THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HAJJ
For Personality Development
ACCORDING to a saying of the Prophet, when a believer returns home after performing Hajj, he is as he was on the day on which his mother gave birth to him (Sahih al-Bukhari). In other words, such a person returns after Hajj as a newborn child. Here, a newborn refers to the pure nature of a child.
The above saying can be understood in the light of another teaching of the Prophet according to which every person is originally born on nature, but then he gets conditioned in the environment he lives in.
Reflecting on the above words of the Prophet, we realize that if one performs Hajj in its right spirit, one will return to one’s pure nature.
This returning to true nature is not something which happens in a miraculous way. It is an intellectual concept and requires one’s conscious involvement. It is known as de-conditioning. The worship of Hajj will create awareness in the worshipper about the fact that every one without any exception becomes conditioned due to the influence of the environment in which they live. Therefore, one is in need of de-conditioning oneself from all that is wrong and to return to one’s God-given pure nature. Hajj is a worship which facilitates one’s de-conditioning—it is like a course which serves to do away with a person’s environmental conditioning and brings him back to his original nature.
Hajj is a worship which facilitates one’s de-conditioning —it is like a course which serves to do away with a person’s environmental conditioning and brings him back to his original nature.
One who was initially a conditioned person, after performing Hajj, can return to his pure nature. However, only that person can avail of these benefits of Hajj who performs it in its true spirit. For a person who merely carries out the rites of Hajj without being aware of their spirit, the pilgrimage will be nothing more than a kind of outing.
The Prophet had explained to his Companions that the various rites of Hajj were a kind of symbolic repetition of the different phases of the life of the Prophet Abraham. The entire life of the Prophet Abraham was devoted to a mission. Every believer is required to adopt this life pattern in personal life. For example, ihram—the attire of the pilgrim comprising of two unstitched pieces of cloth is a symbol of simplicity.
The ritual of tawaf, which involves circumambulating the Kabah seven times, indicates dedicating oneself for a purpose.
Tawaf is followed by saee that is, running or walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, located near the Kabah. Saee encourages one to direct one’s efforts and struggles towards drawing in nearness to God the Creator. The pilgrim’s sacrifice of the animal is a way of taking the pledge to lead a life of sacrifice. Stoning of the devil, known as ramy al-jamarat, is symbolic of rejecting satanic influence on oneself.
Lastly, the pilgrims enter the plains of Arafat with the words ‘Labbayk! Labbayk!’ (O God, here I come!). This is meant to remind one of the Day of Resurrection when every human being will have to stand before God for accountability.
According to Islam, believers should perform Hajj or Umrah once in their lifetime and then vow to lead their lives according to the lessons learnt during pilgrimage.
The Prophet had performed Hajj towards the end of his life. On this occasion, all of the Prophet’s Companions gathered in the plain of Arafat, which is 20 kilometres east of Makkah.
Here the Prophet delivered a sermon while being mounted on his camel. This sermon is famously known as Khutbah Hajjatul Wida, or ‘The Sermon of the Farewell Pilgrimage’.
At this juncture, the Prophet addressed his contemporary believers thus: “God has sent me for all mankind, so convey [my message] on my behalf.” When the Prophet issued this call, the Companions went forward in whichever directions their horses were facing, so that they could reach out to those people who were still unaware of the message of God brought by the Prophet. The efforts of the Companions helped in conveying the teachings of Islam to the inhabited world of that time.
This history of the Companions of the Prophet gives us the lesson that the end of Hajj marks the beginning of a new action. The point at which the rites of Hajj come to an end is also the place from where another ‘Hajj’ begins on a much vaster scale, which is, conveying God’s message to people.
Hajj is the greater pilgrimage, while Umrah is the lesser pilgrimage. Umrah is a pilgrimage to Makkah that can be undertaken at any time of the year, unlike Hajj which happens only once in a year. Islam does not require Muslims to repeatedly perform Hajj or Umrah. According to Islam, believers should perform Hajj or Umrah once in their lifetime and then vow to lead their lives according to the lessons learnt during pilgrimage. They must also resolve to dedicate their lives to conveying this learning to all mankind.