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For instance, the Qur'an specifically talked about the city of Mecca in chapter 3:96, which reads, “The first house of worship appointed for men was that at Bakka. In it, there is “full of blessing and of guidance for all the creatures” 3:96. Also, Ibrahim and his son, Ismail are the ones that Allah ordered to establish the foundation of this house, and this comes from the Qur’an where Allah says, “And remember when Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundations of the house—with their prayer—Our Lord accept from us: You are the all-Hearing and the all-Knowing" 2:127. The main purpose of performing this religious gathering is, “to witness the benefits provided for them, and celebrate the name of Allah through the days appointed.” 22:27. However, there are two main lessons that can be drawn from the Hajj. The first concept that we can take from Hajj is the concept of unity. In general, this concept can be looked at in a sense that it’s not only from Hajj, but from Islam. One of the saying of the prophet Mohamed when he was describing the relationship between prophets and messengers that Allah has sent to mankind, it’s reported he said, “The prophets are from one father even though they may have different mothers.” The interpretation that can be given to this hadith is that those prophets and messengers preached the same message from the Almighty, and this message was that there is only one Allah/God. But the ways of conveying the message and the other laws that were associated with this message are where prophets and messengers were in different. Another form of the unity of the message can be seen from the Qur’an. In chapter 2:285, Allah says, “The messenger believed in what had been revealed to him from his Lord as so the believers. Each of them believed in Allah, His angels, His books and His messengers” by saying “we don’t distinguish between one another.” This means that anyone who believes Mohamed as a messenger must believe Jesus, the son of Marry, as a messenger from Allah. This can be called the unity of Islam with other revelations as they are from the same source despite the fact that Islam is alienated from the two major religions: Judaism and Christianity, and sympathetic attitudes with a special connection of these two are portrayed in the western religious circles. The concept of unity comes from the practice of Hajj. The fact that we see from the pilgrimages is that they are not the same in terms of the locations that they came from; the languages that they speak; the culture and ethnic groups that they belong to; the socio-economic differences that they may have; who is in a high rank profile in his/her society; who is a ruler, and who is ruled; what is the color of their skin and the way they look like. Despite all these differences, they wear the same clothing; chant the same words and worship the same Allah/God who is the creature of Adam and Ibrahim—peace and blessing be upon them— The only measure that quality is achieved is who is more closer to Allah, as the Qur’an states, “O mankind, we created you from a single male and female, and we made you nations and tribes so that you may know one another. The most honorable amongst you in the sight of Allah is the one who attains righteousness” 49:13. Submission to the will of Allah is another lesson that we can gain from this historic and annual gathering. The example of this submission comes from the father of the prophets: Ibrahim (pbuh). By the order of Allah, Ibrahim settles his family in this dessert land with no food and water, and at the same time he is getting the order to leave from his family. In his departure from his family, Hagar is following him and asking him why he is leaving them in this land that with no one to stay with. After a long silence and no convincing answer, Hagar asked her husband: Is Allah the one who ordered you to do this? Ibrahim replied to her this time: Yes! Allah is the one who commanded me to leave you and my son in this dessert land! And she said, if that is the case, Allah will never neglect us! The level of trust in Allah swt from Hagar and submission to the order of Allah to leave his family from Ibrahim was the result of the Zam Zam water as the running of Hagar back and forth in the mount of Safa and Marwa has become part of the rituals of performing the Hajj. Furthermore, submission comes from Ibrahim and his son Ismail—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them. The prophet Ibrahim is getting order from Allah during his dream that he has to sacrifice with his son—the first one before Ishaq, he was provided when he reached in his senior age. He communicated the matter with his son, and the son replied to him, “O my father, do whatever you are commended to do, and you will find me among those who are patient.” 37:102. Ibrahim (pbuh) passed the test that he was given, as Allah swt redeem Ismail with a sheep that up to know Muslims sacrifice by following the footstep of the story of Ibrahim and his son. These are some of the lessons that we can cultivate from this universal gathering that Muslims express these historic rituals that are not only coming from the practice of Mohamed (pbuh), but from the father of the Prophets: Ibrahim. With only sincere intention to Allah swt, and seeking for forgiveness from Him, those pilgrimages will come back to their families, cities and towns while the previous sins that some of them may have accumulated before the performance of this pillar of Hajj are washed out. Abukar Sanei ______________________________________________________________ We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com |
