THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HAJJ

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HAJJ For Personality Development A CCORDING to a saying of the Prophet, when a believer returns home after performing Hajj, he is as he was on the day on which his mother gave birth to him (Sahih al-Bukhari). In other words, such a person returns after Hajj as a newborn child. Here, a newborn refers to the pure nature of a child. The above saying can be understood in the light of another teaching of the Prophet according to which every person is originally born on nature, but then he gets conditioned in the environment he lives in. Reflecting on the above words of the Prophet, we realize that if one performs Hajj in its right spirit, one will return to one’s pure nature. This returning to true nature is not something which happens in a miraculous way. It is an intellectual concept and requires one’s conscious involvement. It is known as de-conditioning. The worship of Hajj will create awareness in the worshipper about the fact that every one without any exception becomes conditioned due to the influence of the environment in which they live. Therefore, one is in need of de-conditioning oneself from all that is wrong and to return to one’s God-given pure nature. Hajj is a worship which facilitates one’s de-conditioning—it is like a course which serves to do away with a person’s environmental conditioning and brings him back to his original nature. One who was initially a conditioned person, after performing Hajj, can return to his pure nature. However, only that person can avail of these benefits of Hajj who performs it in its true spirit. For a person who merely carries out the rites of Hajj without being aware of their spirit, the pilgrimage will be nothing more than a kind of outing. The Prophet had explained to his Companions that the various rites of Hajj were a kind of symbolic repetition of the different phases of the life of the Prophet Abraham. The entire life of the Prophet Abraham was devoted to a mission. Every believer is required to adopt this life pattern in personal life. For example, ihram—the attire of the pilgrim comprising of two unstitched pieces of cloth is a symbol of simplicity. Hajj is a worship which facilitates one’s de-conditioning —it is like a course which serves to do away with a person’s environmental conditioning and brings him back to his original nature.