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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
KHWAJA SHAMS-UD-DIN AZEEMI
Articles of 'MESSAGE OF THE DAY' from Qalandar Shaoor Monthly
