THE SPIRIT OF HAJJ

The House of God stands as a model of true faith in God, and submission to the Master of the House. “The Prophets gave up everything and followed the Lord,” is the message that rings out from the Lord’s House. of worship are ways of remembering God; Hajj is a way of reaching Him. Generally, we worship Him on an unseen level; in Hajj we worship Him as if we saw Him face to face. When a pilgrim stands before the House of God, it seems to him that he is standing before God Himself. He is then moved to revolve around the Lord’s House, like a butterfly encircling a flower, clinging to His doorstep as a servant begging for his master’s mercy. The uniqueness of Hajj lies in the unique nature of the place in which it is performed. Throughout the ages, Makkah has remained a venue for the manifestation of God’s signs. It was here that the great communicator of the divine message, the Prophet Abraham, made a memorial to man’s life of belief and submission. And it was here, following in the same tradition, that the foundation of Islamic history was laid: fourteen hundred years ago, the Prophet Muhammad changed the spiritual face of Arabia, from one littered by many godheads, to one illuminated by the countenance of the One God. Much history lies behind the rich and noble tradition existing in Hijaz. It is a land that has received God’s special grace. The spiritual wealth it has on offer is enough to enrich any poor traveller, enough to revive any languid heart. A sea of divine mercy flows where only sand and sky meet the eye, in the environs of Makkah and Madinah. There the pilgrim is cleansed and washed. Among all Muslim acts of worship, Hajj holds a prominent position. In one Hadith, the Prophet called it the supreme act of worship. But it is not just the rites of pilgrimage that constitute this importance; it is the spirit in which Hajj is performed. Let us put this another way and say that it is not merely a matter of going to Makkah and returning. There is much more to Hajj than that. Hajj has been prescribed so that it may inspire us with new religious fervour. To return from Hajj with one’s faith in God strengthened and rekindled, that is the hallmark of a true pilgrim. Hajj only takes its place as a supreme act of worship when it is undertaken in its true spirit and performed in the proper manner. It will then be the greatest act in a pilgrim’s life: he will never be the same again. To perform Hajj is to meet God. When the pilgrim reaches Meeqat, the border of the Sacred Territory, he is filled with awe of God: he