Islam for Muslims

• THE FAITH OF MUSLIMS
• 1 Meaning & Importance of Faith (Iman)
• 2 Some Signs of Ideal Faith
• 3 God As The Unique and Supreme being
• 4 God as the All-Powerful
• 5 God’s Power in Shaping Destiny
• 6 God as the Creator
• 7 God as the Merciful
• 8 God as the Protector
• 9 God as the all-knowing
• 10 God as the Guide
• 11 God as the Judge
• 12 The Prophets in the Quran
• 13 Mohammad (pbuh) as the Final Prophet
• 14 Divine Books, Angels & Jinns
• 15 Various Stages of Life after Death
• GOOD DEEDS IN PERSONAL LIFE
• 16 Importance & Types of Good Deeds: Importance & Types of Good Deeds
• 17 Some Ideal Signs of Good Deeds
• 18 God at the Center of Religious Universe
• 19 Sources of Islamic Laws (Sharia)
• 20 Purification & Preparation for Prayer
• 21 The Essentials of Prayer (Salat)
• 22 The Essentials of Charity (Zakat, Fitr and Qurbani)
• 23 The Essentials of Fasting (Siam)
• 24 The Essentials of Pilgrimage (Hajj)
• 25 The Essentials of Knowledge (Ilm)
• 26 The Essentials of Inheritance (Faraiz)
• 27 The Essentials of Halal Income
• 28 The Essentials of Halal Food
• 29 The Essentials of Modest Dress & Behavior
• 30 The Essentials of Marriage & Divorce
• 31 The Essentials of Death & Funeral
• 32 Optional but Valuable Deeds
• 33 Avoiding Personal Sins: Why & How?
• 34 Fighting Satan (Devil) to Avoid Sins
• 35 Five Major Sin Packages
• GOOD DEEDS IN SOCIAL LIFE
• 36 The Importance of Preaching & Good Advice
• 37 The Techniques of Preaching & Good Advice
• 38 The Roles of Family & Parents
• 39 The Roles of Schools & Students
• 40 The Roles of Mosques & Muslims
• 41 The Roles of Print and Social Media
• 42 The Importance of Resisting Social Sins
• 43 The Techniques of Resisting Social Sins
• 44 Observing Islam in a Non-Muslim Environment
• 45 Islamic Governance: Legality, Potentials & Problems
• 46 Criminal Justice System for the Muslims
• 47 The Ideal Qualities of a Muslim: Piety & Proficiency
• 48 The Unity among the Muslims: Why & How?
• 49 The key to progress and prosperity of muslims
• 50 Final Appeal to the Muslims

24: THE ESSENTIALS OF PILGRIMAGE (HAJJ)

Introduction:  It is mandatory for every (i) financially solvent, (ii) physically and mentally capable, (iii) adult Muslim man or woman to perform ‘hajj’ at Mecca named “the Mother of Cities” (42:7) at least once in lifetime. The Quran declared pilgrimage a “duty to God (for) those who can afford the journey” (3:97). As one of the 5 Pillars, its priority has been elevated by adding a chapter (#22) named Hajj in the Quran. It is not only a binding duty but also a ritual with infinite blessings. The Muslims therefore should “complete the ‘hajj’ or ‘umra’ (smaller hajj) in the service of God”, so that they may “witness (numerous) benefits for them” (2:196; 22:28).  “Bakka (ancient name of Kaaba),  the first House appointed for mankind (for worship) is full of blessings and guidance for all. Founded by Prophet Abraham and (his son) Ismail, (God) made the House a place of Assembly (‘hajj’) for (worldwide Muslim) people and a place of safety” (3:96; 2:127; 2:125). The Prophet stated that a ‘hajj’, free from flaws and full of piety, delivers you sinless like a newborn, paving way to Paradise. 

Conditions for Hajj: If you meet monetary and other qualifications, then it is only your first Hajj that will be compulsory and any subsequent ones will be non-binding.  Hajj is to be performed during the period from the 8th to 13th of ‘zilhajj’, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar.  If you perform rituals largely similar to ‘hajj’ “at other times” “in the service of God” (2:158; 2:196), then it is known as “umra” with optional status. Performing ‘umra’, no matter how many times you do it, will not make any difference to your obligation of ‘hajj’.  It is, therefore, advisable that whenever ‘hajj’ becomes due for you, you should clear that off as soon as you can in preference to repeating ‘umra’. 

Calculation of Financial Worth:  The condition for ‘hajj’ is having an amount of money needed to finance your traveling, living and incidental expenses for performing ‘hajj’ at Mecca. This amount is to be computed after putting aside money for (i) cost of maintaining your family left behind during the ‘hajj’ and (ii) immediate loan payment obligations. In doing so, you should guard against temptation of overestimating your expenses by including long term or optional liabilities like future marriage of daughter or education of son, long term home mortgage, charity for relatives etc. If otherwise you play in the hands of ‘satan’ who “threatens you with poverty” (2:268) and make an endless list of expenses to be discounted for calculating your net financial worth for ‘hajj’, then you may never be fortunate enough to perform ‘hajj’ in your lifetime.

Sometimes, ‘satan’ may also give you false reasoning in favor of postponing your ‘hajj’ until your delayed retirement needed for making huge illegal fortunes. Accordingly, you make a tentative plan to perform ‘hajj’ sometime in the future when you intend to give up sinning and treat ‘hajj’ as a turning point seeking opportunity for forgiveness for your deliberate past sins. But ‘satan’ may not let that happen and you cannot outsmart God that way as He has full x-ray of your heart harboring any deliberate notoriety and your earthly ambitions may edge out ‘hajj’ from your life.  Needless to say, God watches how passionately you intend to go for ‘hajj’ and how piously you calculate your monetary ability to qualify for ‘hajj’ and if you prove positive in these tests, He is likely to help your way to ‘hajj’. It is therefore important for you to be reasonable and realistic in determining your financial eligibility for ‘hajj’.

Warning/Caution:  At the same time you also should not go to the other end of extremity. For example, it does not make religious sense if you show over-enthusiasm for going to ‘hajj’ by borrowing money on interest or at lender’s displeasure for your inability to repay any time soon or sinking your family deeper into poverty. Likewise, it will not be pro-Islamic if you go for ‘hajj’ leaving behind too old parents or too young children without managing reliable care for them.

Exemptions/Restrictions: Regardless of financial qualification, the ‘hajj’ is not mandatory for the minor, the insane, the disabled and the blind. However, if and when these exempting conditions go away, these groups of people will have to perform ‘hajj’ as an obligation. The women need to be accompanied with husband or a non-marriageable close relative. The ‘hajj’ becomes an obligation right from the year you saved an amount of money needed to pay for ‘hajj’ related expenses. Any unnecessary delay in this regard may amount to a sin. The obligation of ‘hajj’ is specific only for those who make money required for ‘hajj’ and not anyone else. For example, if you became wealthy by your own income and in your place if you send your parents to ‘hajj’ as a show of respect, then that will be their optional, making no difference to your hajj obligation.

Proxy/Intention:  If you are obstructed from ‘hajj’ due to any temporary problems like war, sickness, COVID lockdown etc., you should wait for chances. Meanwhile you should leave instructions for proxy ‘hajj’ to be done by others at your cost should these problems outlast your lifetime. A ‘hajj’ will not meet acceptable standard if funded by ill-gotten money. Similarly, you will risk the validity of your “hajj’ if you make its intention as secondary to other purposes like gaining social status as ‘hajji’ etc. During ‘hajj’, you are allowed to “seek of the bounty of your Lord” (2:198) through some business activities apparently for covering some cost of ‘hajj’ but that cannot be your primary goal and overdoing the same can also be distractive to your primary mission of ‘hajj’.

Rituals of Hajj: Hajj involves a long list of rituals. “Whoever honors the sacred rites of God, for him it is good in the sight of his God” (22:30). Particularly you are expected to “hold in honor symbols of God (such as rituals of stone throwing, animal sacrifice, drinking zamzam water etc.), (and) such (honor) should come truly from piety of (your) heart” (22:32). 

(1) Fard (Most Important) Rituals: (i) Putting on Ihram before reaching any of the 5 designated points called ‘miqat’ (station). Ihram means wearing 2 pieces of seamless (preferably white) clothes for men, without caps, turbans, shoes and socks. For women, Ihram is their modest dress, without perfume, make up, face covering and gloves. (ii) On the 9th of zilhajj month, staying at the Mount “Arafah” for “celebrating the praises of God” (2:198) from midday to sundown (iii) On the 10th or 11th or 12th or 13th of zilhajj, doing ‘tawaf’ or “compassing around the Ancient House” Kaaba (anti-clockwise) seven times inside the Grand Mosque compound (2:125/158; 22:29).

(2) Wajib (Important): (i) On the night past 9th zilhajj, “pouring down from Arafah” (2:198) for staying at the open ground of Mujdalifah until morning prayer (ii) after completion of main “tawaf’, walking fast back and forth (total distance of about 2 miles) between “Safa and Marwah” hills nearby Kaaba for 7 times (S-M, M-S, S-M, M-S, S-M, M-S, S-M) known as Sa’i (2:158). (iii) throwing pebbles at the three stations in Mina (iv) making an animal “sacrifice near the Ancient House” (22:33) (v) “shaving” or “trimming” hair after completion of animal sacrifice, for taking off Ihram at the end of Safa- Marwah walking rituals (48:27) (vi) concluding ‘tawaf’ (circling around Kaaba).

Prohibitions & Restrictions: During ‘hajj’, you face prohibitions that do not always apply at other times. Examples include “fighting” (2:191), killing or hunting animals (5:95; 5:1)), carrying weapons, any form of “obscenity , wickedness or quarrel” (2:197), “profanity and wrongdoing” (22:25), harming plants, cutting hair or nails, covering of head by males (umbrella exempted) or covering face by females, using perfume, wearing sewed clothes and socks for men, wearing shoes or sandals covering the entire feet, kissing or caressing wife, having sex with wife, marrying etc. These are additional to unspecified numerous bad deeds like harmful jokes, showing selfishness or doing anything in violation of “sanctity of (God’s) House” as per God’s advice to Abraham (22:26). Overall, God ruled that during ‘hajj’ the “best of provisions is right conduct” (2:197).

Permissible Acts: These include (i) taking shower and/or oil (ii) combing hair (iii) looking at mirror (iv) wearing a belt or belt purse around the waist (v) wearing watch or ring (vi) wearing socks for women (vii) covering face when it is windy (viii) using umbrella when it is sunny (ix) killing harmful insects or animals (x) receiving medical treatment etc.

Conclusion: The detailed nature of ‘hajj’ rituals stated above may be made easier for practice through guided trip. You should also take additional preparation through necessary reading and consultation. What’s more, if you perform ‘hajj’ in your youthful age, you will find it less challenging than otherwise.