How To Know The Religion of Truth (7/9)
Abdul Rahman Bin Hammad Al-Omar
Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage (Hajj) is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is a duty of a Muslim to perform pilgrimage to the House of Allah once in a lifetime, but it is permissible for him to go on pilgrimage voluntarily more than once.
Pilgrimage has innumerable benefits:
1. In fulfilling this service, man expresses his devotion to Allah, not only by performing rites which need physical effort, but he expresses also his deep spiritual devotion to Allah and spends of his money for His sake.
2. Pilgrimage is an annual Muslim-congress, attended by Muslims from all over the world. They meet in one place, Makkah, all being dressed in one uniform, worshipping Allah The One God and performing the same rites during the fixed period of Hajj. There is no discrimination between them; all are Allah's bondsmen; no white man has preference over a black man, neither the rich over the poor. In this way, Muslims are acquainted with one another, co-operate one with the other, and they remember the day when they will be resurrected and gathered before Allah who will account them for their deeds. Thus, they prepare themselves for the Hereafter and do their best to obey Allah, their Lord.
The Ka'aba is the Qibla of all Muslims; they direct their faces towards it when they perform their prayers. But, it should be well-known that all the rites of pilgrimage such as circumambulating round the Ka'aba, attending Arafat, Muzdalifah, and staying for several days in Mina.... all these rites have one objective ... that is to worship Allah according to the method He commanded and during the time He fixed. Worshipping is neither dedicated to the Kaaba nor to any of these other places which are no more than objects, created by Allah, that can never bring benefit or cause harm to anyone. Worshipping is dedicated to Allah alone, The Lord of everything, who alone has the absolute sovereignty and all power.
According to the Muslim's faith, all forms of worshipping are enjoined by Allah and should never be based on individual judgement or taste. Therefore, had Allah not commanded people to perform pilgrimage to the Sacred House at Makkah, Muslims would have never performed it.
Evidence for pilgrimage from the Qur’an:
“And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Kabah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves [Le. denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), then he is a disbeliever of Allah], then Allah stands not in need of any of the Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists).” (Surah Al-‘Imran, 3: 97)
Performing "Umrah" or lesser pilgrimage once in a lifetime is also a duty that a Muslim should fulfil either during Hajj time or any other time.
It is not an indispensable duty for every Muslim to visit the mosque of the Prophet in Al-Madina during Hajj-time or at any other time, but this is an advisable deed and whoever performs it will be recompensed by Allah. The tradition which states: “Whoever performs pilgrimage and does not visit me is turning away from me.” is untrue and is imputed falsely to the Prophet.
A Muslim leaving for Madina intends to visit the mosque of the Prophet. When he arrives there, he prays in the mosque and then visits the tomb of the Prophet peace be upon him. The visitor salutes the Prophet politely and leaves the place adopting by that the same manner that the companions of the Prophet used to do. He should not ask the Prophet or supplicate for anything from him. In fact those who supplicate the Prophet for help, ask him for what they need, or invocate him to be their intercessor to Allah, are committing idolatry and the Prophet is innocent of their ill deed. Therefore, every Muslim should be aware to avoid such idolatrous deeds.
After visiting the prophet's mosque the visitor visits also the tombs of Baqeih. He should behave during his visit in conformity with Islamic ethics and invocate Allah to bless the deads and martyrs buried in these tombs.
The manner of performing Hajj And Umrah:
A Muslim who intends to perform pilgrimage or Umrah should expend in this journey of his pure and lawful property and avoid using illicit gains lest it should ruin his noble pilgrimage. The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said: “Whatever flesh that comes to grow out of illicit gains is rather doomed to Hell-Fire”.
It is also advisable for a pilgrim to select a man of good faith to accompany him on pilgrimage. A pilgrim, whether travelling by car or train, puts on "Ihram" as soon as he arrives at the miqat (the station for Ihram), and a pilgrim, travelling by plane, puts on Ihram when he approaches the miqat. According to prophetic traditions, there are five mawaqit (five stations for Ihram):
1 . Zul Hulaifa (Abyar Ali): for pilgrims from Madinah.
2. Al-Juhfa, a place near Rabigh, for people coming from the directions of Syria, Egypt and Maghrib.
3. Qarn Al-Manazil, for people coming from Najd, Al-Taif and other regions of that direction.
4. Zat Irq, for people coming from Iraq.
5. Yalamlam, for people coming from Yemen. These mawaqit are not only for people coming from the above-mentioned regions, but also for those who chance to travel by these routes.
As for the inhabitants of Makkah and those who live within the area bounded by these mawaqit, they assume their Ihrams from their homes.
Manner of lhram
It is advisable for a pilgrim to take a bath, to clean and perfume himself before assuming lhram at the miqat. The lhram dress for males consists of two simple white seamless sheets, one to be wrapped round the loins and the other to cover the upper part of the body. The head should not be covered. Women have no special dress for lhram, but they should be dressed in wide veiling and unalluring clothes. After assuming the lhram, a woman should neither veil her face with a seamed veil, nor use any seamed gloves to cover her hands. It is permissible for her to cover her face with a part of her head-veil if she finds herself surrounded by men, the same manner adopted before by the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the wives of his companions.
The pilgrim, after assuming Ihram, intends by heart to perform Umrah and says: which means: O' Allah, here I am at Thy service intending to perform Umrah. In this way the pilgrim performs Hajj Tamattu' which is really excellent because the Prophet (may the peace and blessing of Allah be on him) recommended his companions to perform this kind of Hajj. He even obliged them to abandon their Ihram and make their visit to Kaaba an Umrah, giving exception only to those who brought with them their "Hady" "sacrifices" , and carried on their Hajj by Qiran, the same manner which the Prophet himself adopted. The Qarin (who performs Hajj by Qiran) intends when he starts his pilgrimage rites by saying:
“Here am I, O' Allah, I intend to perform Umrah and Hajj”.
Therefore he should not abandon his Ihram and all Ihram restrictions till he offers his sacrifice on the feast-day (Day of Immolation, 10th of Zulhijja) called Id'ul Adhha.
(Continued)