THE MESSAGE AND MEANING OF HAJ — God-oriented Life

when they realize that they are facing the same Kabah of the believers of the whole world. During the tawaf, the orderly circumambulation of the Kabah provides the pilgrims another invaluable lesson — of working together, of doing things together and in harmony. Here, diff erences between rulers and subjects are eliminated completely, as are ethnic diff erences. It is as if every single person has just one status: as a servant of the one God. At this time, they have no other status but this. After the tawaf, the pilgrim runs seven times between the hillocks of Safa and Marwah. This too, is a symbolic declaration — an expression of the pilgrim’s determination to devote all eff orts in God’s path. This running between the two hillocks is not simply a mere physical act. Rather, 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. Such regulation is necessary for a wellordered life. If our activities are not bounded or regulated in this manner, it would lead to chaos. Disunity is a result of the distribution of greatness and unity is a result of the acknowledgement of a single greatness. One of the most important acts of worship during Haj is the heading to and staying in the plain of Arafat. This presents a truly astonishing sight. Vast numbers of people, from across the world, assemble here, wearing the same simple clothes and uttering the same words, ‘Here I am at Thy service O Lord, here I am.’ It is a worldly rehearsal of the Day of Judgment, when all people will be brought before God. It is a reminder of this great truth that one day we will all have to stand before God, accountable for all our actions. If one realizes this signifi cance of the assembly at Arafat, one’s life can be totally transformed. It is as if all the diff erences among human beings have suddenly vanished, and that, setting aside all their confl icts, 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 diff erences of language, colour, status and gender, they have become identical and one. Diff erent nationalities, it appears, have all turned into one single nation or community. Haj is a glorious