Wednesday, September 7, 2016

HAJJ, ITS BACKGROUND AND PHILOSOPHY

Muslims, who are physically and financially capable, are required to perform pilgrimage to Makkah at least one time in their life time. Muslims from all over the world converge on Makkah during the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. It is the worship made obligatory by Allah in recognition of the events surrounding Prophet Ibra’him, young prophet Isma’il and his mother Hazrat Hajirah. As instructed by Allah (s.w.t.), Prophet Ibra’him left his suckling child Isma’il and wife Hazrat Hajirah in the barren desert of Hijaz where the present city of Makkah is situated. When the small quantity of water finished and the baby was crying with thirst, Hazrat Hajirah searching for water ran between the small mountains of Safa and Marwah. Allah miraculously produced the spring of Zamzam from the place where Isma’il rubbed his heels. In the desert when water is found, caravans of people started arriving and settled and thus modern city of Makkah is inhabited. Later prophet returned to Makkah and raised Isma’il. When he was about 14 years old, Prophet Ibra’him dreamed that he was slaughtering his son Isma’il. He told his son about the dream and the son knew that it was the order of Allah hence he agreed to be sacrificed. Both father and son proceeded towards Mina and Shaytan tried to dissuade Prophet Ibra’him from sacrificing his son. Prophet Ibra’him threw pebbles towards him. He blind-folded himself and tried to slaughter his son when Allah accepted his selfless sacrifice and replaced Isma’il with a goat.
All the acts performed by the pilgrims during Hajj represent different actions of this family.
The philosophical aspect of Hajj may be divided into four dimensions; ethical, political, cultural, and financial.

THICAL: When the hajji wears “ihram”, he is removed from the material world and its attachments and moves closer to his Creator. As he performs different parts of Hajj, he slowly travels towards light, purity and spirituality.
“One who performs Hajj completely and perfectly becomes free of sins just as he was on the day when his mother gave him birth.” (Bihar-ul-Anwar volume 99 page 26) While performing Hajj, he should visualize the persons involved i.e. Prophet Ib’rahim, Prophet Isma’il, Hazrat Hajira at different situations. Remember the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.), the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) and other Infallible Imams (a.s.) in Makkah and Madina.

POLITICAL: The essence of worship is attention towards Allah, while the essence of politics is attention to the creation of Allah-and these two aspects are observed to be as closely intertwined in Hajj as the yarns in a fabric!
Islam is a religion emphasizing on community. Congregational prayer is recommended compared to praying at home. Similarly, Friday prayer has been given more importance. Likewise, Eid prayers are organized in the central Jama Masjid where Muslims from different parts of a city assemble exhibiting a sense of cohesion and unity. Hajj is the largest congregation of Muslims meeting once a year coming from all over the globe. It is an effective factor in establishing unity among all Muslims irrespective of color, ethnicity, nationality social status etc. It is intended that Muslims share their problems, learn from one another to resolve them. The Infallible Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) said in “Nahjul Balagha” saying # 252: “Allah has ordained (the rituals of) Hajj for the purpose of strengthening the religion.”

CULTURAL: It is an interaction between the various segments of the global Muslim society during the Hajj which is an effective factor for cultural exchange and transfer of thoughts and ideas. During the early part of Islam, Hajj provided a golden opportunity for Muslims from all over the world to meet the Infallible Imams (a.s.) and discuss their problems. Another benefit of the Hajj was the spread of the traditions of the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.). The greatest benefit of the Hajj is the show of strength of the gigantic unity and congregation of Millions of Muslims making a deterrent to the enemies.

FINANCIAL: Hajj gathering of the Millions of Muslims offers a golden opportunity to form a joint common market, make any type of financial transactions, and utilize the natural resources of the Ummah for their betterment. Ayah 198 of Surah al-Baqarah says: “There is no blame on you in seeking bounty from your Lord.”
Hajj is an expansive field for self-development, self-rectification and Greatest Battle with self (Nafs)

Sources used:

The Glorious Qur’an, Secret and Philosophy of Hajj by Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Nasir Makarim Shirazi

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