Praise be to Allaah.
Performing the rituals of Hajj has many virtues and there is a great deal of wisdom behind them.
The one who is enabled to understand them and do them is blessed with a
great deal of good. We will try to list as many as we can here.
1-
Travelling for Hajj to perform the rituals; his journey reminds him his
journey to Allaah and the Hereafter. When he travels he leaves behind
his loved ones, family, children and homeland, and the journey to the
Hereafter is like that too.
2- The one who goes on this journey takes with him
supplies that will help him reach the holy land, and this reminds him
that for the journey to his Lord, he must have with him provisions that
will help him to arrive safely. Concerning this, Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “And take a provision (with you) for
the journey, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness)”
[al-Baqarah 2:197].
3- Just as travelling is a kind of torment, the journey
to the Hereafter is like that too, and many times greater. Ahead of a
person there is the agony of death, death itself, the grave, the
gathering, the reckoning, the weighing in the Balance, and al-Siraat (a
bridge across Hell, over which all must pass), then Paradise or Hell.
The blessed one is the one whom Allaah saves.
4- When the pilgrim wears the ihraam garments (two pieces
of unsewn white cloth), this reminds him of the shroud in which he will
be wrapped. This motivates him to give up sin. Just as he sheds his
clothes, he should also shed his sins; just as he puts on two clean
white garments, his heart and limbs should also be clean and untainted
with sin.
5- When he says at the meeqaat (the point at which
pilgrims enter ihraam), “Labbayk Allaahumma labbaayk (Here I am at Your
service, O Allaah)”, which means that he has responded to his Lord, may
He be exalted, how can he remain in a state of sin without saying to his
Lord, “Labbayk Allaahumma labbaayk (Here I am at Your service, O
Allaah)”, meaning, I have responded to Your prohibition of them. This is
the time to give up sin.
6- When he gives up the things that are forbidden when in
ihraam, and keeps busy with the talbiyah and dhikr (remembering
Allaah), this shows the state that the Muslim should always be in. This
is a means of training and disciplining himself, because he is
disciplining himself by giving up what is basically permitted, but
Allaah has forbidden it to him in this situation. So how can he
transgress the sacred limits that Allaah has set for all times and
places?
7- When he enters the sacred House of Allaah, which Allaah has made a place of safety for mankind, this reminds him ofsafety
on the Day of Resurrection, and that no one can attain it without
effort and striving. The greatest source of safety on the Day of
Resurrection is Tawheed (belief in the Oneness of Allaah) and avoiding
shirk (associating others with Allaah). Concerning this Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “It is those who believe (in the
Oneness of Allaah and worship none but Him Alone) and confuse not their
Belief with Zulm (wrong, i.e. by worshipping others besides Allaah), for
them (only) there is security and they are the guided” [al-An’aam
6:82].
When he kisses the Black Stone, which is the first ritual
that he does, this trains the visitor to venerate the Sunnah (the way of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)), and not to
transgress against the law of Allaah on the basis of his flawed
reasoning. He knows that what Allaah has prescribed for mankind is wise
and good, and he trains himself to submit fully to his Lord, may He be
exalted. Concerning that, ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said,
after kissing the Black Stone: “I know that you are just a stone and you
can neither cause harm nor bring benefit. Were it not that I saw the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) kissing you, I would
not have kissed you.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1520) and Muslim (1720).
8- When he circumambulates the Ka’bah, that reminds him
of his father Ibraaheem (Abraham, peace be upon him), and how he built
the Ka’bah as a place of safety for mankind and called them to come on
pilgrimage to this House. Then came our Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) who also called people to come to this
House. Moosa (Moses) and ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon them both) also
came on pilgrimage to this House, which is therefore a symbol of these
Prophets. How could it be otherwise when Allaah commanded Ibraaheem
(peace be upon him) to build it and venerate it?
9- When he drinks the water of Zamzam, this reminds him
of the blessing that Allaah has bestowed upon people in this blessed
water, from which millions of people have drunk for many centuries, and
it still has not dried up. He is encouraged to say du’aa’ (supplication)
when drinking it, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “The water of Zamzam is for whatever it is drunk for.”
Narrated by Ibn Maajah (3062) and Ahmad (14435). It is a hasan hadeeth
which was classed as such by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on
him) in Zaad al-Ma’aad (4/320).
10-The saa’i (running) between al-Safa and al-Marwa reminds him of the great hardship undergone by our mother Haajar(Hagar),
and how she ran between al-Safa and al-Marwa looking for someone to
save her from the trouble in which she found herself, and especially for
water to give to her young son Ismaa’eel (Ishmael). This woman bore
this test with patience, and turned to her Lord. In her we have a good
example, because when a man remembers the striving and patience of this
woman, his problems seem less significant, and when a woman remembers
one of her own gender, her hardship becomes easier to bear.
11-Standing in ‘Arafah reminds the pilgrim of the great
gathering of mankind on the Day of Gathering. If the pilgrim suffers
exhaustion because of the crowding together of thousands of people, then
how about when all of mankind are gathered, barefoot, naked and
uncircumcised?
12-As we said with regard to kissing the Black Stone, so too
when stoning the Jamaraat (stone pillars representing the Devil), the
Muslim trains himself to be obedient and to follow the example of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Thus he manifests
pure submission to Allaah.
13-When he offers the sacrifice, this reminds him of the
important incident when our father Ibraaheem submitted to Allaah’s
command to sacrifice his only son Ismaa’eel (Ishmael), and that there is
no room for compassion which goes against the commands and prohibitions
of Allaah. It also teaches him to respond to the command of Allaah, as
Ismaa’eel said: “ ‘O my father! Do that which you are commanded, In sha’
Allaah (if Allaah wills), you shall find me of As‑Saabiroon (the
patient)’” [al-Saffaat 37:102].
14-When he exits ihraam and that which Allaah had forbidden
to him during ihraam becomes permissible to him again, this trains him
to be patient, and teaches him that with hardship goes ease, and that
the outcome for the one who responds to the command of Allaah is joy and
happiness. This joy can only be felt by the one who tastes the
sweetness of obedience, like the joy that the fasting person feels when
he breaks his fast, or that the one who spends the night in prayer feels
after he has prayed.
15-When he has finished the rituals of Hajj and done them as
Allaah has prescribed and as He likes, and has completed his rituals, he
has the hope that his Lord will forgive him all his sins, as the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) promised when he
said: “Whoever comes to this House and does not utter any obscene speech
or do any evil deed, will go back as his mother bore him.” Narrated by
al-Bukhaari (1449) and Muslim (1350). This motivates him to turn over a
new leaf in his life, free from sin.
16-When he goes back to his wife and children, the joy of
meeting them reminds him of the greater joy he will feel when he meets
them in the Paradise of Allaah, may He be exalted. This reminds him that
true loss is loss of oneself and one’s family on the Day of
Resurrection, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say (O
Muhammad): The losers are those who will lose themselves and their
families on the Day of Resurrection. Verily, that will be a manifest
loss!” [al-Zumar 39:15].
This is what we were able to mention.
And Allaah knows best.
Source: Islam qa
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