THE ESSENCE OF HAJJ

people on the Day of Judgment. On a particular date during the Hajj, vast numbers of God’s servants arrive at the Plain of Arafat from all directions. This is an amazing sight. Every single person is wearing the same simple white dress or ihram, has lost his or her distinguishing marks and utters the very same words: Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. On witnessing this sight, one is reminded of this Quranic verse: The trumpet will be blown and, at once, they will rise up from their graves, and hasten to their Lord. (36: 51) Hajj is a great form of worship. The status that the Kabah enjoys among all the mosques is the same that Hajj enjoys among all forms of worship. The Psychological Aspect of Hajj God, in the Quran says: And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (51: 56) This suggests that the urge to worship God is innate and deeply-rooted in human nature. This is what his very nature demands. Worshipping God is inherent in human nature. This is the reason why other than worship of God, nothing can give man true satisfaction. Just as a little child spontaneously rushes to hug its mother, driven by a compulsive inner urge, so too impelled by an inner voice, man is driven to rush towards God. Man cannot change his inner personality. Hence God cannot be removed from his heart and mind. Evidence From Anthropology This fact has been proved in modern findings of Anthropology. Anthropologists have studied a number of human societies from the dawn of history to the present day. They discovered, among other things, a very important fact—that despite life’s ups and downs, man has always been a worshipper of God. God and religion are so integral a part of human nature that under no circumstance can they be separated from it. The Encyclopedia Americana summarizes this finding in the following words: One who returns after completing the Hajj is like someone who was earlier covered with dirt and dust and then emerges out from a stream.