HAJJ - THE JOURNEY OF LOVE

  Year after year, the Hajj season comes and goes, but have we, for a single moment, stopped to think about the reality of this beautiful ibaadah of Hajj?

Not in any way diminishing the importance of knowing the masaa'il, and how to perform every step correctly, every ibaadah has an inner reality which actually constitutes of that very objective for which Allah obligated that particular ibaadah on us. Hajj is no exception.

Let us pause and ponder for a moment. What is Hajj made up of? Wearing two unsewn pieces of cloth, not being able to apply any fragrance, loudly saying the talbiyah, going around the Kaaba seven times, walking between two points seven times, throwing stones at pillars, spending time in a barren, hot field, shaving the head, slaughtering an animal, leaving all the comforts of home, and undertaking a strenuous journey. Logically, does all of this make any sense at all?? Definitely it doesn't. Deen isn't subservient to logic, as some brainwashed modernists would like to believe. Deen is something way past the limited reaches of logic.

So what do all of these actions tell us? Why have been commanded to do them?? By reflecting over these actions, any reasonable person will conclude that these actions are of those who are madly in love. The actions of one who has forgotten about everything else, and only has his Beloved infront of him. Nothing else matters. How important is it to have love for Allah? Allah himself says in the Quran, "And those who believe have the strongest love for Allah." In this aayah, Allah specified it as an intinsic quality of the believers. We can suffice to say this that the person who builds a love connection between Allah and himself has achieved and realised the very objective of his existence.

       The reality of Hajj is this that it is an ibaadah of pure love, from start to end. It is for this very reason that Allah has obligated on us such actions which outwardly show love, and which help the pilgrim appear as a mad lover. So, the first half of the magic potion of love which can take a person to unimaginable heights is already present. For the second half, we need to make a concerted effort, and this is where the majority of pilgrims fall short, which results in their Hajj being merely a composition of outward actions and rituals lacking in life and reality. This second half, is to couple the outward form of love with the inward reality of love - which comes from the heart.

   It is unfortunate today that the majority of pilgrims return from Hajj unchanged, as if nothing ever happened. Why?? It is because they went to the blessed cities devoid of any love, which left the catalyst to a life changing reaction incomplete. Some go just to discharge an obligation they just have to fulfill, like throwing a burden off their shoulders. Others go on a sightseeing tour. Others go on a shopping spree.

My beloved brothers and sisters, we have to realise that without inculcating the love of Allah in our hearts, then just like the 5 times salaah, and the month of Ramadhan, the great ibaadah of Hajj, which Allah has kept to put us back on the straight path which we seem to lose again and again, will be rendered ineffective as far as changing our lives is concerned.

May Allah give us true understanding, ameen.