State of the Righteous Predecessors in Hajj

Just a few days are left till the Hajj season. The pilgrims compete in
preparing themselves properly to perform this great pillar of Islam.
Wealth is one of the basic necessities of Hajj ; but people are
different in choosing the type of wealth which will be their
sustenance for Hajj.
Some choose unlawfully gained wealth, such as Riba- based loans
(usury), mixed shares, and so on. Others are pious and choose only the
lawfully gained wealth that is untainted by any unlawful gains in
order to have this kind of sustenance during this trip.
It is lawful wealth, the little sustenance in this life and the rare
treasureat a time when you rarely find wealth unmixed with what is
unlawful.
O pilgrims, lawfully gained wealth is the way to success, the beacon
of happiness andthe reason behind having your supplicationanswered.
The Prophet, , said: "Allaah is Good and He accepts only what is
good." [Muslim] That is why our Salaf (righteouspredecessors) used to
bevery particular about themeans by which they earned their livelihood
lest their deeds and supplications be rejected. Their wives were just
as keen, so much so, that one of them would walk her husband to the
door as he was leaving in the morning and say to him: "Fear Allaah
with regards to what you feed us, for we can tolerate hunger but would
not be able to tolerate the heat of Hell"
The state of Salaf on assuming Ihraam and Talbiyah
My dear reader: Salaf used to experience the real meaning of Ihraam ,
which is to remove all earthly desires and lusts, and turn
wholeheartedlywith one's body and soul, to the Creator of the heavens
and the earth. This is why, on assuming Ihraam , their emotions were
moved, their colors changed, and they would fret lest it would not be
acceptedfrom them.
It was the habit of Anas ibn Maalik that whenever he assumed Ihraam ,
he would not talk about anything belonging to the worldlyaffairs until
he had removed Ihraam.
When 'Ali ibn Al-Husayn, may Allaah Have mercy upon him, assumed
Ihraam, and his riding mount stood upright with him, he turned paleand
fretted and was unable to recite Talbiyah . It was said to him, "What
is wrong with you?" He said, "I fear lest it would be said to me: "No
Labbayk and No Sa'dayk" (Your call is not responded to, and no
happiness is destined to you, in reference to the rejection of worship
from him)."
When Ja'far As-Saadiq performed Hajj , and intended to recite
Talbiyah, the color of his face changed. It was saidto him, "What is
wrong with you, O grandson of the Messenger of Allaah ?" He said, "I
intend tosay Talbiyah, but I fear I would hear something else rather
than the response (to Talbiyah)."
Whenever Shurayh assumed Ihraam, he would seem as motionless as a
still female-snake, due to his absolute silence, meditation and
lowering his head to Allaah The Almighty.
Though many pilgrims inthose days did not recite Talbiyah , and most
of them did not raise their voices with it nor pronounce it publicly
even if they said it, Salaf did the opposite of that.
According to Abu Haazim
Whenever the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah, , assumed Ihraam ,
they would not reach Ar-Rawhaa' before their voices would become
hoarse (due to raising their voices with Talbiyah ). Indeed, they knew
that this was something loved by Allaah The Almighty, as confirmed by
the statement of the Messenger of Allaah, : "Jibreel (Gabriel) came to
me and told me to command my Companions to raise their voices with
Talbiyah." [Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and An-Nasaa'i;
Al-Albaani: Saheeh ] And, his statement, : "The best (deeds of) Hajj
is to raiseone's voice with Talbiyah, and cause the blood of
(slaughtered) sacrifices to flow." [At-Tirmithi; Al-Albaani: Hasan [
Worship of Salaf in Hajj
According to the grand Imaam Ibn Rajab oneof the greatest deeds of
righteousness to be done in Hajj is to establish prayer: he
whoperforms Hajj , especially when it is voluntary, without
establishing prayer is like the one who sought to earn a single Dirham
for which he wasted his capital of many thousands. Salaf maintained
the voluntary prayers with great care. The Messenger of Allaah, , used
to perform the voluntary prayers in all his journeys on his riding
mount on which he used to also perform the Witr prayer.
It is narrated on the authority of 'Aamir ibn Rabee'ah that he saw the
Messenger of Allaah, , performing the supererogatory prayer at night
on his journey on the back of his riding mount wherever it turned with
him. [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
It is further narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar that he said,
"The Messenger of Allaah used to perform the supererogatory prayer
along with the Witr prayer (on journey) on his riding mount to
whichever direction it turned with him. But he did not perform the
prescribed obligatory prayer on it." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
It was the habit of Muhammad ibn Waasi' to perform the voluntary
prayers on theway to Makkah for the whole night on the back of his
camel, by way of nodding, and he would command his camel driver to
raise his voice behind him, in order to divert the people's attention
with his voice from him.
Masrooq performed Hajj , during which he did not sleep but in the
prostration posture.
Al-Mugheerah ibn Hakeem As-San'aani used to perform Hajj from Yemen on
foot, andhe had a devotional recital every night in which he used to
recite one-third of the Quran: he used to stop and perform prayer
until when his devotional recital was over, he would then join the
caravan of travelers whenever he was able to, and perhaps he couldnot
manage to join thembefore the end of the day.
After relating those stories, Ibn Rajab said, "We command the people
just to maintain with care the (obligatory) prayers at their due
times, even by combining each pair of prayers possible to combine at
the time of either of them. There is no concession for anyone to
perform the night prayer during the day, nor the prayer of the day at
night, nor the prescribed obligatory prayer on the back of hisriding
mount."
How Salaf were cautious about showing off and boasting
In order for the pilgrimage to be accepted (by Allaah) with full
acceptance, it isdue on the pilgrim not to intend by his pilgrimage to
be seen orheard of by men, nor to boast, nor to preen, nor to show
pride or be arrogant: in sum, he should intend thereby only the
countenance and good pleasure of Allaah The Almighty. He should also
humble himself in Hajj , and be meek and submissive to his Lord The
Almighty.
The Salaf were extremely eager to keep their deeds far from any taint
of showing off or worldly pride, because they knew that Allaah The
Almighty would onlyaccept the deed that is done for Him sincerely and
correctly in accordance with the Sunnah (tradition) of His Prophet, ,
as confirmed by the Statement of Allaah The Almighty in the Qudsi
Hadeeth (sacred narration): "He, who does a deed in which he
associates a partner withMe, I then will leave him with the partner
whom he associates." [Muslim] For this reason, when a man said to Ibn
'Umar "How many pilgrims there are!" Ibn 'Umar replied to him, "Nay!
How few they are (from whom Hajj is accepted by Allaah)!"
According to Shurayh Al-Qaadhi "The pilgrims (from whom Hajj is
accepted) are few,even though the riders (who set out for Hajj) are
many. How many arethose who do good, but how few are those who intend,
by their deed, HisCountenance, The Almighty."
On his way to Makkah, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab said, " No doubt, (on this
journey of Hajj) you become disheveled, covered with dust, engaged in
recitation (of the Quran), and offered your sacrifice, thereby
intending nothing from the worldly transitory benefits. We do not know
of a journey better than this", meaning Hajj .