Pilgrimage is not undertaken in Islam to the shrines of saints, to monasteries for help from holy men or to sights where miracles are supposed to have occurred. It is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for Muslims who have the physical and financial ability to undertake the journey.
Allah says: “Hajj is [performed during] well-known months, so whoever has made Hajj obligatory upon himself therein [by entering the state of ihram], there is [to be for him] no sexual relations and no disobedience and no disputing during Hajj. And whatever good you do – Allah knows it. And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah. And fear Me, O you of understanding.” (Q2 verse 197)
Islam is a programme designed by Allah, the Creator, for mankind (Q3 verse 19). Therefore, all injunctions enshrined in the religion impact directly and indirectly on all creatures, regardless of their awareness and conviction of the need to worship Him (Allah). Among those injunctions is the well-known exercise, the Hajj.
Overtime, the Islamic pilgrimage has been viewed from the standpoint of spirituality only, thereby restricting its potential usefulness in many other areas of life. With the world in continuous chaos and humanity in perpetual disarray, there is no better time to properly analyze the potentialities in Hajj and tap from the rich benefits to bring the much craved happiness back to the world. Among others, Hajj plays the following roles in creating a peaceful world.
Character builder
Hajj inculcates the spirit of love and devotion to the one and only God. It unifies peoples’ minds and hearts on almost the same purposes, that is, to please their Lord and to have their sins forgiven. So, all those who perform Hajj, despite their differences in ethnicity, culture, and language, share the same rites and hopes. Even those who do not perform Hajj turn their hearts and eyes towards the Ka’bah. So, Hajj unifies the minds and hearts of all Muslims towards this great pillar of Islam. Hajj helps humans break the many barriers that divide them, and helps them to create the unity of a single human family based on the recognition of God as the Creator and Sustainer of all creation.
If there is one major ingredient of nation building that is absent among mankind today, it is love and unity. During Hajj, pilgrims inculcate this important virtue and learn to be agent of positive transformation. It reminds pilgrims of the equality of all creatures, regardless of all differences. Throughout the exercise, people share and care for each other without any barriers. This is the message of Islam to humanity, that all human beings are equal before Allah. So, if we all embrace this teaching, love would replace hatred, care would take over from neglect and fundamental rights of people would not be trampled upon and the world would be become easier for all. In all communities, in all nations, this principle of equality of persons has given way to oppression, and attempts by the oppressed to reclaim their dignity is a major cause of chaos the world over. Since the pilgrimage is a congregation of people of all races, pilgrims only require putting the equality principle into practice in their respective communities and the world would be less difficult to live.
The soul purifier
Hajj helps educate the believer to do good deeds, and have better moral senses. It polishes the consciences of a firm believer that every deed he does produces immense social benefits as well as encourage positive vibe among Muslim individual and society.
From time, scientists and philosophers have struggled to authenticate the reality of the Supreme Being, to whom humanity is accountable. But there is little disagreement as the fact that the soul of man has to be at rest with all other creatures, he has to cultivate the habit of living peacefully with all. Hajj comes in here again; to clean the souls of the pilgrims from all sins and make them live peacefully with fellow creatures. It helps individuals become whole once again after cleansing themselves of the many sins they accumulate over the course of their lives.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever performs Hajj and stays away from lewdness, wrangling, and obscenities will come home like a newborn” (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The position of Islam is that a clean mind makes a clean individual, a clean society and a peaceful world. So, Islam returns to the basic, to teach each person to get rid of sin, with the understanding that if he is able to successfully jettison sin on the fear of Allah, whom he could not see, it becomes difficult to hurt fellow human beings, thus creating peaceful world to live.
Social cooperation
Beyond doubt, what can solve problems of life is social cooperation, which is materialised by creating understanding among nations. The most important factor behind understanding is the rightful teachings of a religion, which bridges the gaps, brings hearts together, creates a link between east and west, and makes the black and white, Arabs and non-Arabs, Turks and Hindus feel sympathy for one another. In the Farewell Hajj on Mount Arafat, the Holy Prophet of Islam (saw) said: “O people, surely your Lord is One, the father of all of you is one, you all come from Adam and Adam from the earth. (Surely the most honourable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful of his duty) Arab has no advantage over non-Arab except for piety.”
This article was contributed by Ustaz Sulaimon Adesina, Imam, Hijrah Mosque, Mokola, Ibadan.
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