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OCT 2013- HAJ

 

In the Holy Quran, Allah ordains:

"And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves [i.e. denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), then he is a disbeliever of Allah], then Allah stands not in need of any of the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns)." (3:97)

"O you who believe! Violate not the sanctity of the Symbols of Allah۔۔۔۔ nor the people coming to the Sacred House (Makkah), seeking the bounty and good pleasure of their Lord." (5:2)

"And perform properly the Hajj and 'Umrah (i.e. the pilgrimage to Makkah) for Allah." (2: 196)

"nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj. And whatever good you do, (be sure) Allah knows it. And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness, etc.)." (2: 197)

"So when you have accomplished your Manasik Remember Allah as you remember your forefathers or with a far more remembrance." (2:200)

The Hajj pilgrims are Allah's guests. Allah bestows His rewards on those who visit the Holy Kaaba and perform Hajj rites. If one carefully performs services of Hajj with a pure sense of submission to Allah, it helps avoid emotions and actions of defiance, disobedience, insolence and ignorance. The pilgrims clearly declare that they have already accepted that Allah is their Creator, the Creator of this Universe, the Sustainer of life, the Supreme Protector and the Sole Provider. The pilgrims put up with all difficulties of travel and sacrifice all their comforts with a smiling face. They try to forgive and forget, act generously, avoid hurting anybody or discomforting others.

All the pilgrims are directed by Allah to avoid indecent conversation, slander, rudeness and any other Satanic action. They are further directed to avoid things and actions which could incite emotions. They must offer prayers and perform all the rites of Hajj with complete sincerity. Allah says:

"The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known months. So whosoever intends to perform Hajj therein (by assuming Ahraam), then he should not have sexual relations."

While wearing Ahraam, after every prayer, descending or ascending, walking or resting, the pilgrims recite Talbeeh. Let us join them: "Here I am, 0 Allah! Here I am; Here I am, there is no partner unto You, Here I am; all praise and favours and sovereignty belongs to You, there is no partner unto You."

While entering Haram Sharif, Allah's greatness, supremacy and powerfulness must be kept in mind. As soon as the Holy Kaaba comes into view, the pilgrims are advised to stop there, keep eyes fixed on Kaaba and while expressing thanks and gratitude, pray with complete focus and concentration. Submit all legitimate wishes to Allah and request Him for their fulfillment. The home of the One who listens to prayers is before them. He has all the powers. And the pilgrims in their first sight of Kaaba are, in fact, in the moment when wishes are granted. Therefore, submit all wishes and prayers for fulfillment. As long as sight is fixed on Kaaba (first sight) and eyes are not blinked, Allah grants all the legitimate wishes and desires. When one views Kaaba for the first time, one is awed and overwhelmed. Therefore, the pilgrims must keep all the prayers in mind and carefully remember them before visiting the Kaaba for the first time. Pray for the success in this world, the Hereafter and for Allah's support and protection.

Kaaba is the symbol of Allah's centrality. Everything is from Allah and will return to Him. Everything coming from Allah is sub conscious of this Universe. And everything returning to Allah is the conscious of Allah. Subconscious is the knowledge of Universe and conscious is demonstration of the knowledge of Universe. Allah is all Knower and Allah is the source of all knowledge. The descending of Allah's Anwaar (plural of noor) at the level of demonstration is Universe's Nuzooli movement (Nuzooli Harkat). In this movement, the tajalli of knowledge demonstrates knowledge and information it contains.

Tawaf of Kaaba has both Saoodi movement and Nuzooli movement. Saoodi movement is complete focus and attention of servants of Allah towards their Lord and Nuzooli movement is his physical tawaf of Kaaba. It is like a spring or a coil or spiral. Suppose a pearl is passed through the topmost end of the wire of this coil and winded down through all its loops and spheres towards the end. When it is at the bottom, it is once again taken up towards the topmost end. The winding down of the pearl is subconscious and its going back towards its upmost end is its conscious movement.

When any lady or gentleman, performs tawaf, she/he walks around Kaaba and stops for a while before Hajr e Aswad. Kissing of Hajr e Aswad or gesturing to kiss Hajr e Aswad in addition to walking around Kaaba is tawaf During tawaf, conscious and sub conscious are filled with Anwaar (lights). These lights help souls of the pilgrims witness Allah.

While reciting Talbeeh i.e. "Here I am, O Allah! Here I am; Here I am, there is no partner unto You, Here I am; all praise and favours and sovereignty belongs to You, there is no partner unto You", the pilgrims walk around Kaaba. Anwaar (plural of noor) of Allah surround them and they feel the proximity with Allah.

Goodness, good deeds and rewards of good deeds are blessings and rewards of Allah. The whole Universe is based on Noor and Lights. The Noor and Lights descend in waves. One good deed means that the servant of Allah is filled with a light. Salat means establishment of contact with Allah. The reward of Salat means that relationship of the servant of Allah has become stronger with his Creator. The one hundred thousand times more reward means that the one who is establishing Salat has established one hundred thousand times stronger relationship with her/his Lord.

The Hajis perform 40 salats in the Prophet's Mosque (SAW) in Madina Munawwarah before or after the Hajj. The purpose of this practice is to spend as much time in the Prophet's mosque (SAW) as possible so that the pilgrims could establish a strong mental contact with the Prophet (SAW) and the minds attain capacity to accept the Prophet's Noor (SAW). They recognize and acknowledge Allah's presence.

Conscious is conditioned and shaped by closeness with someone and the environment one lives in. The environment conditions and shapes one's personality. When a Muslim is connected with the Prophet's (SAW) mosque for eight days and eight nights and her/his focus remains stable, the environment of the Mosque influences her/him and individuals' hearts is filled with love and affection. The reward of offering prayers and salat at the Prophet's Mosque is also tremendous. Reward means that hundreds of thousands of waves of noor and lights are stored. In Salat, one receives complete focus and concentration of heart and mind and suspicions and stray thoughts vanish away. And with the blessings of Allah and as a result of her/his connection with the Prophet (SAW),the servant of Allah performs high quality Salat about which Allah says: "Salat is ascension of the believers."

 

Allah Hafiz

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KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DIN AZEEMI


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