Hajj - Articles|- Affect of Hajj on the souland life of a Muslim

How does participating in Hajj affect the life of aMuslim?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Performing the rituals ofHajj 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. Wewill 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 andthe 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 akind 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 weighingin the Balance, and al-Siraat (a bridge
acrossHell, 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 upsin. 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 themeeqaat (the point at which pilgrims enter
ihraam), "Labbayk Allaahumma labbaayk (Here I am at Your service, O
Allaah)", whichmeans 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.
Thisis 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. Thisis 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 aplace of safety for mankind, this reminds him of safety on the
Day of Resurrection, and thatno 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 BlackStone, 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 Allaahon 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 tohis 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 himof 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." Narratedby 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 ofthe
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 easierto 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 crowdingtogether of thousands ofpeople, 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
whenstoning the Jamaraat (stone pillars representing the Devil), the
Muslim trains himselfto 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 hisonly son Ismaa'eel (Ishmael), and that thereis 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 ihraamand 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 joyand
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 finishedthe 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 andone's family on the Day of Resurrection, as
Allaahsays (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.