YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad) The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The Hajj is over and so many lakhs of people have performed it and have started returning home. It is said that it is a worship which is to be performed once in a lifetime. So, in this context how can a person benefit from it in the rest of their life?
The significance of the pilgrimage is for man to turn towards God, making God the central focus of his life. Although Hajj lasts for just a few days, the lessons it provides have a much broader significance.
Hajj is a comprehensive guide for the entirely of one’s life. A person’s psyche is moulded in accordance with his thoughts. When we set off towards God, our mind turns towards Him. We begin to think of God. We will think of all His blessings on us and be grateful for them. This realization makes us spiritual persons in our life.
There are different rituals which a pilgrim performs during Hajj. Does each ritual have a special lifetime lesson and application?
Yes, certainly each ritual has a history behind it and a lesson ahead for all times and for the humankind. For instance, when we take leave of our homes and families and set off for Hajj, we feel as if we are journeying towards God. It feels like we have left our world and are entering the world of God. We feel we are heading towards the House of God, to the abode and working place of God’s Prophet and his Companions, to the historically significant places of people who had devoted their lives for the sake of God, and who gave their lives in God’s path. With this, the pilgrim also realizes the fact that he is setting off for that place which God specially chose to reveal His final guidance to humankind.
When the pilgrim reaches a particular place close to the place of pilgrimage, he calls out the above words. By constantly repeating these words, a consciousness develops in a Haji (pilgrim) that all greatness is for God alone. This is the real secret of social consciousness. You cannot have unity and harmonious collective living where everyone thinks that they are greater than the others. On the other hand, when everyone surrenders their sense of individual greatness, you will find unity and harmony. People can live harmoniously together only when everyone surrenders their sense of greatness before a single being.
In continuation of the understanding of manifestation of each rituals, we would like to know the incorporation of the rituals of circumambulation and the running between the hillocks of Safa and Marwah in our everyday life.
The tawaf is symbolic of making all of one’s efforts constrained to a single focus. This is akin to our solar system, where all the planets revolve around a single sun, the axis around which they whirl. This is a practice of living a God-centric life. In daily life all believers turn towards the direction of the Kabah five times for prayer. This instils in them a sense of unity with their fellow beings.
The run between the two hillocks of Safa and Marwah is a symbolic declaration. It is an expression of the pilgrim’s determination to devote all of himself to God’s path. It is not simply a mere physical act. In the form of repetition of a historical act, it stands for the pilgrim’s willingness to spend his whole life running in God’s path. It is symbolic of making all activities throughout one’s life to be contained within certain boundaries. If our activities are not bound or regulated in this manner, it would lead to chaos. Such regulation is necessary for a wellordered life.
Vast numbers of people from across the world assemble in the plain of Arafat during Hajj which presents an astonishing sight. How does this fit into our life back home?
If one realizes this significance of the assembly at Arafat, one’s life can be totally transformed. It is as if all the differences among human beings have suddenly vanished, and that, setting aside all their conflicts, they have surrendered themselves to the one God. It is as if they have all become one, just as their God is one.
Despite their differences of language, colour, status, and gender, they have become identical and one. Different nationalities, it appears, have all turned into one single nation or community. Hajj is a glorious and unparalleled expression of human unity and collectiveness. This feeling of oneness amongst humankind is what is required for peace and harmony leading to all kinds of development.