How To Receive Hajjis ?
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the All-Compassionate. “May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You”
Praise be to Allah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and our bad deeds.
Whomsoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
How To Receive Hajjis?
On welcoming hajjis home, it is mustahab (commendable) to congratulate them and make a banquet for them. But
decorating with lights, firing gunshots, and hanging welcoming banners on walls are all forms of extravagance and showing off that should be avoided. Basically, there is nothing wrong with showing happiness for the safe arrival of hajjis when receiving them, yet it should be done without wasting money because this was not the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Allah accepts acts of worship when done with sincerity, which is achieved by avoiding all aspects of showing off. My concern is that acts such as putting up banners, colored lights, and firing gunshots as a welcoming gesture might be counted as a form of extravagance and showing off; that is why I suggest that they should be avoided.
In this regard, Allah says: (O ye who believe! Render not vain your almsgiving by reproach and injury, like him who spendeth his wealth only to be seen of men and believeth not in Allah and the Last Day. His likeness is as the
likeness of a rock whereon is dust of earth; a rainstorm smiteth it, leaving it smooth and bare.) (Al-Baqarah 2: 264)
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He who lets the people hear of his good deeds intentionally, to win their praise, Allah will let the people know his real intention (on the Day of Resurrection), and he who shows off, Allah will disgrace.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Receiving people coming from Hajj should be done without exaggeration. There is nothing wrong with using phrases like “May Allah accept your Hajj, grant you forgiveness, and reward you for your efforts.”
In another hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “O Allah! Forgive pilgrims and those for whom pilgrims have sought forgiveness from You.”
There is nothing wrong with relatives of hajjis preparing a banquet for them and those who come to congratulate them.
Generally speaking, it is preferable to congratulate a pilgrim on his safe arrival and on performing Hajj, for this is an act of supplication of a Muslim to his Muslim brother. Besides, it is a token of affection and shows mercy and sympathy to one another.
In the Quran, we read a verse congratulating the believers on the blessings they have in Paradise. Almighty Allah says: ((And it is said unto them): Eat and drink in health (as a reward) for what ye used to do.) (At-Tur 52: 19).
On congratulating one another, people should use phrases and actions that create happiness and conform to the commands of Allah and the teachings of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Occasions like marriage, birth of a child, Eid, return from a journey, Hajj, or Umrah, getting rid of distress are all occasions that need congratulations.