What You Should Know About the Wisdom behind Hajj
According to the Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him-: “Islam is built on five pillars:
The belief that “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God”, doing prayers, paying zakat, fasting Ramadan, performing (Hajj) pilgrimage.”
Hajj has a great place in Islam, as it is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is a school in which the Muslim is brought up in obedience and devotion to God, exiting from the desires of the soul and the pleasures of the world.
The whole nation learns interdependence, unity, support, and other lessons in the Hajj. God Almighty said: {the first house that was set up for people is for the one who is at Bakkah, blessed and guided to the worlds.} {Al Imran 96, 97.}
This obligation is one of the five pillars of Islam that the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, explained in the hadith “Islam was built on five.” It was made obligatory once in a lifetime for every male and female Muslim.
The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: (O people, Hajj has been enjoined upon you, so perform Hajj. A man asked: should we do Hajj every year? Then the Messenger of God answered that if he had said yes, it would have been obligatory Muslims would not have been able to.
Hajj is emigration to God Almighty in response to His call and a periodic season in which Muslims meet every year in the purest relations to witness benefits for them on the most honorable spot God has honored.
Hence, Hajj is an act of worship by which Muslims draw near to their Creator, so their souls are purified, their hearts are healed, and they meet in affection and faith. Islam connects them despite the distances between countries and different homes. It guides Muslims to reflect on what helps them in the affairs of their life, and its economic and social problems.
The Qur’an and the Sunnah guide the Muslim to make his pilgrimage to God in compliance with His command, fulfillment of his right, fulfillment of his covenant, and confirmation of his Book.
Among the manifestations of sincerity in Hajj and good intention is to return the rights owed to its owners, sincerely repent to God with forgiveness, and hand the matter to Him if he is unable to respond.
The hajj should be satisfied with his family, uphold his ties of kinship, and honor his parents. The Almighty said: {What good you do God teaches it and provides for it, for the best provision is piety and fear” [Al-Baqarah 197].
In Hajj, detachment from the world appears, as the Muslim sacrifices his money, time, and health, not desiring worldly comforts, hoping for the generosity of God to return him with an accepted Hajj, and a forgiven sin.
During the Hajj, the unity and cohesion of the nation appear. The Muslims have a hand over each other’s, for everyone performs the same rituals, and they go in one direction, hoping for acceptance from God Almighty. In it, equality appears as an Islamic principle.
There is no difference between great and vile people or great and small bodies, all are equal, and there is no difference between them except by piety and righteous deeds.
In Hajj, there is an education for the soul, a discipline for it, and a softening of the hearts, by obeying the commands of the unseen, the veil of faults, a departure from the habits that you are familiar with, such as the love of the world, its desires, and the pursuit of them.
So, in Hajj, the soul learns to be at the limits of God and to stand, be obedient, and be content with Him. Hajj represents the embodiment of Islamic civilization. When performing the rituals, the Muslim remembers our father Ibrahim, his son Ismail, and our mother Hajar. He knows that Muslims trace their history back to the father of the prophets Ibrahim, and other lofty meanings that the pilgrim senses during the journey of longing for God Almighty.
