THE SPIRIT OF HAJJ — Personality Changing

If we say something indecent, it can hurt others. This is also true when we say bad and disrespectful things about others. It isn’t good to speak harshly, too. All these things are totally forbidden while on Hajj. In this way, people will appreciate the need to abstain from such speech at other times as well, when they return to their homes after Hajj. Abstaining From Violence and Aggression After donning the ihram, it is forbidden for pilgrims to hunt animals. Also forbidden for the pilgrim are accepting as a gift the meat of animals that have been hunted, plucking the feathers of birds, assisting others in hunting, giving someone a knife to slaughter an animal that has been hunted and so on. All these are forbidden. A true believer is one whose life is driven not by lust but rather by a higher purpose. During Hajj, one can kill a pest or an animal such as a snake, and also the sacrificial animal that is part of the Hajj rituals. But besides these, it is strictly forbidden for the pilgrim not only to kill but also to hurt any animal. Hunting animals under normal conditions is allowed, however during Hajj this is completely forbidden. This, in actual fact, is a reiteration, in a stronger sense, of a general commandment of the Islamic law. Humans are expected not to kill fellow humans or to torment animals. These are general Shariah laws that every Muslim is expected to follow at all times. But during Hajj, these laws are expanded to include a ban on hunting. In this way, the pilgrim experiences a heightened awareness of these laws, and so when he returns to his home after Hajj he will be more mindful in observing them. He will also become more mindful at all times not to oppress others. A Life of Self-Control A concise way of describing the Islamic way of life is to say that it is a life of self-control. The various controls and the code of discipline that one is expected to observe during Hajj can be seen as a training for such a way of life. This is reflected in the Hadith report that we earlier quoted, in which the Prophet said that he who performs the Hajj in a way that Muslims are safe from his tongue and his hands, will have all his earlier sins forgiven.