Hajj literally
means 'to set out for a place'. Islamically however it refers to the
annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of
performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method
prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad (saws).
Hajj and its
rites were first ordained by Allaah in the time of the Prophet
lbraaheem [Abraham] (AS) and he was the one who was entrusted by
Allaah to build the Ka'ba - the House of Allaah - along with his son
Ismaa'eel [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allaah described the Ka'ba and its
building as follows:
"And remember when
We showed Ibraaheem the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]:
Associate not anything [in worshipi with Me and purify My House for
those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who
stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in
prayer etc.]."
(Surah al-Hajj 22:26)
After building
the Ka'ba, Ibraaheem (AS) would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every
year, and after his death, this practice was continued by his son.
However, gradually with the passage of time, both the form and the
goal of the Hajj rites were changed. As idolatry spread throughout
Arabia, the Ka'ba lost its purity and idols were placed inside it.
Its walls became covered with poems and paintings, including one of
Jesus and his mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols came to be
placed around the Ka'ba.
During the Hajj
period itself, the atmosphere around the sacred precincts of the
Ka'ba was like a circus. Men and women would go round the Ka'ba
naked, arguing that they should present themselves before Allaah in
the same condition they were born. Their prayer became devoid of all
sincere remembrance of Allaah and was instead reduced to a series of
hand clapping, whistling and the blowing of horns. Even the
talbeeyah [2] was distorted by them with the following additions:
'No one is Your partner except one who is permitted by you. You are
his Master and the Master of what he possesses'.
Sacrifices were
also made in the name of God. However, the blood of the sacrificed
animals was poured onto the walls of the Ka'ba and the flesh was
hung from pillars around the Ka'ba, in the belief that Allaah
demanded the flesh and blood of these animals.
Singing,
drinking, adultery and other acts of immorality was rife amongst the
pilgrims and the poetry competitions, which were held, were a major
part of the whole Hajj event. In these competitions, poets would
praise the bravery and splendour of their own tribesmen and tell
exaggerated tales of the cowardice and miserliness of other tribes.
Competitions in generosity were also staged where the chief of each
tribe would set up huge cauldrons and feed the pilgrims, only so
that they could become well-known for their extreme generosity.
Thus the people
had totally abandoned the teachings of their forefather and leader
Ibraaheem (AS). The House that he had made pure for the worship of
Allaah alone, had been totally desecrated by the pagans and the
rites which he had established were completely distorted by them.
This sad state of affairs continued for nearly two and a half
thousand years. But then after this long period, the time came for
the supplication of Ibraaheem to be answered:
"Our Lord! Send
amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them
your aayaat (verses) and instruct them in the book and the Wisdom
and sanctify them. Verily you are the 'Azeezul-Hakeem [the
All-Mighty, the All-Wise]."
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:129)
Sure enough, a
man by the name of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullaah (SAWS) was born in the
very city that Ibraaheem (AS) had made this supplication centuries
earlier. For twenty-three years, the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) spread
the message of Tawheed [true monotheism -SA] - the same message that
Ibraaheem and alI the other Prophets came with - and established the
law of Allaah upon the land. He expended every effort into making
the word of Allaah supreme and his victory over falsehood culminated
in the smashing of the idols inside the Ka'ba which once again
became the universal centre for the worshippers of the one True God.
Not only did the
Prophet rid the Ka'ba of all its impurities, but he also reinstated
all the rites of Hajj which were established by Allaah's Permission,
in the time of Ibraaheem (AS). Specific injunctions in the Qur'aan
were revealed in order to eliminate all the false rites which had
become rampant in the pre-Islamic period. All indecent and shameful
acts were strictly banned in Allaah's statement:
"There is to be no
lewdness nor wrangles during Hajj."
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:197)
Competitions
among poets in the exaltations of their forefathers and their
tribesmen's' achievements were all stopped. Instead, Allaah told
them:
"And when you have
completed your rites [of Hajj] then remember Allah as you remember
your forefathers; nay with a more vigorous remembrance."
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:200)
Competitions in
generosity were also prohibited. Of course, the feeding of the poor
pilgrims was still encouraged as this was done in the time of
Ibraaheem (AS) but Allaah commanded that the slaughtering of the
animals which was done for this purpose should be done seeking the
pleasure of Allaah rather than fame and the praise of the people. He
said:
"So mention the name
of Allaah over these animals when they are drawn up in lines. Then,
when they are drawn on their sides [after the slaughter], eat
thereof and feed the beggar who does not ask, and the beggar who
asks."
(Surah al-Hajj 22:36)
As for the
deplorable practice of spattering blood of the sacrificed animals on
the walls of the Ka'ba and hanging their flesh on alters, then
Allaah clearly informed them that:
"It is neither their
meat nor their blood that reaches Allaah, but it is Taqwaa (piety)
from you that reaches Him."
(Surah al-Hajj 22:37)
The Prophet
(SAWS) also put a stop to the practice of circling the Ka'ba in a
state of nudity and the argument that the pagans put forward to
justify this ritual was sharply rebutted in Allaah's question:
"Say: Who has
forbidden the adornment [i.e. clothes] given by Allaah which He has
produced for His Slaves?"
(Surah al-A'raaf 7:32)
Another custom
which was prohibited through the Qur'aan was that of setting off for
Hajj without taking any provisions for the journey. In the
pre-Islamic period, some people who claimed to be mutawakkiloon
(those having complete trust in Allaah) would travel to perform Hajj
begging food the whole journey. They considered this form of
behaviour a sign of piety and an indication of how much faith they
had in Allaah. However Allaah told mankind that to have sufficient
provisions for the journey was one of the preconditions for making
Hajj. He said:
"And take a
provision [with you] for the journey, but the best provision is at-Taqwaa
(piety)."
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:197)
In this way, all
the pre-Islamic practices, which were based in ignorance, were
abolished and Hajj was once more made a model of piety, fear of
Allaah, purity, simplicity and austerity. Now, when the pilgrims
reached the Ka'ba, they no longer found the carnivals and the frolic
and frivolity that had once occupied the minds of the pilgrims there
before. Now, there was the remembrance of Allaah at every step and
every action and every sacrifice was devoted to Him alone. It was
this kind of Hajj that was worthy of the reward of paradise, as the
Prophet (SAWS) said: "The reward for an accepted Hajj is nothing
less than paradise." [10]
May Allaah grant
us all the ability to visit His House and perform the Hajj in the
manner of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). Aameen.
Footnotes
1 Surah al-Hajj 22:26
2 Labbaik Allaahumma labbaik... (Here I am present, O'
Allaah, I am present...) This is the chant which the pilgrims say
when they are going around the Ka'ba.
3 Surah al-Baqarah 2:129
4 Surah al-Baqarah 2:197
5 Surah al-Baqarah 2:200
6 Surah al-Hajj 22:36
7 Surah al-Hajj 22:37
8 Surah al-A'raaf 7:32
9 Surah al-Baqarah 2:197
10 Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (Eng. trans. Vol. 3 p. 1 no 1)
11 This article has been taken from: "The Call To Allaah
magazine", (Vol. 1 Issue 4)
TJ
Hajj Learning Activity Ideas:
Stop by (offsite)
http://www.freewebs.com/hajjlessons/worksheets.htm
for History of Hajj worksheets
Read more about the kabah:(offsite)
http://www.freewebs.com/hajjlessons/thekaba.htm
