O Beloved Hujjaj

By Sheikh Abdul Hamid Lachporia

Toronto, Canada

“Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salatu 
was-Salaamu ‘alaa Ashrafil Anbiyaa’e wal Mursaleen.”
Wa Ba’d:
O Beloved 
Hujjaja Baitillahil Haram
Hajj Mabroor, Wa Sa’yam Mashkoor 
Wa Zamban Maghfoor.
Beloved Ummatul Muslimeen! Hajj is the largest annual Convention of Faith where millions of Muslims gather in the Holy land, merging as streams of devotees from every corner of the earth become part of the sea of Believers swirling in spiritual waves around the Ka’bah in Tawaaf. Every individual pilgrim like a small insignificant drop in that vast ocean; a drop that always yearns to be part of that ocean. An ocean that knows no race, no language, no colour, no gender, nor time.

Alhumdulillah! All praise is due to Almighty Allah for making this unique, international gathering of Hajj an inexhaustible source for spiritual rejuvenation and as a perennial re-affirmation of our faith.  The performance of prescribed rites, at specified times, at particular places in a recommended manner is aimed at reflecting a wholesome demonstration of Muslim fraternity. It acquaints the pilgrim with the historic, spiritual and physical environment of Nabee Adam Alayhis Salaam and Hazrat Hawa R.A., of Nabee Ibrahim & Nabee Isma’il Alayhim Salaam and Hazrat Hajirah R.A. and of our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam. (Peace be upon all of them).

By re-enacting some of the fundamental aspects of the best of our history (Sayyidatina Hajirah R.A. running in search for water, Nabee Ebrahim Alayhis Salaam’s preparedness to sacrifice his willing and obedient son and his pelting of Shaytaan ), all these identifies us with the best of our past and the lessons we need to learn from our great legacy. It is here that close to four million Muslims, men and women, from every part of the world, and belonging to all the various races and ethnic and social backgrounds merge to form a single stream of devotees, responding to the call of their Exalted Creator after entering into the holy state of Ihram with the declaration of the Talbiyah which constitutes a covenant:

 “O Allah! Here I am! Here I am in Thy Presence! Thou art without a partner! 
Here I am! All Praise is for Thee and from Thee are all Blessings! To Thee 
Alone belongs Power and Rule! Thou art without a partner.”

O you who believe! It was here in this land that our Beloved Nabee Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam and his devoted companions – the illustrious Sahaba Ridwanullahi Ta’ala Alayhim Ajma’een bore up with all kinds of bitter hardships for some thirteen years so that the sapling of Islam may take roots. It was here that after years of adversity, where such companions as Bilal, Ammar, Yasir, Sumayyah, Abdullah ibn Masud (Allah’s peace be upon them all) suffered the worst forms of torture by the avowed enemies of Islam.

Ya Ayyuhan nas! It was here in the Hijaz that the victory of Badr, the defeat of Uhud, the hardship of Khandaq and the testing event of Hudaybiyyah took place. It was here that sincerity and Jihad resulted in victory and the love of possessions and booty ended in failure. It was here where the Most Holy and Noble Qur’an was revealed verse by verse and the foundations of Islamic culture and civilization and the pure life of Islam was laid brick by brick.

                                                               O BELOVED HUJAAJ!

When you visit the “House of Allah” in Makkah, that city which is dearest to Almighty Allah, that city where the greatest of all creation was born, where he lived, where he received revelation, where he preached his message, where he was mocked and ostracized; that city which he was forced to leave and on the occasion of leaving he said;

“I swear by Allah, O Makkah, you are the best of cities 
and most loved city on earth by Allah; if I was not made 
to leave you I would never have left.”

He returned 8 years later with an army of 10,000 followers and forgave his persecutors. When you walk through the streets of Makkah, recall the torments and hardship that our beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam had to go through to deliver Almighty Allah’s message. Look at the hills and wonder where he shepherded the sheep of the rich Makkans as a teenager. Look towards Jabal-Noor and consider how the he sought solitude in those hills until he received revelation from Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala.

O BELOVED HUJAAJ!

When you remove your designer clothes and put on your Ihram, cast of your attitude, your ego, your arrogance, racism and chauvinism. When you perform the Tawaaf feel part of that ocean of faithful going in waves around the Ka’bah. Consider the majesty of Almighty Allah Most Exalted and realize that you too are part of the infinity of zeroes that is totally dependant on Him. When you pray at the station of Nabee Ibrahim A.S. [Maqami Ibrahim] wonder about his status, impact and influence on world history.

When you run between the hills of Safah and Marwah, realize that you are re-enacting the running of a slave woman (Hazrat Hajirah R.A.) whose selfless search for water for her son was considered worthy enough by Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala’meen to be incorporated as part of the Hajj. When you drink from the well of Zam-Zam reflect on how this water once served to quench the thirst of a little baby – Nabee Isma’il Alayhis Salaam who was later to become the forefather of our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam

O BELOVED HUJAAJ!

When you stand on Arafat, contemplate your insignificance amidst the multitude. Realize that you are truly part of a global community of faith that has promised to perpetuate the mission of the Ambiya Alayhim Salaam. Accept the fact that race, colour, gender or nationality means absolutely nothing if you are truly a Muslim. Remember to ask Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala for His forgiveness and promise to be forgiving. Realize that you are symbolically close to death in the two pieces of white cloth. [Ihraam]. Understand that Arafah is a reflection of The Day of Qiyaamah.

O BELOVED HUJAAJ!

When you gather your stones at Muzdalifah, prepare to equip yourself for the challenges and tribulations of the world. When you pelt the “Shaytaan” in Mina make that a permanent declaration of war against all forms of internal and external evils. When you sacrifice on the day of Eid-ul-Adha, slaughter your ego and selfishness as well. When you bury the bones of the sacrifice bury with it the bad habits, attitudes and behavior of your old self. (Was it not our beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam who said; “Whosoever performs Hajj without impropriety and vulgarity returns as a new born baby.”

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

When you visit our Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi  Wasallam in Madinah, convey our salutations, our Love and fondest Salams to the most Beloved of Almighty Allah Azza Wajjal. Inform him of the state of his Ummah, of the oppression in Palestine, of the suppression of Muslims in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Pakistan, the Philippines, of the starvation of Muslims in Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan, of the poverty in Bangladesh, the massacres in Kosova, Chechnya, Burma, and Kashmir.

With what face are you going to stand at his grave? Reflect on the plight of the children dying……
dying of lack of medication in Yemen, of massive bombs in Kabul and Pakistan, of hunger in Baghdad, Syria, Mogadishu, and of a lack of hope in the concentration camps of the West Bank. With what conscience will you visit our Beloved Nabee Muhammad – Rahmatul Liel Ala’meen Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam?

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

Ensure that your Hajj will Insha’Allah make you more conscious of your Most Glorious and Exalted Creator, more conscious of yourself, of the Ummah, of your duties and your eventual accountability to Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala for your existence here on this Doonya. Hajj makes you discover the path of life and its goal as well as the dangers of the way. Hajj reveals the future course of the Muslim Ummah and prepares you for traversing this path. It helps you to overcome the doubts caused by the feelings of weakness, humiliation and fears of the enemies of Allah. All these are part of the great blessings of Hajj that helps you to return to a glorious past that reminds you on your human honour and greatness, and moves one to recover one’s lost human dignity.

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

During the auspicious days of Hajj, in Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifah, and in Arafat, in Madinah, at Uhud and at Hira – this Holy land on which our Beloved Nabee –  Rahmatul Liel Ala’meen Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam and his noble companions have trod, a land that has witnessed all those sufferings, wanderings, struggles and pains, a land whose every inch bears the touch of revelation, Jihad, the Most Glorious Qur’an and the Sunnah.

You are in a land where you must meditate deeply about the past episodes, relate yourself to it and discover your path and direction. In the light of the past experience you must be able to envisage your future course and ultimate destination, and march towards it with trust and reliance on the Divine Power and Might, with hope in Almighty Allah’s help, and confidence in your own capacity, as we are reminded in verse 35 of Surahtul Muhammad:
“…for Allah is with you, and will never 
put you in loss for your (good) deeds.
O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

What does Hajj have to do with how we live? What does it have to do with any struggle? What does it have to do with the manner Muslims should confront its avowed enemies and its repressive onslaughts? What does Hajj have to do with the imperative to recover the rights and dignity of Muslims and all other deprived and oppressed human beings from the oppressors? What does Hajj have to do with the urgent need to think out the means to relieve Muslims of the moral and material pressures weighing upon them? What does Hajj have to do with how Muslims can emerge as a major second force in the world? What does Hajj have to do with the need for Muslims to rise against puppet governments supported and protected by our enemies?

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

Hajj is a means to bring mankind closer to Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala’meen – the Master of the Baitullah. Hajj is not merely a sequence of ritual movements, acts and words. Hajj is a storehouse of Divine teachings, from which you must draw the content of the outlook of Islam on all aspects of life. The message of Hajj is the imperative to create and build a society free of material and moral indignities. Hajj is the stage on which are projected all the love-inspiring scenes of life of an individual and society in the search of perfection in this Doonya.

The rituals of Hajj are the vital rites of life. Since the Muslim Ummah must transcend all race and nationhood to become Abrahamic in order to join the caravan of the Ummah of Nabee Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam, Hajj is an exercise for the achievement of a monotheistic pattern of life. Hajj is the exhibition ground and the measure of the spiritual and material capabilities of Muslims. Hajj is like the Most Glorious and Noble Qur’an, wherefrom everyone derives benefit.

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

If the thinkers of the Islamic Ummah familiar with its sufferings, were to fathom fearlessly the depths of this ocean of Divine Teaching, they will bring back pearls of guidance, wisdom and liberty, if they were not afraid to plunge into the rules (akham) and the social objectives of Hajj. Its fountains of wisdom will forever suffice to quench their thirst. Millions of Muslims undertake Hajj every year to place their feet on the footmarks of Allah’s Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam, of His Friend Nabee Ebrahim Alayhis Salaam and his obedient son Hazrat Ismail Alayhis Salaam and Hazrat Hajira Radhiallahu Ta’ala Anha. Unfortunately no one asks himself or herself who these illustrious slaves and servants of Allah were, what they did, what were their objectives and what did they require of us.

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

There is no doubt whatsoever that a Hajj devoid of spirit and dynamism, a Hajj devoid of unity, and a Hajj bereft of the intent to abolish apostasy and polytheism – such a Hajj is most certainly not a Hajj at all. Muslims must strive for the resurrection of Hajj and the Most Noble and Glorious Qur’an, and endeavour to bring them back into the context of their life. Hajj is equally an occasion for the Ummah as a whole to take and give account of itself before Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala for its leaders, its teachers, its thinkers and its guardians.

It is the occasion for the Ummah as a whole to re-dedicate itself to upholding the Banner of Tawhid and Taqwa, to call on all nations of the world to join our ranks so that we can together fulfill the Divine Will of Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala. It is – in short, a call for the universalism of Al-Islam, to proclaim its plans for history and to launch the actualization of those plans.

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

Hajj is a unique religious and political human event. It is without any question of a doubt the greatest spectacle ever witnessed by humanity. No other religion and no other civilization ever witnessed or will ever experience such an event. It is the greatest single act of worship on the face of the earth and the Ummah has been blessed with this sacred duty and undertaking for the past 1434 years.

                                                          O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

No other form of worship on the face of this world has succeeded as did the Ibadat of Islam. None has fitted the purposes of religion and ideology as did the Ibadah of Islam. That is why no system of worship has ever lasted as long and why no other religion has been as universally, as consistent and identically observed as the Ibadah of Islam. This magnificent system of Ibadah is our free gift from Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala – to possess and appropriate and to teach to our children, our neighbours and to all man

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

The philosophy and the spirit of Hajj is that Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala has desired in His Infinite Mercy and eternal wisdom that the Ummah should get together at a specific time to commemorate and to recollect the soul-stirring actions performed by the Ambiya Alaihim Salaam, to those who had dedicated their lives to His Cause, to the martyrs who laid down their lives in His Path and to all obedient servants who took pains to follow the path of Seerathal Mustaqeem through all the prophets (Alayhim Salaam) who have been the true leaders of mankind.

O  BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

Throughout the past 14 centuries, the Ummah has continued to undertake the Most Auspicious journey of fulfilling Hajj with the dedicated aim of paying respect to the great signs of Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala and homage to the memory of Nabee Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam as well as to all the other Ambiya Alayim Salaam who were the founders and the builders of those great signs.

The love, the utmost humility and the deep dedication displayed by millions upon millions of Hajee’s on the days specified by Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala most certainly succeed in winning the forgiveness blessings and benedictions of their Most Glorious  and Exalted Creator.  This spirit is precisely behind the famous saying of our Beloved Nabee Muhammad Sallalahoo Alahi Wassallam when he said:

“On the Day of Arafat which falls on the 9th of Zil Hajj – 
when my Ummah assemble and sojourn in the valley of 
Arafat, Shaythaan Lanathullahi Alay suffers from the worst 
form of humiliation and insult when he beholds the scene of Hajj”.

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

The first house ever built by man on the face of this earth was the Baitullah in the City of Makkah.  When our father Nabee Adam Alahis Salaam descended to the Doonya, out of despair and loneliness, he prayed to Almighty Allah for peace of mind, Sabir, guidance and contentment. Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala in His Infinite Mercy and Bounty answered his prayers with Divine Orders to construct the first house of worship for mankind. Sayyidina Jibra’eel Ameen Alahis Salaam pointed out the exact spot where the Baitullah was to be constructed.

O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

With the great deluge at the time of Nabee Nooh Alahis Salaam, through Divine providence, the Ka’bah was lifted up to the first heaven by Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala’meen. Under Divine Orders, Nabee Ebrahim Alahis Salaam together with his beloved obedient son Nabee Ismail Alahis Alayhis Salaam were instructed to rebuild the Ka’bah on the exact spot where Nabee Adam had constructed the first house of Allah.

O BELOVED  HUJJAAJ!

Just as every earthly monarch holds an audience periodically to receive his loyal subjects in his presence, so does Almighty Allah Tabaraqa Wata’ala hold His High audience during Hajj to receive the Ummah of His Beloved Nabee Muhammad Sallalahoo Alayhi Wassallam in His August presence so that He may shower His unique blessings and favours upon them on this Most Holy occasion.
O BELOVED HUJJAAJ!

Hajj affords an occasion for the discernment of loyal from the disloyal and the obedient from the disobedient among the teeming millions who claim devotion to Almighty Allah Subahanahoo Wata’ala, His Din of Haqq and His Beloved Nabee Sallalahoo Alayhi Wassallam. The toilsome journeys undertaken by so many millions of Muslims from every corner of the world assumes the character of devoted worship of Almighty Allah Rabbul Ala’meen Who readily accepts the Taubah and repentance of every pilgrim who declares:

“Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik.” 
Having made us His Khulafa on this earth and invited us to act and to be the real Aqtab around which the world and history may say with all of us:  “All Praise is Only due to Almighty Allah – the Cherisher and Sustainer of all the Worlds”.

O Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala! Shower Your inexhaustible Grace and Infinite Mercy on all those who will be journeying to your Holy open Court, illuminate their hearts with insight, bestow upon them Your guidance; grant them the strength of the highest moral conscience, arm them with sincerity and a dedicated determination to improve the lot of the universal community of Believers and grant  and bless each and everyone of them with a Mabrook Hajj. Ameen! Ameen! Thumma Ameen Ya Rabbal Ala’meen!

And Almighty Allah is the All-Knowing.

And Peace be upon those who follow the Guidance.
The Truth is from Almighty Allah; the errors are all mine 
and I stand to be corrected.

Baarak Allaahu Feekum wa-sal-Allaahu wa-Sallam ‘alaa
Nabiyyina Muhammad sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.

A Joyous Jummah Mubarak to you and to all your loved one’s.
Was Salamualakum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhoo
Abdul Hamid Lachporia
Please be advised that you are more than welcomed to use and share 
my Khutbah’s for propagational purposes without my prior consent. 
جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا