What after Hajj?

Allaah The Almighty Legislated the acts of worship and obedience for
great wisdom and sublime objectives. No wonder, as they strengthen the
faith, purify the soul, correct the attitude and refine the morals. If
acts of worship did not achieve these objectives, then the Muslim
would not benefit from them properly. In such a case, acts of worship
might turn into lifeless rituals that one performs without any actual
influence on his reality and attitude.
This rule applies to Hajj. When the believer performs Hajj properly
realizing its objectives and feeling its meanings, it will be of great
influence upon him in this life and in the Hereafter.
Thus, dear pilgrim, Allaah The Almighty Honored you with the blessing
of visiting His House and Enabled you to perform His obligation.
Therefore, you have to stop and contemplate your conditions, review
the state of your heart and correct the course of your life.
The first thing you have to realize is the greatness of the blessing
that Allaah The Almighty Bestowed upon you when He Facilitated your
affairs and Enabled you to perform this great duty. Certainly, this
necessitates you to praise Allaah The Exalted for this blessing, of
which many people are deprived, despite their longing for it. Praising
Allaah The Almighty for this blessing entails preserving it, adherence
to obedience to Allaah The Almighty and compliance with His religion
and Sharee'ah.
The most important thing that you should maintain after your Hajj is
the issue of steadfastness and guarding this great deed )your
performance of Hajj( against things that could nullify it. You should
ask Allaah The Almighty ceaselessly to Help you adhere firmly to His
religion and Guide you to obey Him, and Make you avoid His
disobedience so that you}will be with the ones upon whom Allaah Has
Bestowed favor of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the
martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as
companions{]Quran 4:69[
Allaah The Almighty Gave people examples illustrating this issue to
warn His slaves of invalidating their deeds and losing them when they
need them urgently. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Would one
of you like to have a garden of palm trees and grapevines underneath
which rivers flow in which he has from every fruit? But he is
afflicted with old age and has weak offspring, and it is hit by a
whirlwind containing fire and is burned. Thus Does Allaah Make clear
to you ]His[ verses that you might give thought.{]Quran 2:266[
This example speaks about those who did good deeds and then regressed
replacing good deeds with evil ones. We seek refuge with Allaah The
Exalted from this. In his commentary on this verse, Ibn 'Abbaas, May
Allaah Be Pleased with him, said:"This is an example of a rich man who
does good acts out of obedience of Allaah and then Allaah Sends him
the devil whereupon he commits sins till all his good deeds are
lost."]Al-Bukhaari[
Dear pilgrim, remember that the accepted Hajj has signs. The most
prominent of these signs is the continuity of uprightness and
obedience to Allaah The Exalted. Furthermore, your relationship with
Allaah The Almighty should be better than before. Al-Hasan Al-Basri,
May Allaah Have mercy upon him, was told that the accepted Hajj is
rewarded by Paradise. He said, "The sign of this is to return )from
Hajj( renouncing this world and aspiring to the Hereafter."
I wish that you, dear pilgrim, would finish your Hajj while you
realize that its most important objective is to train the Muslim in
worshipping Allaah The Almighty alone, to comply with His
commandments, avoid His prohibitions and follow the Sunnah of His
Prophet. These objectives are not confined to a certain time; rather,
the Muslim should adhere to them as long as he is alive. Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}And worship your Lord until there comes to
you the certainty )death(.{]Quran 15:99[
Your condition after doing good deeds should be like those about whom
Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And they who give what they
give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to
their Lord -{]Quran 23:60[
Although they try to get closer to Allaah The Almighty through various
acts of worship, they fear that their deeds may be rejected. That is
why 'Ali, May Allaah Be Pleased with him, used to say, "Be more
concerned about the acceptance of your deeds than about the deeds
themselves. Have not you read the Quranic verse in which Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:}Indeed, Allaah only Accepts from the
righteous ]who fear Him[.{]Quran 5:27[?"
Hence, Allaah The Almighty Commanded the pilgrims to seek His
forgiveness after departing from 'Arafah and Al-Muzdalifah saying
)what means(,}Then depart from the place from where ]all[ the people
depart and ask Forgiveness of Allaah. Indeed, Allaah Is Forgiving and
Merciful.{]Quran 2:199[
Finally, dear pilgrim, you stood at 'Arafah, you shed tears and you
showed remorse over your previous misdeeds. Allaah The Almighty
Emancipated you from Hell, so beware of regressing to sins after being
forgiven by Allaah or drawing near Hell after being saved from it.
Be determined to make your Hajj a turning point in your life, reckon
yourself and determine what influence your Hajj had upon your heart,
attitude, words and deeds.
Keep doing good deeds even if they are little, because regular small
deeds are better than interrupted greater ones. You should know that
deeds, which Allaah The Almighty Loves most, are the most regular and
constant ones even though they were little.
We ask Allaah The Almighty by His Names and most beautiful Attributes
to Accept your Hajj, Forgive your sins and Reward you for your
efforts. We also ask Him to Accept our good deeds and Provide us with
steadfastness and uprightness until death.