Here I am at Your Service, O Allah

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Here I am at Your Service, O Allah (1/3)

Sheik Muhammad Mitwaly Ash-Sha‘rawy

Each year by the advent of the Hajj season yearnings fill the hearts for visiting the Sacred House of Allah to perform the enjoined duty of Hajj and visit the grave of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), for the matchless spiritual joy it offers; feeling ever so close to Allah, and being wholeheartedly engaged with The Almighty; unmindful of all His other creatures, whether they are one’s family, relatives, folks or other kindred.
The traveler to perform the enjoined duty of Hajj leaves everything behind and devotes himself to worshipping Allah. He leaves his family, his property, his friends and authority. He divests himself of his usual life to draw near Allah in Salah [offering Prayers], Tawaf [The devotional act of circumambulating (i.e., walking around) the Ka‘bah seven times while reciting prayers and supplications. Tawaf should begin and end at the Black Stone], uttering Talbiyah [A formula of answering Allah’s Call for Hajj by saying: Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. Labbaik, La Shareek Laka, Labbaik. Innal Hamdah, Wan Nematah, Laka wal Mulk, La Shareek Laka Labbaik: ‘Here I am at Your service O Allah, here I am. Here I am at Your service, You have no partner, here I am. Yours alone is All Praise and All Bounty, and Yours Alone is The Sovereignty, You have no partner’. Dhikr [Remembrance of Allah through verbal or mental repetition of His Divine Attributes or various religious formulas, such as ‘Subhan Allah,’ meaning ‘All Glory be to Allah’] and by celebrating His Praises.
He neither becomes tired nor bored, and he submits to Allah body and soul. His obedience to his Lord deepens day after day, whereby mercies are sent down upon the hearts, tears run down and man feels that the whole world and whatever in it has dwindled in front of drawing closer to The Almighty and winning His Good Pleasure.
Hajj is the fifth of the five Pillars of Islam, which Allah has enjoined on the able one; who has sufficient means (i.e., can afford the expenses for one’s conveyance, provision and residence), health and power to perform it.
“And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves [i.e. denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), then he is a disbeliever of Allah], then Allah stands not in need of any of the 'Alamin (mankind and jinn).” (Surah Al-'Imran, 3: 97)
Hajj, same as all the prerequisites of faith, is a bestowment of Godship not Lordship, for The Exalted and Ever-Majestic, blesses all His creatures with the provision that ensures their survival from food, water and shelter. But when it comes to faith The Almighty imposes duties only on those who believe in him, who pledged themselves to a faith commitment with Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, and said, ‘O Allah! I believe in You, the One and Only creating God, so please show me how to worship You. Just command and I obey and forbid so that I dare not approach what You have forbidden.’
The pilgrim starts his journey by pronouncing Talbiyah (Labbaik Allahuma Labbaik, Here I am at your service, O Allah, here I am at your service). The essence of Talbiyah is answering the call of your Summoner – His Majesty, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him – who enabled you to go on a pilgrimage to His House and helped you with the expenses and power to do it. With Talbiyah you announce traveling in submission to the Command of Allah, Who graced you with the highest and greatest blessing, going on a pilgrimage to His Ancient House (the Ka‘bah at Mecca).
After assuming the state of Ihram [The sacred state of practicing great self-denial into which a Muslim must enter before performing Hajj or ‘Umrah, during which certain actions are forbidden (like having conjugal relations, shaving, cutting one’s nails, and several other actions) nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly. In this sacred state the dress of Muslim pilgrims consists of two lengths of white cotton, one wrapped around the loins, the other thrown over the left shoulder. Ihram clothes for women should fully cover the body except the face, hands and feet] for performing Hajj, the pilgrim says, ‘Labbaik Allahuma (Here I am at your service, O Allah),’ meaning, ‘Here I am at the service of He Who imposed on me this ritual.’ It conveys how far the soul welcomes the assigned duty and the serenity it now enjoys; a confession of cherishing and clinging to every duty enjoined by Allah.
Usually, duty weighs heavy on the soul because it confines the action of man by ordering him to do a certain act or forbid him from it, whether he accepts or dislikes the duty. Submission to the Command of Allah is a proof of the strength of faith, for the believer receives the duties enjoined by Allah with love, whether it is an order to do or a prohibition not to do.
The pilgrim leaves everything he is acquainted with: leaves his home, his country, his family, his children, his property, even the clothes he loves and many other things that Allah has made lawful for him. During his journey he divests himself of many things and show respect to the whole universe: inanimate beings, plants, animals and the rest of creatures.
He honors plants, never lays his hand on a tree to cut its branches. Birds he should not hunt any. The same with his fellow creatures, never to jeopardize his pilgrimage by disputing, as the noble Qur’anic verse instructs us:
“The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months (i.e. the 10th month, the 11th month and the first ten days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, i.e. two months and ten days). So whosoever intends to perform Hajj therein by assuming Ihram), then he should not have sexual relations (with his wife), nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj.” (Surah Al-Baqarah; 2: 197)
Hajj is well-known months
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has restricted the free choice of man in the duties He enjoined, whether by time or place. There are acts of worship that Allah has not restricted either by time or place as the Shahadah [The testimony of Faith: La ilah illa Allah wana Muhammadan rasul Allah, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah], you swear once in your life and then repeat nighttime, daytime or in the forenoon, in your house, your work or on the road. It is unrestricted either by time or place.
As-Salah (offering Prayers), for instance, is an act of worship that Allah has restricted only by time and not by place. You can offer Prayers in any Masjid, in a factory, a house or a field. You are free to choose the place, but Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has bound it by time. Every Salah (offered Prayer) has an assigned time, which makes its performance invalid except at the arrival of its prescribed time.
As for Saum (Fasting), Allah has prescribed its observance each year during the month of Ramadan but left a free choice of place. You can fast wherever you please and in any place on earth you choose.
As for the Zakah (obligatory charity), Allah has restricted its time and amount but has not restricted its place. For instance, Zakatul-Fitr [The Zakah of Fast-breaking, which is a certain amount of wheat, flour, fruits, barely or money to be paid to the poor at the end of Ramadan but before the Eid (Feast) Prayer] should be paid at the end of Ramadan, whereas the Zakah upon crops and fruits should be paid at harvest time, when the crops are still in the field and have not yet been transmitted for storage as verified by the Qur’anic Statement of The Most Exalted, saying (what means):
“And it is He Who produces gardens trellised and untrellised, and date palms, and crops of different shape and taste (its fruits and its seeds) and olives, and pomegranates, similar (in kind) and different (in taste). Eat of their fruit when they ripen, but pay the due thereof (its Zakat, according to Allah's Orders 1/10th or 1/20th) on the day of its harvest, and waste not by extravagance. Verily, He likes not Al-Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance).” (Surah Al-An‘am, 6: 141)
As for the Zakah upon money, it should be paid upon the money that reached the Nisab [Minimum amount of property liable to the payment of the Zakah] from year-end to year-end, meaning after the passage of a whole year on its acquisition; besides other types of the Zakah that are restricted by time but unrestricted by place, because you have to pay the Zakah wherever you are, unconditioned by any land or country.
As for Hajj, it differs from the rest of the acts of worship for being restricted by both time and place. You cannot perform Hajj while at home or in your country, but you have to go on a pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah in Mecca. Also, on the Day of ‘Arafah you cannot stand anywhere, but you have to go to ‘Arafah [The area that surrounds Mount Rahmah, southeast of Mecca] on the ninth of Dhu’l–Hijjah [The 12th month of the year in the Muslim calendar] and stand at the specified place for standing, not to overstep it.
Further, you cannot perform the Hajj rituals at any month of the year but it must be on Dhu’l–Hijjah.
We thus learn that Hajj is the only enjoined duty restricted by both time and place. Therefore, its reward is the forgiveness of sins, for being one of the hardest enjoined duties on the believing soul. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says in His Noble Book (what means):
“And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence).” (Surah Al-‘Imran, 3: 97)

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