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HAJJ The duty of a
Muslim to be close to God and to help
Muslims in need "And
pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah, (upon) every one
who is able to undertake the journey to it. "(Qur'an, 3:97)
Hajj is an act of
worship which the Almighty God has made an obligation for all those who
have the capability of performing it. In the course of a lifetime, Hajj
is necessary for those who are capable of performing it.
Since it is an act
of worship, the intention of closeness to God is essential. If, in the
performance of the Hajj, one acts hypocritically, the act is
invalidated; it must then be repeated.
Far from the family
and detached from worldly things, during the Hajj each worshipper has
the chance to attend only to God and the performance of divine duties.
He must empty his heart of the love of anything but God and feel the
presence of only himself in
the face of God.
In the chaos of the
masses, the worshipper must think of nothing but God; he must rid
himself of all worldly belongings, of all worldly symbols -- be it
dress, occupation, position, race, family, tribe, or any internal or
external matter which gives him validity in this world. The worshipper
must free himself from all that and be only with God.
In short, the
performer of the Hajj must set aside all things, all places, and all
titles, and travel only toward God, and in the period of this divine
emigration, in this limited period, attend to his duties and
obligations. It is an opportunity to
practice divine emigration by the complete severance from all worldly
things. In this period, the performer of the Hajj must not even see
himself in the mirror. Every instant,he must be careful not to neglect
God.
In addition to the
building of the self, during the Hajj an opportunity arises for the
worshipper to set aside selfishness and attend to matters of Islam. By
participating in the gathering of Muslims and an attempt to help all
Muslims, in effect the worshipper is freeing himself from the problems
of the self.
Hajj, then, is a
political and social worship. It is an opportunity for Muslims from all
over the world to gather within the boundaries of the House of God and
reflect on the problems of the World
of Islam and the Islamic Ummah.
Hajj is a huge
international Islamic society. It is a valuable opportunity for gaining
information on the state of all Muslims, the unity of Muslims, and
efforts exerted by Muslims to matters which concern them. It creates the
possibility of a collective effort for solutions to Muslims' problems in
every corner of the world.
If Muslims are to
perform the Hajj truly, if they are to perform their duties correctly,
they must focus on the problems facing Muslims throughout the world.
They must seek the unity of Muslims; they must prepare themselves for
the struggle with the
enemies of Islam and Muslims; they must become a bright example of love
and sympathy for other Muslims; they must be the source of indignation
and power against the enemies of Islam and Muslims.
By the muslims
looked into the soul of the Hajj, if Muslims considered it their duty to
perform the Hajj truly, we wouldn't have so many problems in the World
of Islam today. At present, Muslims are suffering from an internal war in Afghanistan; Muslims are suffering from the
satanic and mischievous presence of world powers at various parts of the
Islamic world. Israel, a malignant tumor, has inflicted pain on the face
of the Islamic World. The homelessness of Palestinians pains the soul of
every Muslim.
As a result of this
neglect of Muslims, today in Algeria Muslims are being slaughtered. In
Iraq, 600,000 children have died in the past six years from malnutrition
caused by sanctions. Men and women are selling their belongings in order
to fill their stomachs. Unspeakable crimes have been committed in Bosnia.
While fighting for independence, both the Kurds and the people of Kashmir
are being persecuted and killed. Children in Afghanistan have experienced
so much pain that they neither laugh nor cry anymore.
All the pain, all the
suffering on the faces of Muslims throughout the world, the wars and
homelessness, the crime and the fear... do these not indicate that Muslims
do not have unity? Does this not tell us that Muslims are not thinking of
each other? Do these not mean
that Muslims are neglecting God and their divine duties?
It is
command of Imam Khomeini (RA): "A Hajj which does not free
oneself from guilt is not a Hajj."
Unfortunately most
often during the Hajj, Muslims attend only to the motions of the rites,
while neglecting the `soul'of the Hajj. One essence of this soul is the
preservation of unity among Muslims
and attending to the problems of others. If during the Hajj when Muslims must set aside the self and all worldly things; they must be in the presence of God; they must attempt to alleviate the pain and suffering of other Muslims. |