THE MESSAGE AND MEANING OF HAJ — God-oriented Life

It isn’t a declaration of his having left his homeland and arriving in Makkah. Rather, it is a declaration of having left his previous conduct or behaviour. It is an announcement to say that, ‘I am here with a complete willingness to obey You (God), and do whatever You (God) command. To submit my life and soul to Your command.’ Although the pilgrim declares, Labbaik, ‘Here I am at Your service!’ at the place of Haj; he must stand by this declaration in practice in his personal life on his return from Haj. On reaching Makkah, the fi rst thing that the pilgrim does is to circumambulate the Kabah. This is an important ritual of Haj known as the tawaf. The Kabah is a historical structure originally built by Prophet Abraham in the centre of a large courtyard also called the House of God. In the courtyard, the pilgrims go around the Kabah seven times, symbolizing their willingness to have God as the centre of their lives. They affi rm that they will consider God as the focus around which their lives will revolve. It is as if scattered bits of iron are being pulled towards a divine magnet. Although the pilgrim declares, Labbaik, ‘Here I am at Your service!’ at the place of Haj; he must stand by this declaration in practice in the personal life that he leads on his return from Haj. The tawaf is symbolic of making all one’s eff orts constrained around a single focus. This is akin to our solar system, where all the planets revolve around a single sun, making it the focus around which they revolve. In the same way, Haj essentially teaches us to lead God-centric lives; to make God the focus of every aspect of our lives and to spend our lives according to His will. This is the same with all the other rituals of Haj that in diff erent symbolic ways impart the lesson of a God-conscious life. Believers all over the world turn towards the Kabah every day, off ering their fi ve daily prayers. Ordinarily, this is just a notion in the minds of people, but when they gather together during the Haj, it becomes an astounding reality. When believers from all over the world pray together facing the Kabah, they experience an amazing sense of unity