20th Shawwāl 1436 AH ~ Wednesday 5th August 2015

A Deep Yearning to Perform Hajj (Part 1)

By Shaykh Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

Hajj is one of the fundamental pillars of Islām. Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam has said:

Islām is founded on five (pillars): bearing witness that there is no deity except Allāh and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allāh, establishing salāh, paying zakāh, performing hajj and fasting in the month of Ramadān. (Al-Bukhārī)

Hajj is no insignificant ritual. Rather, it is a great worship which encompasses both physical struggle and sacrifice of wealth. It is an ‘ibādah of expressing love for the Creator and showing a personification of the submission of Ibrāhīm ‘alayhis salām.

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 sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said:

He who possesses enough provisions which will suffice for him to reach the House of Allāh, and he does not perform hajj, then there is no care whether he dies as a Jew or a Christian, and that is because Allāh ta‘ālā has mentioned in His Book: ‘As a right of Allāh, 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 Allāh is independent of all the worlds.’ (At-Tirmidhī)

Imām Al-Qurtubī rahimahullāh and Imām Ibn Kathīr rahimahullāh have narrated in their works of tafsīr that ‘Umar radhiyallāhu ‘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 Allāh says, ‘…And if one disbelieves, then Allāh is independent of all the worlds.’

After scrutinising the verse quoted above and all the warnings narrated in the ahādīth regarding those upon whom hajj is fard but fail to perform it, the majority of ‘Ulamā 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.

1.    Travelling:

•     The Prophet sallallāhu ‘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 Allāh 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 radhiyallāhu ‘anhu narrates a lengthy hadīth in which he states that he was sitting with the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam in the Masjid of Minā, when a person from the Ansār (Ansārī) and a person from [the tribe of] Thaqīf (Thaqafī) came into his presence. Upon greeting with salām, they said, “O Messenger of Allāh! We have come to ask you…” upon which the Prophet sallallāhu ‘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 Allāh! Tell us.” Then the Thaqafī turned to the Ansārī and said, “Ask.” So he said, “O Messenger of Allāh! 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 sallallāhu ‘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 Allāh will write a good deed for you and forgives a sin of yours…” (Al-Bazzār)

      Note: the remainder of this hadīth will be mentioned under different headings later on.

2.    The Haram:

•     Allāh ta‘ālā mentions in the Qur’ān, “Whoever enters it is secure…” Some commentators have mentioned that this means he will be saved from the Fire. (Ibn Kathīr)

3.    Makkah Al-Mukarramah:

•     Allāh ta‘ālā has taken an oath on this blessed city twice in the Qur’ān, saying, “I swear by this city.” (90:1) and, “And [I swear] by this peaceful city.” (95:3)

•     Allāh ta‘ālā also mentions the du‘ā of Ibrāhīm ‘alayhis salām, saying, “(Recall) when Ibrāhīm said, ‘My Lord, make this city peaceful…’” (14:35)

•    ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Adiyy ibn Hamrā’ narrates that he witnessed Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam having stopped at [a place called] Al-Hazwarah, [addressing Makkah] saying, “By Allāh! You are the best of the Land of Allāh, and the most beloved Land of Allāh 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 sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam [addressing the people] praised Allāh ta‘ālā and then said, “Verily, Allāh has sanctified Makkah; the people have not sanctified it. No human who believes in Allāh and in the Last Day is permitted to shed blood in it, nor uproot a tree…” (Al-Bukhārī, Muslim)

4.    Al-Masjid Al-Harām:

•     Allāh ta‘ālā says in the Qur’ān, “Surely [We will punish] those who disbelieve and prevent [people] from the way of Allāh and from Al-Masjid-Al-Harām (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.” (22:25)

•     The Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said, “One salāh in this masjid of mine (Al-Masjid An-Nabawī) is better than a thousand prayers in any other, except for Al-Masjid Al-Harām.” (Al-Bukhārī, Muslim)

•     The actual virtue of performing salāh in Al-Masjid Al-Haram is understood from another hadīth to be 100,000 times more than any other. (Ibn Mājah)

5.    The Ka‘bah:

•     Allāh ta‘ālā says in the Qur’ān: “Allāh has made the Ka‘bah, the Sacred House, a source of stability for people…” (5:97)

•     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 sallallāhu ‘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-Bukhārī, Muslim)

•     The Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said, “Allāh sends down 120 mercies each day and night on this House [of Allāh], 60 for those doing tawāf around it, 40 for those performing salāh, and 20 for those looking at it.”(At-Tabrānī)

•     The Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said, “The doors of the heavens are opened, and du‘ā is accepted in four places… [one of which is] when seeing the Ka‘bah.” (Al-Bayhaqī) Note: this is not exclusive to the first sight of the Ka‘bah.

6.    Al-Hajar Al-Aswad:

•     The Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said regarding the Black Stone, “By Allāh! Allāh will raise it on the Day of Qiyāmah 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 [i.e. with Īmān and hope of reward].” (At-Tirmidhī)

•     Ibn Hishām rahimahullāh once asked ‘Atā ibn Abī Rabāh regarding Ar-Rukn Al-Yamānī, whilst he was performing  tawāf. ‘Atā rahimahullāh replied, “Abū Hurayrah radhiyallāhu ‘anhu narrated to me that the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam said, ‘Seventy angels have been appointed to it. Whoever says,  

       “O Allāh! 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 ‘Āmīn’ (O Allāh accept [this prayer]).’” When he [Ibn Hishām rahimahullāh] reached Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, he said, “O Abū Muhammad (‘Atā ibn Abī Rabāh rahimahullāh), what have you come to know regarding this corner of Aswad?” ‘Atā replied, “Abū Hurayrah radhiyallāhu ‘anhu narrated to me that he heard the Messenger of Allāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam saying, “Whoever engages with it, engages with the hand of mercy.” (Ibn Mājah)

7.    Tawāf:

•     Further on, in the previous hadīth narrated by Imām Ibn Mājah rahimahullāh, Ibn Hishām rahimahullāh then said, “O Abū Muhammad! What about tawāf?” ‘Atā rahimahullāh replied, “Abū Hurayrah radhiyallāhu ‘anhu narrated to me that he heard the Messenger of Allāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam saying, ‘Whoever circumambulates the Ka‘bah seven times, and does not talk, except saying, ‘Subhānallāh, Alhamdulillāh, Allāhu Akbar, and Lā hawla walā quwwata illā billāh’, ten of his sins are forgiven, ten rewards are written for him, and his rank is raised ten times, and whoever performs tāwāf and talks, whilst saying the same, paddles in the Mercy [of Allāh] like a person who paddles in water.’” (Ibn Mājah) 

•    The Prophet sallallāhu ‘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 sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam say, ‘He (the circumambulator) does not take a step except that Allāh forgives a sin of his and writes a good deed for him.’” (At-Tirmidhī)

Continued in the next newsletter 

© Riyādul Jannah (2013)

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