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Benefits of Hajj
Shaykh Husayn Al Sheikh [(Dhul-Hijjah 6, 1424
(February 7, 2003)]
All
praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.
Allaah ordained acts of worship for greater and lofty purposes. Some of
these great purposes are known to men and some are unknown to them. Among
the great acts of worship ordained by Allaah is hajj; an obligation that
is great in its rites and fruits. Hajj has great and innumerable benefits.
All its benefits and goals revolve around reforming the belief, the call
unto unity among Muslims, educational reform for individual and the
society and purification of minds, souls and bodies.
In
general, hajj has infinite benefits summed up by Allaah in this verse:
“That they may witness things that are of benefit to them (i.e. reward of
Hajj in the Hereafter, and also some worldly gain from trade), and mention
the Name of Allaah.” on appointed days (i.e. 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th
day of Dhul-Hijjah), over the beast of cattle that He has provided for
them (for sacrifice).”
(Al-Hajj 22:28)
Ibn ‘Abbaas said while commenting on
this verse, “The benefits in this verse are that of this world and the
Hereafter. The benefit of hajj in the Hereafter is the pleasure of Allaah.
And its benefits in this world is the beast of cattle with which mankind
are provided for sacrifice and the commercial gains.” There are as well
other benefits, which the Muslim ummah must know and actualize in
their lives. And the day that the Muslims are guided to these benefits,
they shall attain glory, strength and blessings. Someone said, “Islaam
shall become a stubborn rock on which the ship of evangelism shall be
destroyed as long as Islaam has these three supports: the Qur’aan, the
Jumu‘ah congregational prayers and the hajj conference.”
The
Muslims, in the face of crises and tribulations that confront them today
are in dire need of deriving lessons and admonitions from Islaamic
obligations. They are in dire need of following the instructions of their
religion and formulating their affairs in the light of the realities of
the Qur’aan and solve their problems according to the injunctions of their
Lord and the Sunnah of their Prophet.
Among
the lessons of hajj is that the greatest issue that the Muslims
should give utmost attention to is the actualization of Tawheed and
absolute surrender and humility to Allaah the Almighty.
Talbiyah
is the sign of hajj and its key. The Messenger of Allaah commenced his
hajj with it. Jaabir narrated, “The Prophet entered in to the state of
ihraam with the statement of Islaamic Monotheism saying:
‘Labbayka Allaahumma labbayka, labbayka laa shareeka laka labbayka. Innal
hamda wanni ‘mata laka wal mulk, laa shareeka lak.’ Which means: ‘I
respond to Your call, O Allaah! I respond to Your call. I respond to Your
call, You have no partner, I respond to Your call. Verily, the praise, the
grace and the sovereignty are Yours. You have no partner.’”
One must raise his voice with it for, the Prophet said,
“The best Hajj is the one in which the voice is raised with Talbiyah
and blood of sacrificial animals flow.” It is a talbiyah of the one
who feels that all acts of worship should compulsorily be directed to
Allaah alone and realises the danger of shirk and other destructive sins;
a talbiyah of the one who sacrifices to none but Allaah, calls none
but Allaah and seeks relief from none except Allaah. The pilgrim keeps on
reciting this talbiya until he casts the pebbles of
Jamratul-'Aqabah.
It is authentically reported from
the Prophet that during his Tawaaf he only touched the Yamanee
Corner and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad. If the pilgrim however finds
difficulty in touching them he should point to Al-Hajar Al-Aswad
and say, “Allaahu Akbar” once as he passes by it. As regards
the Yamanee Corner, he should not point to it if he cannot touch it. This
is done in order to come closer to Allaah, and carry out His commandments.
Allaah says:
“So let them worship the Lord of
this House.”
(Quraysh, 106:3)
The Prophet also said,
“Circumambulation of the House; running between Safaa and Marwa,
and casting the pebbles are only ordained for establishment of the
remembrance of Allaah.” These rites were performed by the Prophet solely
for the purpose of worshipping Allaah, and not for the purpose of seeking
blessings from them. That is why ‘Umar said when kissing Al-Hajar Al-Aswad,
“By Allaah! I know that you are only a stone. You neither benefit nor
harm. If it were not that I saw the Prophet kissing you, I would not have
kissed you.” (Al-Bukhaaree & Muslim)
Scholars
have agreed that it is not permissible to touch or kiss other than what is
reported in the Sunnah that the Prophet has touched or kissed. Al-Athram
-a companion of Imaam Ahmad- said, “I saw that the knowledgeable men among
the inhabitants of Al-Madeenah did not use to touch the Prophet’s grave,
they would only stand at a corner and send their salaam to him.”
Abdul-Hasan said, “Under Islamic Law, the touching and kissing of graves
are regarded to be abominable innovations.” He further said, “The
Khuraasaanee Jurists said, “Graves should not be rubbed, kissed or touched,
for that is the practice of the Christians.”
At-Tahaawee -the Hanafite scholar-
said, “Graves should not be touched nor kissed for that is the custom of
the People of the Book.” In Islam, nothing is known to be touched except
Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and the Yamanee Corner.
The running between As-Safaa
and Al-Marwa has been prescribed as a pillar of Hajj and 'Umrah.
This is so that pilgrims may be reminded of Haajar and her son (Prophet
Ismaa'eel and the hardship they experienced and how Allaah caused Zamzam
water to gush forth for them to quench their thirst and as a healing for
the sick. The lesson to be derived here is that refuge should be sought
with Allaah alone. Allaah says:
“Is not He Who responds to the
distressed one when he calls Him and Who removes the evil (better than
their gods).”
(An-Naml,
27:62)
It
should
also be learnt that putting one’s trust in Allaah and
making use of the means are the gateway to success and attainment of
desired goals.
There
is no prosperity or success in this world except through following the
path of Prophet, having sincere eemaan
and doing good deeds. It is in
the light of this that the Messenger of Allaah said, “Take from me your
Hajj rites.” The eagerness of the Companions was embodied in this
saying of Ibn Abbaas: “Do your Hajj as the Prophet did his, and do
not say: This is Sunnah and this is obligatory.” One of the
greatest aims of Hajj is to remember his guidance and to adhere to
his path without negligence or exaggeration. The Prophet said, “Whoever
performs a deed on which there is no order from us will have it rejected.”
To
emphasise the importance of moderation and shunning of exaggeration and
negligence in everything, Ibn Abbaas narrated that the Prophet told him to
fetch him pebbles on the morning of ‘Aqabah (i.e. the tenth day of
Dhul-Hijjah) while he was on his camel. He said, “I fetched him seven
pebbles. He started sorting them out in his fingers saying, ‘Throw ones
like these.’ He then said, ‘O you people! Keep away from extremism in
religion, for it was extremism in matters of
religion that destroyed those who
came before you.’”
Dear
brothers, let this great occasion be an avenue for self-examination. Let
it be an opportunity for renewing your allegiance to the
Book of Allaah and
the Sunnah of His Prophet (e).
Let it be the appropriate time for shunning exaggerations and negligence
in all sorts of worship. Let it also be known that Hajj should not
be an occasion where one accuses his brother of abominable things without
clear evidence.
Brothers
in faith! Adhere to the guidance of the Leader of the Messengers, Mohammad
son of Abdullaah.
Whoever follows his path shall prosper and achieve everlasting happiness.
It is only when this Muslims recognise the true guidance of their religion
and the path of their Prophet in its true sense that they will attain
glory and might.
Fellow Muslims! Some highly
important days have come upon us. They are the first ten days of
Dhul-Hijjah. Allaah swore by them as a token of their importance and merit
and to stress the great reward of those who do righteous deeds in them. He
says,
“By the dawn! By the Ten Nights!”
(I.e. the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah).
(Al-Fajr, 89:1-2)
The
Prophet also said, “There are no days in which good deeds are more loved
by Allaah than these days.” Meaning the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. The
Companions said, “Even jihaad
in the way of Allaah?” He replied, “Even jihaad
in the way of Allaah, with the exception of a man who goes out for
jihaad with his soul and his wealth, and does not return with either.”
(Al-Bukhaaree)
Good
deeds, dear brethren,
include righteous sayings, actions and behaviour. An important aspect of
that is to visit Muslims wherever they may be, to feel concerned about
them, to alleviate their sufferings and to pray for them.
Brethren
in Islam! It is recommended to do a lot of Tahleel (saying ‘La
ilaha illa Allaah’), Takbeer (saying ‘Allaahu Akbar’)
and Tahmeed (saying ‘Al-hamdu lillaah’)
in these days. Also, if anyone wants to make a sacrifice for ‘Eed,
and it is already in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, he should not cut
his hair or nails. The Prophet said, “When you see the moon of
Dhul-Hijjah let anyone of you who intends to sacrifice an animal for ‘Eed
not take anything from his hair or nails until he has made the sacrifice.”
(Muslim) This prohibition is only binding on those who want to sacrifice.
As for those on whose behalf a sacrifice is to be made, they are not
included in this prohibition.
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