that Allh will write a good deed for you and forgives a sin of yours?? (Al-Bazzr)
Note the remainder of this hadth will be mentioned under different headings later on.
- The Haram
? Allh ta?l mentions in the Qur?n, ?Whoever enters it is secure?? Some commentators have mentioned that this means he will be saved from the Fire. (Ibn Kathr)
- Makkah Al-Mukarramah
? Allh ta?l has taken an oath on this blessed city twice in the Qur?n, saying, ?I swear by this city.? (901) and, ?And by this peaceful city.? (953)
? Allh ta?l also mentions the du? of Ibrhm ?alayhis salm, saying, ?(Recall) when Ibrhm said, ?My Lord, make this city peaceful??? (1435)
? ?Abdullh ibn ?Adiyy ibn Hamr? narrates that he witnessed Raslullh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam having stopped at Al-Hazwarah, saying, ?By Allh! You are the best of the Land of Allh, and the most beloved Land of Allh to Him, and if I had not been driven out of you, I would never have left you.? (At-Tirmidhī
? On the occasion of the liberation of Makkah, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam praised Allh ta?l and then said, ?Verily, Allh has sanctified Makkah; the people have not sanctified it. No human who believes in Allh and in the Last Day is permitted to shed blood in it, nor uproot a tree?? (Al-Bukhr, Muslim)
- Al-Masjid Al-Harm
? Allh ta?l says in the Qur?n, ?Surely those who disbelieve and prevent from the way of Allh and from Al-Masjid-Al-Harm (the Sacred Mosque), which We have made for all men, where residents and visitors are all equal. And whoever intends therein to commit deviation with injustice, We will make him taste a painful punishment.? (2225)
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?One salh in this masjid of mine (Al-Masjid An-Nabawī is better than a thousand prayers in any other, except for Al-Masjid Al-Harm.? (Al-Bukhr, Muslim)
? The actual virtue of performing salh in Al-Masjid Al-Haram is understood from another hadth to be 100,000 times more than any other. (Ibn Mjah)
- The Ka?bah
? Allh ta?l says in the Qur?n ?Allh has made the Ka?bah, the Sacred House, a source of stability for people?? (597)
? The sanctity of the Ka?bah is so great that it affects even those who are miles away from it, so much so that the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?When you go to relieve yourselves, then do not face the qiblah, nor turn your backs to it, rather, turn to the left or the right.? (Al-Bukhr, Muslim)
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?Allh sends down 120 mercies each day and night on this House , 60 for those doing tawf around it, 40 for those performing salh, and 20 for those looking at it.?(At-Tabrnī
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?The doors of the heavens are opened, and du? is accepted in four places? when seeing the Ka?bah.? (Al-Bayhaqī Note this is not exclusive to the first sight of the Ka?bah.
- Al-Hajar Al-Aswad
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said regarding the Black Stone, ?By Allh! Allh will raise it on the Day of Qiymah with it having two eyes with which it will see, and a tongue with which it will speak; it will testify for those who kissed it properly .? (At-Tirmidhī
? Ibn Hishm rahimahullh once asked ?At ibn Ab Rabh regarding Ar-Rukn Al-Yamn, whilst he was performing tawf. ?At rahimahullh replied, ?Ab Hurayrah radhiyallhu ?anhu narrated to me that the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?Seventy angels have been appointed to it. Whoever says,
?O Allh! I ask of You forgiveness and safety in the world and the Hereafter, Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of Fire?
they say ?mn? (O Allh accept ).?? When he reached Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, he said, ?O Ab Muhammad (?At ibn Ab Rabh rahimahullh), what have you come to know regarding this corner of Aswad?? ?At replied, ?Ab Hurayrah radhiyallhu ?anhu narrated to me that he heard the Messenger of Allh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam saying, ?Whoever engages with it, engages with the hand of mercy.? (Ibn Mjah)
- Tawf
? Further on, in the previous hadth narrated by Imm Ibn Mjah rahimahullh, Ibn Hishm rahimahullh then said, ?O Ab Muhammad! What about tawf?? ?At rahimahullh replied, ?Ab Hurayrah radhiyallhu ?anhu narrated to me that he heard the Messenger of Allh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam saying, ?Whoever circumambulates the Ka?bah seven times, and does not talk, except saying, ?Subhnallh, Alhamdulillh, Allhu Akbar, and L hawla wal quwwata ill billh?, ten of his sins are forgiven, ten rewards are written for him, and his rank is raised ten times, and whoever performs twf and talks, whilst saying the same, paddles in the Mercy like a person who paddles in water.?? (Ibn Mjah)
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?Whoever circumambulates this House seven complete times, it is as if he has freed a slave.? He also says, ?And I also heard him sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam say, ?He (the circumambulator) does not take a step except that Allh forgives a sin of his and writes a good deed for him.?? (At-Tirmidhī
- The Two Raka?t After Tawf
? In the lengthy narration of Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum mentioned under the virtues of travelling above, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said further, ??And regarding the reward of the two raka?t after tawf?their reward is like freeing a slave from the children of Ism?l ?alayhis salm?? (Al-Bazzr)
- Zamzam
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam has said, ?The water of Zamzam is for whatever intention it has been consumed with.? (Ibn Mjah)
- Multazam
? ?Abdah ibn Ab Lubbah Ad-Dimashqrahimahullh said, ?It would be said that between the corner is the multazam (a place to cling on to); nobody holds onto it and asks Allh for anything except that he is given it.? (Akhbr Makkah)
- Sa?
? Allh ta?l mentions in the Qur?n, ?Indeed Saf and Marwah are among the signs of Allh?? (215. This means that they are places upon which Allh ta?l is to be worshipped. (Al-Qurtubī
The Sa? takes place between these two mountains.
? In the lengthy narration of Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum mentioned above, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam also said, ??And regarding the reward of the sa? between As-Saf and Al-Marwah? it is like freeing seventy slaves?? (Al-Bazzr)
- ?Arafah
? Raslullh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?There is no day in which Allh frees more of His servants from the Fire than the Day of ?Arafah, and verily Allh draws near and boasts of His servants to the angels, and says, ?What do these want??? (Muslim)
? Raslullh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam also said, ?Shaytn is not seen on a day ? apart from the day of Badr - in which he looks smaller, more defeated, more despised and more infuriated than on the Day of ?Arafah, and that is due to the descending of blessings and the pardoning of Allh of sins on that day. (Al-Bayhaqī
? In another hadth, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?On the Day of ?Arafah Allh boasts of His servants to the Angels, saying, ?Look at My servants, they have come to Me dishevelled and dust-covered, traveling through every distant hilly pathway, I have made you witnesses that I have forgiven them.?? In another narration, the following has been added, ??they are asking Me of My Mercy having not seen Me, and seeking My refuge from My punishment, having not seen Me.? (Al-Bayhaq and Ibn Khuzaymah)
? In the lengthy narration of Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum mentioned above, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam also further states, ??And regarding the reward for the wuqf during the late afternoon of ?Arafah?Indeed Allh draws near to the heaven of the earth and boasts to the Angels about you, saying, ?My servants have come to Me dishevelled from every distant hilly pathway hoping for My Jannah; even if your sins amounted grains of sand, or the raindrops, or the foam of the ocean, I have forgiven them. O My servants! Return, forgiven for you and for those you have interceded for??? (Al-Bazzr)
- Min
? ?Abdullh ibn Qurt radhiyallhu ?anhu narrates that the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?The greatest days according to Allh is the Yawm-An-Nahr (10th of Dhul-Hijjah), and then Yawm-Al-Qarr (the 11th)?? (Ab Dwd)
Note both these days are to be spent in Min.
- Ram (Pelting)
? Again, in the lengthy narration of Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum mentioned above, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam further on states, ??And regarding the reward of pelting the Jamart?For you in return for every stone thrown will be expiation from a major destructive sin?? (Al-Bazzr)
- Nahr (Animal Sacrifice)
? Also in the lengthy narration of Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum mentioned above, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam further on states, ??And regarding the reward of your sacrifice (on the 10th of Dhu-al-Hijjah)?for you the reward has been treasured by your Lord?? (Al-Bazzr)
- Halaq (Shaving the head)
? Yet again, in the lengthy narration of Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum mentioned above, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam further on states, ??And regarding the reward of shaving your head?as for your shaving your head, for you is a good deed in return for every strand of hair you shave, and a sin forgiven?? (Al-Bazzr)
- Tawf-Az-Ziyrah
? Finally, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam states in the lengthy narration of Ibn ?Umar radhiyallhu ?anhum mentioned above, ??And the Tawf-Al-Ifah (Tawf-Az-Ziyrah)?As for your Tawf after all that , you will be circumambulating without any sin in your record; an angel will come and place his hands between your shoulders and say, ?Do in the future as your past actions have been forgiven.?? (Al-Bazzr)
Furthermore, the virtues of hajj as a whole should also encourage a person to undertake this journey over and over again. The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam has mentioned many virtues of hajj, encouraging the believers to fulfil this obligation, some of which are as follows
?There is no reward for an accepted hajj except Jannah.? (Al-Bukhr, Muslim)
?Whoever performs hajj for the sake of pleasing Allh, and therein utters no word of evil, nor commits any evil deed, shall return from it free from sin as the day on which his mother gave birth to him.? (Al-Bukhr, Muslim)
?The performers of hajj and ?umrah are deputations of Allh; if they call Him, He answers them; and if they seek His forgiveness, He forgives them.? (Ibn Mjah)
The performer of hajj becomes so pure that even that person is forgiven for whom he seeks forgiveness. The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said
?When you meet a haj , then greet him, shake hands with him and ask him to beg forgiveness of Allh on your behalf before he enters his home, for his prayer for forgiveness is accepted since he is forgiven by Allh.? (Ahmad)
Notwithstanding all the virtues mentioned above, the pilgrim on this blessed journey visits Makkah Al-Mukarramah. This is the birthplace of the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam and the city which witnessed almost all the Prophets of Allh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam performing hajj; and in which the revelation of the Qur?n started and continued for thirteen years.
Similarly, (although it is not a requirement of hajj) most hjs visit Al-Madnah Al-Munawwarah, which was the chosen destination for the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam after Makkah; it has been a place upon where wahy was revealed; Islm lived and developed there; countless great Muslim personalities have resided there, great Sahbah radhiyallhu ?anhum being at the top of the list; the Masjid of the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam is located there, and the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam rests there. There are numerous virtues in regard to this great city.
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?Whoever visits my grave, my intercession becomes incumbent for him.? (Al-Bayhaq, Ad-Draqutnī
? The Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said in another hadth, ?Verily, Allh has named Al-Madnah Tbah.? (The place that has a pleasant fragrance or which is pure) (Muslim)
? In yet another hadth, the Prophet sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?Whoever from amongst you is able to pass away in Al-Madnah, he should do so, for I will testify in favour of the one who dies in it.? (Ibn Mjah)
What Mu?min would give up the opportunity to visit such places, more so when he is summoned by Allh ta?l?
It is for this reason the pious people performed hajj again and again. According to a narration of Imm Al-Bayhaq, every Nab, with the exception of Hd and Slih ?alayhimas salm performed hajj. Imm Ab Ash-Shaykh writes in his book ?Al-?Amah? that dam ?alayhis salm visited the Ka?bah a thousand times on foot, performing ?umrah 700 times and hajj 300 times.
Hajj is far upon every sane, adult and healthy Muslim, on the condition that he has sufficient wealth to enable him to travel to and from the Ka?bah. This will be when the wealth used to take him is in excess of his basic needs. He also needs to have sufficient wealth to leave behind for the needs of those who are dependent on him. Furthermore, the journey needs to be a safe one and a woman needs to be travelling with a mahram.
Thus, whoever finds that hajj has become far upon them, should hasten in making preparations to fulfil this obligation. They should take it as a summoning call from Allh ta?l, and count themselves fortunate, as many Muslims spend their lifetimes without ever having the means to perform hajj, or even visit the Haramayn at all. Once having performed hajj, a person should further try to visit these blessed places again and again with the hope that one day he will breathe his/her last and be buried in the blessed soil of the two harams, for Raslullh sallallhu ?alayhi wasallam said, ?One who dies in either of the two harams, will be resurrected on the Day of Qiymah amongst the minn (those granted safety).? (Al-Bayhaqī
May Allh grant us all the desire and accept us to visit His House time and time again, year after year, and may He also take our souls in the blessed cities of Makkah and Al-Madnah. mn.
? Riydul Jannah (Volume 22 Issue 6/7)
http//idauk.org/publications/hajj_publications.html
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Salaam,
This is not a hadithist or sectarian forum.
Anyway thanks for the article.
Present-Day Mecca is now a place of pagan worship.
Sorry peace
Regards,
Yuliana -
Salaam
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http//www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=5954Peace