Introduction Hajj

Once a year, Muslims of every ethnic group, colour, social status, and
culture gather together inMecca and stand before the Kaaba praising
Allah together.
It is a ritual that is designed to promote the bonds of Islamic
brotherhood and sisterhood by showing that everyone is equal in the
eyes of Allah.
The Hajj makes Muslims feel real importance of lifehere on earth, and
the afterlife, by stripping away all markers of social status, wealth,
and pride. In the Hajj all are truly equal.
The Hajjis or pilgrims wear simple white clothescalled Ihram. During
the Hajj the Pilgrims perform acts of worship and they renew their
sense of purpose in the world.
Mecca is a place that is holy to all Muslims. It is soholy that no
non-Muslim is allowed to enter.
For Muslims, the Hajj is the fifth and final pillar of Islam . It
occurs in the month of Dhul Hijjah which is the twelfth month of the
Islamic lunar calendar. It is the journey that every sane adult Muslim
must undertake at least once intheir lives if they can afford it and
are physically able.
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History
History of the Hajj
Four thousand years ago the valley of Mecca was a dry and uninhabited place.
Muslims believe the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was instructed to bring
his wife, Hajira (Hagar) and their child Is'mail to Arabia from
Palestine to protect them from the jealousy of Ibrahim's first wife
Sarah.
Allah told the Prophet Ibrahim to leave them on their own, and he did
so, with some supplies of food and water. However the supplies quickly
ran out and within a few daysHajira and Is'mail were suffering from
hunger anddehydration.
In her desperation Hajira ran up and down two hillscalled Safa and
Marwa trying to see if she could spot any help in the distance.
Finally she collapsed beside Is'mail and prayed to Allah for
deliverance.
Is'mail struck his foot on the ground and this caused a spring of
water to gush forth from the earth. Hajira and Is'mail were saved. Now
they had a secure water supplythey were able to trade water with
passing nomads for food and supplies.
After a while the Prophet Ibrahim returned from Palestine to check on
his family and was amazed tosee them running a profitable well.
The Prophet Ibrahim was told by Allah to build a shrine dedicated to
him. Ibrahim and Is'mail constructed a small stone structure - the
Kaaba or Cube - which was to be the gathering place for all who wished
to strengthen their faith in Allah.
As the years passed Is'mail was blessed with Prophethood and he
gavethe nomads of the desert the message of surrender to Allah.
After many centuries, Mecca became a thriving city thanks to its
reliable water source, the well of Zam Zam.
Gradually, the people began to adopt polytheistic ideas, and worship
spirits and many different gods. The shrine of the Prophet Ibrahim was
used to store idols.
After many years, Allah told the Prophet Muhammed that he should
restore the Kaaba to the worship of Allah only.
In the year 628 the Prophet Muhammed set out on a journey with 1400 of
his followers. Thiswas the first pilgrimage inIslam, and would
re-establish the religious traditions of the Prophet Ibrahim.

Daughter of Namrud

Namrud was the oppressive king who threw Ibrahim (A.S.) into the fire.
His daughter, Ru'dah, was watching the scene from above. She noticed
that the fire was having no effect on Ibrahim (A.S.). She shouted and
asked him the reason for this.
Ibrahim (A.S.) replied: " Allah has saved me from this calamity
through the blessing of iman."
She replied: "If you permit me, I will also come into the fire."
He replied: "Recite Lâ ilâha illallâhu Ibrahim khalîlullâh
(translation: There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Ibrahim
is the close friend of Allah).
She recited this kalimah and immediately dived into the fire. The fire
had no effect on her as well. She then came out of the fire and went
and rebukedand censured her father. He subjected her to great
difficulties but she remained steadfast on her iman.
Lesson: Glory be to Allah! How courageous she was that she did not
abandon her iman even when in difficulty! O women! You should also be
strong-willed at the time of difficulties and do not act contrary to
the Deen even if it equals a hair's breadth.

Fatimah bint Abdul Malik

Fatimah bint Abdul Malik was a highly placed woman of first century
Hijrah . She was wife of thegreat Banu Umayyad Caliph Umar ibn Abdul
Azizand daughter of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. She wasraised in palatial
atmosphere like princessesand she was familiar with the royal culture.
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, himself a man of great beauty was regarded one of
the few who greatly were mindful of their get-up. His diet and dress
were equally worthy of royalty. But after he had totake over the
charge of the Caliphate, he gave up all princely practices. He turned
his mouth away from the superb and delicious cuisine. The pulses were
started to be cooked daily and all the people of his household were
sick with the pulses.
One day a servant complained his matron that he was fed up with the
pulses. She silenced him to tell that his master,the Commander of the
Faithful, too ate the same and they themselves, as well.
Once the Caliph praised the taste of Lebanon-honey before her. She
sentword to ruler of Lebanon, Ibn Ma'di Karb. He immediately sent the
honey. When it was servedbefore the Caliph, he questioned his wife if
she had ordered for that. She answered in affirmative and the Caliph
sold out thehoney and deposited the price in Baytal Mal (state
exchequer).
Once a woman came from Iraq to get approved the allowance for her
orphan daughters. She saw the first lady baking bread herself and sat
near her. She was looking at the house and then said regretfully that
she had come to find some favoursfrom that house but it, itself is in
the worst. The Caliph's wife said, "your homes are cared for, at
thecost of ours." Then she inquired about her problems and put her
casebefore the Caliph who approved the allowance forthwith.
When 'Umar ibn Abdul Aziz fell ill with mortal disease, his brother in
law Muslima ibn Abdul Malik came to inquire about his health. He saw
the Commander of the Faithfulwearing a worn Kameez (long shirt). He
took aside his sister and asked her to change the Kameez of the
Commander of the Faithful. She told her astonished brother that the
ruler of the greatest empire of the time had only that shirt.
Fatimah was a woman who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and
was bred with royal manners. But she withdrew from that sort oflife to
the will and wish of her husband and lived her life poorly. She lived
long after her husband but she persisted to live simply. The noted
Turk writer Dhehni Afindi writes, "Fatimah bint Abdul Malik ibn Marwan
was known Dhatid Khimar (the woman of shawl).
She was a lady of great piety and reverence. Her tomb is in Busra
(Syria) where her devotees pay visits frequently.
(Serah 'Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, Taha'in Tarikh Islam ).

Hazrat Umme Salamah(R.A)

Hadhrat Umme Salamah was the daughter of Hadhrat Abu Ummayyah
(Radhiyallaho anhu). She was first married to her cousin Hadhrat bin
Abdul Asad known as Abu Salamah (Radhiyallaho anhu). The couple
embraced Islam in the verybeginning and emigrated to Abyssinia, due to
the persecutions of Qureysh. A son was born to them in exile, who was
named Salamah. After returning from Abyssinia, the family emigrated to
Madinah . Hadhrat Umme Salamah's (Radhiyallaho anha) story about her
journey to Madinah, has been alreadygiven in the early part of the
chapter. After reachingMadinah, Hadhrat Umme Salmah (Rad laho anha)
got another son 'Umar andtwo daughters Durrah andZainab (Radhiyallaho
anhum).
Hadhrat Abu Salamah (Radhiyallaho anho) was the eleventh man to
embrace Islam. He participated in the battle of Badr as well as in
Uhud. He got a severe wound in Uhud, which did not heal for a long
time. He was sent by the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)
in an expedition in Safar, 4 A. H. When he returned from the
expedition, the old wound again started giving trouble and at last he
died of the same on 8thJamadil-Akhir, 4 A. H. Hadhrat Umme Salamah
(Radi-allaho anha) was pregnant at the time. Zainab was born to her
after the death of her husband. After Umme Salamah had completed her
Iddat (waiting period), Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radlahoanho) proposed to
marry her, but she declined.
Later, the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) offered to
marry her. She said: "O, Prophet of Allah! I have quite a few children
with me and I am very sensitiveby nature. Moreover, a people are in
Mecca, and their permission for getting remarried is necessary."
The Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) said: "Allah will
look after your children and your sensitiveness willvanish in due
course. Noneof people will dislike the proposed marriage".
Hadhrat Umme Salamah then asked her (eldest) sonHadhrat Salamah
(Radhiyallaho anho) to serve as her guardian and give her in marriage
to theProphet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) She was married in
the end of Shawwal, 4 A. H. She says: "I had heard from the Prophet
Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) that a person struck with a
calamity should recite this prayer:
"O, Allah! Recompense me for this affliction by giving me something
better than what I have lost: then Allah would accept his prayer." I
had been reciting this prayer since the death of Hadhrat Abu Salamah
(Radhiyallaho anho), but I could not imagine a husband better than he,
till Allah arrangedmy marriage with the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho
Alaihe Wasallam) ." Hadhrat Aishah (Radhiyallaho anha) says:
"Umme Salamah (Radhiyallaho anha) was famous for her beauty. Once I
contrived to see her. I found her much more beautiful than I had
heard. I mentioned this to Hafsah who said. "In my opinion, she is not
as beautiful as people say." She was the last of the Prophet Mohammad
(Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) wives to die. It was in 59 or 62 A. H.
She was 84 at the time of her death, and as such she wasborn 9 years
before Nubuwwat.
As already been said, the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe
Wasallam) married Hadhrat Umme Salamah after the death of Hadhrat
Zainab Khuzaimah (Radhiyallaho anha). She therefore lived in Hadhrat
Zainab's (Radhiyallaho anha) house. She found a had-mill, a kettle and
some barley in an earthen jar, lying in the house. Hadhrat Umme
Salamah milled some barley and after putting some fat cooked a
preparation , which she served to the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho
Alaihe Wasallam) on the very firstday of her marriage with him.