Pilgrimage is viewed as a particularly meritorious activity. Pilgrimage serves as a penance - the ultimate forgiveness for sins, devotion, and intense spirituality. The pilgrimage to Mecca, the most sacred city in Islam, is required of all physically and financially able Muslims once in their life. The pilgrimage rite begins a few months after Ramadan, on the 8th day of the last month of the Islamic year of Dhul-Hijjah, and ends on the 13th day. Mecca is the center towards which the Muslims converge once a year, meet and refresh in themselves the faith that all Muslims are equal and deserve the love and sympathy of others, irrespective of their race or ethnic origin. The racial harmony fostered by Hajj is perhaps best captured by Malcolm X on his historic pilgrimage:
‘Every one of the thousands at the airport, about to leave for Jeddah, was dressed this way. You could be a king or a peasant and no one would know. Some powerful personages, who were discreetly pointed out to me, had on the same thing I had on. Once thus dressed, we all had begun intermittently calling out “Labbayka! (Allahumma) Labbayka!” (At your service, O Lord!) Packed in the plane were white, black, brown, red, and yellow people, blue eyes and blond hair, and my kinky red hair - all together, brothers! All honoring the same God, all in turn giving equal honor to each other . . .
That is when I first began to reappraise the ‘white man’. It was when I first began to perceive that ‘white man’, as commonly used, means complexion only secondarily; primarily it described attitudes and actions. In America, ‘white man’ meant specific attitudes and actions toward the black man, and toward all other non-white men. But in the Muslim world, I had seen that men with white complexions were more genuinely brotherly than anyone else had ever been. That morning was the start of a radical alteration in my whole outlook about ‘white’ men.
There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white... America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white - but the ‘white’ attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.”
Thus the pilgrimage unites the Muslims of the world into one international fraternity. More than two million persons perform the Hajj each year, and the rite serves as a unifying force in Islam by bringing followers of diverse backgrounds together in worship. In some Muslim societies, once a believer has made the pilgrimage, he is often labeled with the title ‘hajji’ ; this, however, is a cultural, rather than religious custom. Finally, the Hajj is a manifestation of the belief in the unity of God - all the pilgrims worship and obey the commands of the One God.
At certain stations on the caravan routes to Mecca, or when the pilgrim passes the point nearest to those stations, the pilgrim enters the state of purity known as ihram. In this state, the certain ‘normal’ actions of the day and night become impermissible for the pilgrims, such as covering the head, clipping the fingernails, and wearing normal clothing in regards to men. Males remove their clothing and don the garments specific to this state of ihram, two white seamless sheets that are wrapped around the body. All this increases the reverence and sanctity of the pilgrimage, the city of Mecca, and month of Dhul-Hijjah. There are 5 stations, one on the coastal plains northwest of Mecca towards Egypt and one south towards Yemen, while three lie north or eastwards towards Medina, Iraq and al-Najd. The simple garb signifies the equality of all humanity in God’s sight, and the removal of all worldly affections. After entering the state of ihram, the pilgrim proceeds to Mecca and awaits the start of the Hajj. On the 7th of Dhu al-Hijjah the pilgrim is reminded of his duties, and at the commence of the ritual, which takes place between the 8th and the 12th days of the month, the pilgrim visits the holy places outside Mecca - Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Minaa - and sacrifices an animal in commemoration of Abraham’s sacrifice. The pilgrim then shortens or shaves their head, and, after throwing seven stones at specific pillars at Minaa on three or four successive days, and heads for the central mosque where he walks seven times around the sacred sanctuary, or Kaaba, in the Great Mosque, and ambulates, walking and running, seven times between the two small hills of Mt. Safaa and Mt. Marwah. Discussing the historical or spiritual significance of each rite is beyond the scope of this introductory article.
Among all the acts of worship (furoo-e-deen), Hajj is the only worship, for which a complete surah (Surah Hajj) is revealed in the Holy Quran.
Hadees 1: If a person, on whom Hajj has become wajib, does not perform Hajj and dies, he/she will die as a Christian or a Jew.
Hadees 2: If Hajj becomes wajib on a person and it is not performed, then he/she will be raised as a Christian or Jew on the day of judgment.
Hadees 3: When a person, on whom Hajj becomes wajib, completes the Hajj properly, his/her sins are forgiven such as if he/she is a newly born person.
Hadees 4: When a person completes a Hajj properly, his/her every dua is accepted for four months.
The Almighty has compared the negligence of hajj to ingratitude because of its importance. Hajj is one of the five pillars on which Islam is based. In a noble hadíth, Imam al-Bãqir (a.s.) said,
“Islam is based on five pillars: on prayer (salãt), alms (zakãt), pilgrimage (hajj), fasting (sawm), and devotion [to the Ahlul Bayt] (wilãya)." 1
Imam ‘Ali bin Abi Tãlib (a.s.) advised about hajj by saying,
“Do not neglect the pilgrimage to the House of your Lord; otherwise you will perish." 2
Imam as-Sãdiq (a.s.) said,
“If the people neglect the pilgrimage to the House, the chastisement will overwhelm them and they would not be warned [about it].” 3
This is so because neglecting hajj while the person is in a position to fulfill all its conditions is a great sin.
A hadíth says,
“When a person is capable of doing the pilgrimage but does not do it, he has indeed flouted a law from the laws of Islam.” 4
Another noble hadíth says,
“One who keeps postponing hajj until he dies, Allãh will resurrect him on the Day of Judgment as a Jew or a Christian.” 5
Hajj in Islam is of three kinds:
• Hajj Al-Tamattu
• Hajj Al-Qiran
• Hajj Al-Ifrad
Hajj al-Tamatt'u means entering into ihram for the Umrah, taking off after performing the Umrah, and then entering into ihram again for the Hajj. People who come from other countries usually perform Hajj al-Tamatt'u.
Hajj al-Qiran means entering into ihram for both the Umrah and the Hajj at the same time, not taking off for the ihram until the day of sacrifice at Mina.
Hajj al-Ifrad (Single) means entering into ihram only for the Haj.
0 comments:
Post a Comment