HAJJ (Pilgrimage)

The last of the fundamental duties in Islam is the Hajj. Laying itdown
as an essential religious obligation of Muslims, the Holy Quraan says:
Pilgrimage thereto is a duty, men owe to Allah, on those who can
afford the journey, but if any one denies faith, Allah stands not in
need of anyof His creatures. [III:97]
In this verse while the Hajj has been declared obligatory it has been
made clear that it is applicable only to those who possess the means
and material resources toundertake it. But care has been taken, in the
last part of it, to warn that if Muslims whom Allah (Subhaanahu
Wata'aalaa) has blessed with the necessary material means to perform
the pilgrimage still fail to carry out the duty through sheer
ingratitude (as is common among the wealthy classes these days) then
Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) does not stand in need of their
pilgrimage. The Almighty,definitely, is not going tolose anything by
their not performing the Hajj, the loss will entirely to them. They
will forfeit Hisgood graces, they will deprive themselves of
Hisbenevolence, and Allah-forbid, a most lamentable fate will be
waiting for them in the Hereafter. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe
Wasillam) is reported to have gone as far as to say:
"A person whom Allah (SUbhaanahu Wata'aalaa) has given enough to
perform the Hajj, if he still fails to do so then it does not matter
at all whether he dies as a Jew or a Christian."
Brothers! If there is any regard in our hearts for Islam, if we can
boast of the least attachment to Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa) and the
Prophet (Sallallahu AlaiheWasallam) none of us who can afford to make
the journey should remain without performing the Hajj afterwe have
known this Tradition.
Spiritual Merit
The importance of the Hajj and the spiritual meritoriousness of those
who perform it have been emphasised in a number of Traditions. Wewill
reproduce a few of them here.
"Those who make the pilgrimage for the Hajj orthe Umrah they are the
guests of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa): their petitions, if they make
any to Allah (SubhaanahuWata'aalaa), will be granted, and if they seek
deliverance from sins, their sins will be forgiven."
"He who performs the Hajj and commits no wicked or sinful deed during
it and does not disobey Allah (Subhaanahu Wata'aalaa), he will return
from it as pure and guiltless as he was atthe time of his birth."
"The reward for a pure and untainted Hajj is paradise itself and
nothing short of it."
Immediate Gains
The remission of sins andthe enjoyment of the supreme blissfulness of
paradise as a result of the spiritual auspiciousness of the Hajj will,
Inshaa Allah, surely be granted to the faithful in full measure inlife
to come, but the exquisite thrill and the sublime joy one experiences,
the soul-stirring sensation of delight and wondermentone feels, on
seeing that choicest seat of Divine splendour - the House of Ka'bah
and on visiting those special places in Makkah where the memories of
Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) are still alive, are also things
of the celestial world on the earth. Then the pilgrimage to the
Prophet's (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) mausoleum at Madinah, the
offering up of Salaah in his own mosque, the addressing of the
salutation and the benediction to him directly, the aimless wanderings
in the streetsand the wilderness of theblessed city, the breathing in
of its air and the fragrance which always seems to be fillingits
atmosphere, the ethereal joy of his remembrance bursting upon one
sometimes in laughter and sometimes in tears - all these things -
provided, of course, that one is blessed enough to feel them - arethe
immediate rewards apilgrim gets when he betakes himself to the holy
cities of Makkah andMadinah.
Five Pillars of Islam
The five fundamental teachings of Islam we have discussed so far,
theKalimah, Salaah, Zakaah, Saum and Hajj, are known as the 'Five
Pillars of Islam'.
A well-known Tradition of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Ataihe
Wasallam) tells us that,"The foundation of Islam rests on these five
things;(i) the affirmation of (ii) the establishment of Salaah (iii)
the payment of Zakaah (iv) the observance of Saum in the month of
Ramadhaanand (v) the performance of Hajj by those who can afford to
make the pilgrimage."
When these five items are spoken of as the Pillars of Islam, it means
that these are the fundamental duties of the faith. If carried out
properly these duties are capable of producing in us the ability to
fulfil our other religious obligations as well. Here we have dwelt
only on their importance and theintrinsic spiritual virtue that
underlies them. Detailed rules and principles governing them can be
learnt from reliable, books on IslamicJurisprudence or directly from a
Muslim theologian.