The Fruits of Hajj – II
Hajj allows Muslims to exchange benefits and experience in general. Scholars and decision-makers from around the world can meet and study the situation and needs of the Muslims, and the importance of cooperating with them.
Muslims achieve true submission to Allah by standing in the holy places in Al-Masjid Al-Haram and Arafat.
In Hajj, the Muslims find forgiveness of sins because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever performs Hajj and does not use any obscene words or commit any sin will go back cleansed of sin as on the day he/she was born.”
Hajj proclaims that Islam is the religion of organization because during Hajj the ritual times are organized, with every action done in a set place and at a time defined for it. Hajj also trains Muslims to spend in charity and to avoid miserliness.
Hajj increases piety and makes the heart fit to honor the Symbols of Allah . ” … and whosoever honors the Symbols of Allah, then it is truly from the piety of the hearts.” (22:32)
Hajj trains the rich to give up their distinct clothing and accommodation and makes them equal with the poor in clothing and in the rituals of Tawaf, Sa’i, and throwing the pebbles. This teaches the rich to be humble and to realize the insignificance of this worldly life.
The pilgrim persists in worshiping and remembering Allah during the days of Hajj. This is a kind of intensive training in worship and remembrance of Allah.
Hajj develops good characteristics, such as forbearance and putting up with annoying people, because the pilgrim will inevitably be exposed to crowding and arguments, etc. Allah says: “The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months (i.e. the 10th month, the 11th month and the first ten days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar). So whosoever intends to perform Hajj therein (by assuming ihram), then he should not have sexual relations (with his wife), nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj.” (2:197)
Hajj trains the pilgrims to share, be patient and to put up with difficulties such as heat, long distances, being apart from their families, going back and forth between the holy sites and the crowded conditions in them.
Hajj teaches the pilgrims not to despair of the mercy of Allah, no matter how great their worries and distress maybe, for the way out is in Allah’s hand.
The mother of Isma’il thought her son was about to die, and she started to run from one mountain to the other, looking for a solution. It came to her from a source she could never imagine when the angel came down and struck the ground, and out came the water of Zamzam with its healing for diseases of the heart and body.
The pilgrims remember that in doing these rituals, they are the guests of the Most Merciful. The gathering of Hajj is not at the invitation of any government or organization or king or president; rather it is at the invitation of the Lord of the Worlds Who has made it an occasion on which the Muslims meet on a footing of equality in which no one is superior to anyone else.
An-Nasa’i reported that Abu Hurairah said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The guests of Allah are three: the warrior for the sake of Allah, the pilgrim performing Hajj and the pilgrim performing Umrah.”