Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Hajj contains many lessons that Muslims should learn. It assures the fact that all Muslims are one Ummah and inculcates in the pilgrims the unique values of Islam.
Focusing more on this point, Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, states the following:
Hajj is an important pillar of Islam. As a command from Allah, hajj has many benefits. It is obligatory once in life on every adult Muslim, male or female, who can afford it physically and financially.
Muslims perform Hajj every year in millions in number. They go there with great love and devotion.
Hajj has a form and a spirit. Its form is to have ihram, perform tawaf (circumambulation of the Kabah), sa`i, throwing pebbles at the Jamarat and make sacrifice of a sheep, goat or camel.
Here at this time, however, I want to discuss a few points about the spirit of Hajj for our benefit and let us think about it in these days.
1. Hajj is a ceremony of love and devotion to Allah
A Muslim’s relation with Allah is that of deep love, devotion and obedience. We love Allah because He loves us; “He loves them and they love Him…” (Al-Maidah 5:54)
Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) loved Allah and Allah took him as a friend (khalil). We read in the Quran: “Allah took Ibrahim as a friend.” (An-Nisa 4:125) Hajj is deeply associated with Prophet Ibrahim and his life-story.
Hajj gives us a sense of history. Our faith is deeply-rooted in history. This is the religion of Allah given to us by His many prophets: Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Isma`il and finally Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all). These were the people who loved Allah, and Allah loved them and made them the guides of humanity.
2. Hajj gives the universal spirit of Islam
People of all races, colors and nationalities go there. They become one people without any class or distinction. They look alike and do the same things. The spirit of Hajj is to foster unity and universal brotherhood and sisterhood among the believers.
3. Hajj gives us a focus, center and orientation
We have one qiblah and that is our direction for worship. But we should not have only one qiblah for worship; we should also have unity of purpose and mission in our life. Muslims should be the people of a focus and direction, not a confused people or a people without any orientation and direction.
Our focus of life is Allah and the House of Allah, the Kabah, on this earth. We have with us Allah’s Book that we must hold fast together. “And hold fast all together Allah’s rope and be not divided…” (Aal `Imran 3:103)
4. Hajj is the ceremony of peace and harmony
The pilgrims come in peace and spend their time together in the most peaceful and respectful manner. They respect every person and everything. They do not harm anyone or anything.
This is also the spirit of Islam. Islam is a total commitment to care, compassion and kindness. Hajj is the symbol of this commitment and it must be manifest in our daily life.
5. Hajj is also a movement, action and sacrifice
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The pilgrim keeps on moving all the time, with tawaf, sa`i, going to Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina again, around the Jamarat and other places. It is a dynamic ceremony and this is the way a Muslim’s life should be. Motion, action, and sacrifice – these things bring success in this life and salvation in the Hereafter.
I hope those who have gone to Hajj will learn good lessons from this journey, and we here also should keep these lessons in our minds and lives.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.
Source: Taken, with slight modifications from: isna.net