Wisdom And Benefits
From The Stories Related To Hajj
From The Stories Related To Hajj
The Ritual Of Hajj
Message To Humanity
The Story Of Ismail AS
Devotion And Faith
The Ultimate Sacrifice
A Lesson For Us
Conclusion
The Ritual Of Hajj
Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam and just like all other pillars; it has not only very practical implications and purposes, but a very practical history as well.
The Ritual Of Hajj Is Commemoration
Of The Lives Of Those Who Were True To Their Faith
And Were Thus Honored By Their Lord
Who Immortalized Their Struggle Till The End Of Times.
Hajj revolves around the life of Ibrahim AS, one of the five great Messengers of God. He rejected the custom of idol worshipping from a very young age and was the only worshipper of Allah Swt at a time on this earth
Ibrahim AS was later married to a lady named Sarah who left a legacy of faith and devotion to her husband and his mission of spreading the message of Allah to humanity.
Message To Humanity
Ibrahim AS and Sarah were married for an extensive period of time but Allah SWT had not blessed them with any children.
Ibrahim AS being a Messenger of God wanted to leave his seed on earth who would continue his mission of spreading the message of God to humanity; but he was content with the decree of God and never complained. Sarah loved and respected her husband deeply and realized his wish.
Since Sarah Couldn�t Bear Any Children,
She Offered Her Slave Girl Hagar
To Ibrahim AS Who Was Younger
And Stronger So She Could Bear Him Children
Hagar conceived and gave birth to a boy named Ismail AS. Ibrahim AS was in his waning years; according to some reports he was in his eighties when Allah SWT blessed him with a child. Sarah�s emotions overcame her at this point and she felt a tugging of jealousy in her heart.
Her devotion to her husband and her attempt to sacrifice her love for him in order to fulfill his wish was so high in the eyes of Allah SWT that He ordered Ibrahim to take Hagar and Ismail to the barren land of Makkah and leave them there.
Try To Imagine Yourself In This Situation...
Your Only Child, Your Hope For The Future Of Islam,
The One You Got In Your Old Age
And You Can�t Even Keep Him Within Your Eyesight...
And Not Only That, You Are To Leave Him
In A Barren Desert Land Where Odds Are That
He Will Not Survive Even A Few Days
Why does Allah SWT ask for this? Allah SWT has already given Ibrahim AS the honor of being Khaleelullah (intimate friend of Allah); and He SWT doesn�t want his intimate friend to develop attachment for anyone else in his heart.
Allah Swt Wants To Test The Obedience Of Ibrahim...
As It Is Only Through Passing The Tests Of Allah,
One Is Elevated In The Spiritual Realm
Allah SWT also wanted to protect Sarah from developing any jealousy as it is a disease that eats away faith and good deeds like fire eats away wood. Sarah had protected the message of Allah and His love in her heart and when the time came, Allah protected her heart.
The Story Of Ismael AS
Allah SWT had chosen Ibrahim AS and had granted him his wish of a child; of course, He SWT was not going to destroy the child.
When Ibrahim AS Was Leaving Hagar
And Baby Ismail On The Spot He Was Ordered
To By Allah SWT, There Was Nothing
There Except A Pile Of Rocks!
Imagine the heart of a father and husband and the emotional pull he must have felt; but the order of Allah must be fulfilled. The story is told by Prophet Muhammad SAW in these beautiful words and can be found in Sahih A-Bukhari:
Abdullah Ibn Abbas RA narrates:
Prophet Ibrahim AS brought Hagar and their infant son Ismail AS while she was suckling him, to a place near the Ka'ba under a tree on the spot of Zam-Zam. during those days there was nobody in Makkah, nor was there any water. so he made them sit over there and placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward (towards Jerusalem).
Hagar followed Ibrahim AS saying, "O Ibrahim! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to eat or drink)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her.
Then she asked him, "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said, "Yes." She said, "Then He will not neglect us," and returned while Prophet Ibrahim AS proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniya where they could not see him, he faced the direction of the Ka'ba, and raising both hands, invoked Allah saying the following prayers:
Quran Chapter 14, Surah Ibrahim
"O Our Lord! I Have Made Some Of My Offspring
Dwell In A Valley Without Cultivation,
By Your Sacred House In Order, O Our Lord,
That They May Offer Prayer Perfectly.
So Fill Some Hearts Among Men With Love Towards Them,
And (O Allah) Provide Them With Fruits,
So That They May Give Thanks."
[Verse:37]
Ismail's mother went on suckling Ismail and drinking from the water (she had). When all the water in the water-skin had been used up, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at him (i.e. Ismail) tossing in agony. She left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land.
She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from Safa and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and reached the Marwa mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between Safa and Marwa) seven times.
When she reached the mount Marwa (for the last time), she saw an Angel at the place of Zam-zam, digging the earth with his heel (or his wing), till water flowed from that place. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped some of it."
The Prophet (saws) added, "May Allah bestow Mercy on Ismail's mother! Had she let the Zam-Zam (flow without trying to control it), Zam-Zam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth."
The Prophet further added, "Then she drank (water) and suckled her child. The Angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of Allah which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His slaves.'
She lived in that way till some people from the tribe of Jurhum or a family from Jurhum passed by her and her child, as they (i.e. the Jurhum people) were coming through the way of Kada. They landed in the lower part of Makkah where they saw a bird that had the habit of flying around water and not leaving it.
They said, 'This bird must be flying around water, though we know that there is no water in this valley.' They sent one or two messengers who discovered the source of water, and returned to inform them of the water. So, they all came (towards the water)."
The Prophet added, "Ismail's mother was sitting near the water. They asked her, 'Do you allow us to stay with you?' She replied, 'Yes, but you will have no right to possess the water.' They agreed to that."
The Prophet further said, "Ismail's mother was pleased with the whole situation. So, they settled there, and later on they sent for their families who came and settled with them so that some families became permanent residents there.
Devotion And Faith
Just try to place yourself in the position of a mother who can see the barren valley, her short food and water supply, no shade and another person and her husband is about to leave her with a suckling child. What would we do? What kind of anger and doubts would we feel in our hearts? What kind of words would not escape our mouths?
Compare Yourself To This Lady, Hagar
Whose Faith Resonates Through These Words:
"Has Allah Ordered You To Do So?"
Ibrahim AS Said, "Yes."
She Said, "Then He Will Not Neglect Us."
How grounded was her faith and what level of decency did it give her that she neither questioned her husband�s sanity nor her fate; rather relied entirely on Allah SWT.
The Ritual Of Sa�ee-Run Between Safa And Marwa
Is Symbolic To Hagar�s Search For Help For Her Child;
And The Help Only Came When She Realized Her Inability
And Completely Surrendered To The Will Of Allah SWT
Allah wants us to re-live those moments of agony and desperation of Hagar; He SWT wants us to remember that His help is right there and all we need to do is realize our weakness and His strength and surrender to His will. If this understanding is not developed in us, then the wisdom of this ritual is lost and it will have no resonance in our souls.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
The struggle of the entire family to remain faithful and surrender to Allah was again tested when Ismail AS reached boyhood. Ibrahim AS had occasionally visited his family in Makkah and had begun to develop attachment for Ismail as he became a young man.
It is very natural for a father to develop a sense of belonging and pride as his son reaches adulthood and begins to share his responsibilities and understandings. What was not normal in this case was the status of Ibrahim AS with Allah SWT.
Allah SWT Had Chosen Ibrahim To Be His Friend
And One Of The Qualities Of Allah
Is Al-Ghayyur (Jealous).
When Allah Loves Someone, He Does Not Like
To Share That Person�s Heart With
Someone Else. Therefore
Came The Order Of Sacrifice Of Ismail AS
This episode in the family life leaves our minds and hearts baffled because we are so far away from the concept of utter and absolute surrender to Allah SWT. We do not know how to detach our emotions from our rationality and accept the reality. The absolute reality being the fact that Allah SWT knows what is best and my own knowledge is nothing compared to His.
Ibrhaim AS And His Family Taught
Humanity A Lesson On Self Sacrifice
And Surrender To God Through Their Behavior.
Ibrahim AS Saw Multiple Dreams Which All Meant That
He Was To Offer Ismail As A Sacrifice To God
Ibrahim approached his son and discussed the matter with him who, despite his youth, showed remarkable character and obedience to his father by agreeing to the sacrifice. When Hagarar found out, she relived those earlier moments of spiritual glory and dazzled humanity again by her resolve, and trust in God.
When Ibrahim AS Was On His Way To Sacrifice
His Son, Shaytan Appeared To Him And Questioned
His Decision, At Which Ibrahim AS Picked Up A Handful
Of Dust And Threw It At Him To Dissuade His Attempts
Shaytan repeated the same trick twice more with Hagar and Ismael who both did what Ibrahim AS had done; and this is the origin of the practice of stoning of Shaytan called Rami-Jamarat during Hajj
A Lesson For Us
Allah SWT wants us to relive that resolve to do the right thing despite the temptations and difficulties, while performing the ritual. Allah SWT wants us to make du�a for strength and resolve to stand up to our weaknesses and shortcomings in our lives.
Ibrahim AS Actually Went On To Slaughter
His Son Who Was Replaced, At The Last Moment,
By A Ram From The Heaven As Allah SWT Did Not Want Ismail AS
To Be Slaughtered; Rather He SWT Wanted To Slaughter
The Love Of Ismail In His Father�s Heart.
We are much lower than Ibrahim AS in our spiritual ranking and Allah SWT by His mercy never tests a person more than he can handle. Allah SWT will surely give us tests which will require us to sacrifice something that is dear to us. It is the ability to sacrifice for the pleasure of Allah that secures guidance for a believer.
Quran Chapter 9, Surah At-Tauba
Say: "If Your Fathers And Your Sons And Your Brothers
And Your Spouses And Your Clan,
And The Worldly Goods Which You Have Acquired, And The Commerce
Whereof You Fear A Decline,
And The Dwellings In Which You Take Pleasure - [If All These]
Are Dearer To You Than God
And His Apostle And The Struggle In His Cause, Then Wait Until God
Makes Manifest His Will;
And Allah Does Not Guide The Transgressing People.�
[Verse:24]
Something noteworthy in the story of Ibrahim AS and his family is that every member of the family played his/her own role instead of questioning the other. This is the manifestation of reality of Iman�the understanding that you are responsible for your own deeds, not some one else�s. This is something that is missing from the ummah today.
Conclusion
Let�s examine ourselves and see where we are from these celebrated believers. One of the questions that I am often asked is how to keep one�s spouse happy and how to keep their love...? Of course, just like everything else the situations differ from person to person but the general rule is very simple:
One Should Marry For A Goal;
And Once Married Thy Need To Believe In Their Spouse,
To Merge Their Thinking Into
Their Spouse�s, To Be The Supporter And Comfort For Them,
And Be A Cause Of Their
Achievements Instead Of Being A Hindrance
Isn�t that what Sarah and Hagar did for their husband Ibrahim AS? Wasn�t this the cause of Prophet SAW�s love for Khadijah RA, even long after her demise? When questioned about this love, Prophet SAW summed up the secret of it for generations to come in the following words:
"She believed in me when no one else did; she accepted Islam when people rejected me; and she helped and comforted me when there was no one else to lend me a helping hand."
There is no reason that any spouse following this example, will not be able to achieve the same results.
My Message To The Young People
Is To Seriously Ponder These Following
Questions: What Are You Looking For? What Kind Of
Spouse You Want To Support In Your Life? What Kind Of Legacy
Do You Want To Leave Behind? Whose Pleasure
Are You Seeking And For What Purpose?
As for the parents, it is about time that they stop treating their children as possessions and start seeing them as trusts from Allah, like Ibrahim and Hagar did! All parents should ponder these questions: What do you want form your kids? What kind of life and legacy do you want them to have? And for whose benefit?
Before Anyone Can Really Answer These Questions,
They Need To Ask Themselves
The Most Important Of All Questions:
How Do I Gain The Love And Pleasure Of Allah?
The answer to this is very simple! You go to Qur�an and Hadith and see what Allah loves. There are many characteristics and actions that Allah SWT loves and if you try to achieve or inculcate even a few of these, InshaAllah by the will of Allah, you will achieve the love and pleasure of Allah.
The Ultimate Legacy Is To Leave
This Dunya With The Love
Of Allah And A Message To Benefit Mankind
And this message is none other than to believe in the Creator, to worship Him, and try to love and please Him with all your actions. He in turn will love and please you in this life, at the moment of death and life after death. This is the ultimate success and the ultimate legacy.
By~Daee Ahmed Moait