The virtues of Hajj

Mandated by the Holy Law

The real beauty and virtue of any command lies in its being mandated by the Holy Law, because Allah, the Most High, is the Wise and the Wise never commands an act that contains even the slightest bit of ugliness and evil. In every command of the Law, there is immense wisdom and countless virtues hidden, which not everyone has access to, but some virtues are so open and obvious that sometimes even an ordinary person can perceive them.

 In the following lines, we mention some virtues and qualities about Hajj, an important pillar of Islam – as a handful of examples of the khawarwa -:

Hajj means

1– Hajj means: to make a determination for something – determination is related to the heart and the heart is the most noble organ in the whole body, so the name “Hajj” for Hajj is a subtle hint that Hajj holds a high position in worship, for this reason it was given the name Hajj (Qasid and Azm), which is related to the most important organ of the human body (the heart). Also, determination and intention take a person to the destination of the goal, so Hajj, whose meaning is determination, also takes a person to his goal, i.e. the pleasure of God.

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The General Nature of the Hajj

2- The general nature of the Hajj rituals is similar to the Day of Judgment, in that just as people will rise from their sleeping places, i.e., graves, and gather on the Day of Judgment in a state of nakedness, bareheaded, barefooted, and anxious, the condition of the pilgrims is similar, because they too do not wear a cap on their heads, nor a shirt on their bodies, nor perfume, nor any other adornment, but rather gather in the plain of Arafat in a state of maniacal anguish and anxiety.  3- Obviously, Hajj requires a journey, so when a pilgrim sets out with a travel bag, he gains the benefit of being separated from his family and loved ones, and one day he will have to leave this world anyway. Therefore, due to the Hajj journey, separation and separation are experienced, which makes the separation through death bearable for the pilgrim. Otherwise, the painful scenes of fear, anxiety, impatience and panic on both sides (the traveler and those left behind) during the painful separation of the afterlife are before everyone.

Collecting the necessities of the journey

4- When a pilgrim sets out for Hajj, he starts collecting the necessities of the journey and, after asking experienced people, makes good arrangements for each and every thing. Although this is a journey in which even if he feels a lack of something, he can fulfill it in the land of the Haram. Rather, there is an abundance of everything there. Moreover, this is a journey from which the pilgrim returns, so in this effort to collect resources, he will also be concerned that while so much effort and running is required for this temporary journey of a few days, the journey to the hereafter requires much more effort and preparation, because there will only be available what a person takes from this world. In addition, this journey is unique, because the person cannot even think of returning from it.

The maximum amount of comfort and convenience

5- When a pilgrim sets out on a journey and finds those who have taken with them the maximum amount of comfort and convenience, since the pilgrim’s actions and the environment of Hajj are a vivid picture of the Hereafter, the pilgrim learns that the person who will be the happiest and most joyful on the Day of Judgment will be the one who has taken the most actions after faith. Thinking about this, his desire and enthusiasm for performing righteous deeds will increase.

Freed from deadly spiritual diseases

6- It is proven from experience that with the blessing of Hajj, a person is largely freed from deadly spiritual diseases such as stinginess and miserliness, because during the Hajj journey, whether he likes it or not, he has to spend money to maintain his health and avoid death, and with the blessing of which the bad habit of not spending money is abandoned.

The Attribute of trust in Allah

7- Thanks to the blessed journey of Hajj, a Muslim becomes adorned with the attribute of trust in Allah, because he tries his best to take the necessary things with him during the journey of Hajj, and it is not possible to take everything that he needs with him, so he takes the more important things and leaves the rest, saying that Allah will take care of the matter of well-being, and this is the reality of trust in Allah. Hazrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Trust in Allah is to gather and choose all the external means according to his ability and then entrust the results to Allah and not be proud and boastful about these external means, but trust only in Allah. (Ma’arif al-Quran: 2/169).

Value of deeds increases

8- One of the virtues of Hajj is that the value of his deeds increases due to the journey of Hajj, for example: the reward of one prayer in the Makkah Haram is equal to one hundred thousand and in the Madinah Haram is equal to fifty thousand prayers.

 Similarly, it is stated in the Hadith Sharif: “Whoever goes and returns on foot for Hajj, seven hundred good deeds from the Haram will be written for him for every step he takes.” Someone asked, “What is the meaning of the good deeds of the Haram?” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Every good deed of the Haram is equal to one hundred thousand good deeds.” (Fada’il-e-Hajj, narrated by al-Hakim and authenticated by Sahih).

Hazrat Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “A fast in the Haram is equivalent to a hundred thousand fasts, and a dirham in charity is equivalent to a hundred thousand dirhams, and similarly, every good deed done in the Haram is equivalent to a hundred thousand good deeds done outside the Haram.” (Fada’il-e-Hajj, referring to Itahaaf).

 In addition, during the Hajj journey, he also bears with patience the hardships caused by his friends and other pilgrims, for which he is rewarded. Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Enduring hardships on the way to Hajj is equivalent to enduring hardships in Jihad.” (Fada’il-e-Hajj, referring to Itahaaf) 9- During the Hajj journey, the pilgrim endures a lot of hardships. Due to the journey and continuous sleeplessness, his body becomes exhausted, but when he reaches the Haram and cools his eyes by visiting the House of Allah, all his fatigue goes away.

 Imagine, when the sight of the House of Allah is this glorious, how glorious it will be to see the Creator of the House of Allah Himself, Subhan Allah! So on the Day of Judgment, no matter how difficult and distressing a Muslim may go through, when his salvation is decided and he benefits from the sight of Allah, all his troubles will end as if he had never seen anything called hardship.

 10- Just as after death, the sewn clothes of the deceased are removed and a shroud is put on, and all the ornaments and adornments are removed from him, so his nails and moustache are not trimmed, his hair is not combed, nor is oil or kohl applied, in the same way, when a pilgrim puts on Ihram, he puts off his kurta and sewn clothes, which are the clothes of the living, and puts on two shroud-like sheets, and avoids all the ornaments.

The meaning of this is that when a pilgrim puts on Ihram, it is as if he dies, and when he sets out on the journey of Hajj, it is as if he is going to the world of the hereafter. Then, when he returns home after completing the Hajj, it is as if his wish has been fulfilled in the world of the hereafter: “Would that we would return, and we would not deny the signs.”  Our Lord, and we will be of the believers.” And he is once again given the opportunity to prepare for the Hereafter.

Keeping this similarity in mind, the pilgrim tries to avoid committing the previous sins again and now starts observing the deeds with great care and tries to become a true Muslim of action and firm in his promise, so that he does not become a manifestation of the divine promise: “And if they returned, they would return to that from which they were forbidden.”  There is a famous story about an old man who dug a grave-like pit in the courtyard of his house.

 He would occasionally step into it and imagine himself dead, wishing that if Allah Almighty gave him life again, he would not disobey Him even a single atom. After that, he would come out of the pit and say: Allah has fulfilled my wish and has given me another opportunity to prepare by sending me back to this world. By adopting this method, he would gain a new desire and courage to avoid sins.

11- Just as a person who prays at the end of the prayer leaves the prayer with the salaam, after which permissible acts contrary to the prayer become permissible for him, similarly a person in ihram leaves the state of ihram by cutting his hair or shortening his hair, after which things that were forbidden in the state of ihram become permissible for him.

Thus, he starts using sewn clothes, a cap and ordinary slippers and removes dirt and impurities from his body and things that are unpleasant to his nature. It is as if Allah Almighty says to His servant, the pilgrim, that you removed from your body those external things that were unpleasant to you, according to my command, so I am more worthy of removing from you, through My forgiveness, those hidden uglinesses, that is, sins that are unpleasant to Me.

The Tawaf-e-Sadr (farewell Tawaf)

12- One of the virtues of Hajj is the Tawaf-e-Sadr (farewell Tawaf). Just as a person stays as a guest in someone’s house for several days and when he intends to return, he takes permission from his host and leaves. Similarly, a pilgrim spends several days as a guest in the House of Allah. When he intends to return, it is only fair that he should ask permission from the owner of the house, that is, Allah, the Exalted, and return. For this reason, the Tawaf-e-Sadr, or farewell Tawaf, was prescribed. 

Then, just as the host honors the guest with gifts upon his return, especially when the host is the king of the time and he is the one who invited the guest, in the same way, Allah Almighty also rewards the pilgrim with valuable gifts upon his departure, the lowest level of which is that He forgives him, because He is the Emperor (the King of Kings) and He has millions of blessings to bestow, the greatest of which is the declaration of Allah’s pleasure and forgiveness.