The Soul Of Hajj

Yet, Ibrahim was asked to settle Isma'il and his mother in the valley of Makkah when the child was still an infant And now that the lad has become old enough to walk and reason, Allah wants him to sacrifice that son to prove that his true love is only for Allah Just ponder on this for a moment (Quran 37:102) Don't you get a chill in your back? Satan tries to create doubt in his mind: 'O Ibrahim, are you sure you want to sacrifice your son, your true love, your joy, the meaning of your existence, the fruit of your life; who would there be after you to worship your Lord; don't you have heart, any soft feelings toward your son?' Ibrahim is momentarily confused Should he or shouldn't he carry out Allah's command, "you must sacrifice your son?" Is he dreaming or is it the reality? No, there is no confusion what he saw in his vision is crystal clear; God truly wants him to sacrifice his beloved Isma'il He wins over Satan, the sneaking whisperer But then Satan returns and tries to digress him from his task Ibrahim wins over again But Satan does not give up that easily, he tries to create confusion for the third time Ibrahim wins over Satan's temptations yet for the third time He is mentally all prepared to carry out the task His choice is obvious - absolute obedience and devotion to Allah; Isma'il must be sacrificed He wanted to share the message with his lad Thus, he talks to his young lad, Isma'il , of his dream and asks his opinion And what does this "gentle" son (whom the Quran calls Ghulamin Halim) reply? He calmly says: "O my father! Do that which you are commanded Allah willing, you shall find me of the steadfast" (Quran 37:102) He answers like the rock of Gibraltar!

What did you expect? Did you expect the son of Ibrahim , the upright, to be any less faithful than his father? So, here in Mina, you act like Ibrahim , the soldier of Tawhid (monotheism), ready to defeat, subdue or shoot down your real enemy, the Satan within you representing your personal egos, desires, cravings, and preferences These "other" things, the "idols", were distracting you from the true worship of God But here in Mina, you are now ready to fight against these taghoots (demi-gods) to show your true devotion and obedience to Allah You fight Satan just as Ibrahim had fought against him To mimic that event, you throw stones at Satan at the three Jamarats

Qurbani or sacrifice an animal, saying only Bismillah

When both the father and the son - Ibrahim and Isma'il - had surrendered to Allah and Ibrahim had flung Isma'il down upon his face and was about to put the knife on his son's neck, Allah called Ibrahim : "O Ibrahim! You have already fulfilled the vision" (Quran 37:104-5) Ibrahim doesn't have to sacrifice his son Instead, he should sacrifice this ram, which has been sent to him, as ransom for Isma'il Unlike the false-gods of polytheism, Allah, the One True God, is not bloodthirsty He just wanted to check where Ibrahim stood in his devotion and love, whether he was capable of overcoming his personal feeling of love for his son to please Allah A lesson was taught by Allah - from now on there would be no human sacrifice in the altar of God Sacrifice of a halal animal whose meat you can eat and distribute among the poor is a sufficient substitute

Ponder again What was Ibrahim asked to sacrifice? It was nothing short of the most beloved thing/entity among his possession But when he was ready, his Isma'il was returned unto him, unscathed and unharmed And he was made a model for humanity: "And We left for him [Ibrahim ] among the later folk (the salutation): Peace be unto Ibrahim Thus do we reward the good" (Quran 37:108-9) If you love something more than you love Allah, then that thing has become your idol and you must be ready to sacrifice that Are you ready to slaughter your worldly desires, worldly love, your Isma'il in Mina in order that you be free from all attachments save those of Allah? If you are, then slaughter a goat, sheep, ram, cow or camel as a ransom towards your Isma'il As Dr Shariati rightly puts it, "To offer a sheep instead of Isma'il is a "sacrifice", but to sacrifice a sheep just for the sake of sacrifice is "butchery"!" (Ref: Hajj by Dr Ali Shariati) For surely Allah says, "Their flesh and their blood do not reach Allah, but the devotion from you reaches Him" (Quran 22:37)

Men should shave their head or trim their hair, at least, one-quarter of head Women should not shave their head, but only trim slightly at the end of the lock of a hair

After the Qurbani (sacrifice) of the animal, you have almost completed the basic requirements of hajj, so you can make an end of your unkemptness (Quran 22:29) You have defeated Satan but you may not have succeeded in completely killing it You may have defeated him outside but he comes back inside of you So, you should stay the next three days in Mina and continue with your battling of the Satan at Jamarat

After shaving or trimming the hair, you should go to Makkah and make the Tawaf of visitation and run seven times between the Safa and the Marwa Then your hajj is complete and you can come out of 'Ihram

This is the latter tawaf of the Ka'ba (Quran 22:29), performed after you return from Mina In Mina, you have defeated Satan and renewed your ties with Allah by following the footsteps of Ibrahim When you first approached Ka'ba you had not, by then, purified yourself You were still impure and unconscious In 'Arafat you gained consciousness In Mina you purified yourself So, this is appropriate that you do the tawaf and sa'iy in the purified state before you return home During the rituals of hajj you played the roles of Ibrahim and Hajera Do not replace your role-playing to something else when you return Like Hajera, always trust in Allah Like Ibrahim fight the fire of Nimrod, ie, oppression Like Ibrahim be prepared to sacrifice your Isma'il, ie, love or desires, for the sake of your faith That is the essence of hajj You return to Allah the way He wanted you to be: a slave totally dedicated to his/her Master

In closing, let me quote from Ali bin Uthman al-Jullabi al Hujwiri's (R) Kashf al-Mahjub A certain man came to Junayd [al-Baghdadi] (R) Junayd asked him whence he came He replied: "I have been to hajj" Junayd (R) said: "From the time when you first journeyed from your home have you also journeyed away from all sins?" He said, "No" "Then," said Junayd (R), "you have made no journey At every stage where you halted for the night did you traverse a station on the way to Allah?" He said: "No" "Then," said Junayd (R), "you have not trodden the road stage by stage When you put on the Ihram (pilgrim's garb) at the proper place did you discard the attributes of humanity as you cast off your ordinary clothes?" "No" "Then you have not put on the Ihram When you stood on 'Arafat did you stand one instant in contemplation of Allah?" "No" "Then you have not stood on 'Arafat When you went to Muzdalifa and achieved your desire did you renounce all sensual desires?" "No" "Then you have not gone to Muzdalifa When you circumambulated the Ka'ba did you behold the immaterial beauty of Allah in the abode of purification?" "No" "Then you have not circumambulated the Ka'ba When you ran between Safa and Marwa did you attain to the rank of safa (purity) and muruwwat (virtue)?" "No" "Then you have not run When you came to Mina did all your wishes cease?" "No" "Then you have not yet visited Mina When you reached the slaughter place and offered sacrifice did you sacrifice the objects of sensual desire?" "No" "Then you have not sacrificed When you threw the stones did you throw away whatever sensual thoughts were accompanying you?" "No" "Then you have not yet thrown the stones, and you have not yet performed the pilgrimage Return and perform the pilgrimage in the manner which I have described in order that you may arrive at the station of Ibrahim "

May Allah grant us the vigor to follow the dictates of hajj so that this duty is acceptable unto Him