In the Name of Allah, the Loving, the Love-Giving<\/p>\n
The ultimate destination
\nYou\u2019re the luckiest person in the world. Allah has invited you personally to His House.
\nWhat is Hajj? Hajj in the Arabic language means aim, destination or purpose (qasd).
\nThe reason is clear: Hajj is the ultimate journey of loving submission (\u2018ubudiyah) and
\nconscious surrender (riq) to Allah. Its ultimate destination is your encounter with the
\nHouse of Allah (Bayt al-Allah) \u2013 the Ka\u2018bah \u2013 with both your physical body and, more
\nimportantly, your heart (qalb).
\nIbn al-Jawzi (rahimah al-Allah) relates a story of an old, blind woman who was
\njourneying to Hajj years ago with a caravan. Throughout the journey, she keeps asking:
\n\u201cAre we at the house of my Lord?\u201d Time and again, she is told, \u201cNo, mother, we are not
\nthere yet.\u201d As the caravan nears Makkah, she is informed that they are almost there.
\nFinally, they enter Masjid al-Haram. She is led to the Ka\u2019bah. Touching the Ka\u2019bah,
\nshe cries, \u201cBaytu rabbi? The House of my Lord?\u201d Weeping, she clings to the cloth of the
\nKa\u2019bah \u2013 and dies.
\nThe woman realized with her heart (qalb) the true significance of visiting the House of
\nher Lord.
\nAllah has invited you to His House, which He has called the Bayt al-\u2018Atiq \u2013 the ancient,
\nliberated and liberating house. Your journey is one of freedom and liberation. For as
\nyour body leaves its material house to journey to Allah\u2019s House, your heart is meant to
\ndisengage from the lower self (nafs), the shaytan, and the world (dunya) and journey to
\nAllah.<\/p>\n
\nThe ultimate reward for a Hajj mabrur is to return home with the purity of a newborn
\nchild. What could be a greater incentive! But beware, for Hajj is a selective process.
\nOnly a few will attain a Hajj mabrur, which is a Hajj performed correctly, without any
\ndisobedience to Allah and without indulging in any argumentation. Be prepared. Be
\nvigilant. Be focused. This will be one of the greatest \u2013 and sweetest \u2013 struggles of your
\nlife. And though you will long and dream for the rest of your life to come back, you may
\nnever return again.
\nMay Allah allow our bodies to journey to His House; may He permit our hearts to find
\nHim, the Lord of the House. Ameen.
\n* This work is a general summary of a series of lectures by Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui
\non the internal dimensions of Hajj. The audio series (as well as the more recent 2006
\nseminar) may be ordered at www.zawiyah.net. I ask for your indulgence regarding any
\nerrors in this summary. I would request that readers please remember Shaykh Mokhtar
\nMaghraoui in their supplications during Hajj \u2013 as well as the summarizer).
\n2
\nThe most sacred space
\nYou will be journeying from your earthly house to Makkah, your spiritual home, the most
\nbeloved place to Allah in all of space and time. Allah himself has decreed it to be so since
\nthe beginning of creation. There is no place more blessed, more beautiful, more virtuous,
\nmore exalted than Makkah. Every inch and every corner of Makkah is a haram, a
\nsanctuary made sacred by Allah. The more you revere Makkah, the more you will be
\nennobled by Allah. We must take the greatest of care to never think casually of our
\nsojourn in Makkah or live within its precincts in disobedience or negligence.
\nSome reports teach that it was in Makkah that our father Adam (\u2018alayhi al-salam) longed
\nto go back to paradise and be in the presence of Allah. To console his loneliness, Allah
\ncommanded him to do tawaf around the space of the current Ka\u2018bah. And Adam did, and
\nfelt whole again.
\nOther texts teach that Nuh (\u2019alayhi al-salam), Ibrahim (\u2019alayhi al-salam), and many
\nProphets before them (\u2019alayhim al-salam), all did tawaf around Allah\u2019s sacred House.
\nTheir spiritual energy and legacy fills the air. You will be walking in the footsteps and
\nthe heart-steps of Rasulullah (sallalahu \u2019alayhi wasallam) and his noble companions.
\nShelter, solace and sight
\nHajj and its rites are described in various and powerful ways by Allah and his Rasul
\n(sallalahu \u2019alayhi wasallam). Through these descriptions, we gain insight into the deeper
\nmeanings of Hajj. The rites of hajj are described, for example, as manasik, masha\u2018ir and
\nmashahid.
\nMansak (plural manasik), usually translated as ritual, connotes shelter (maskan) and
\ntranquility (sukun). The rites of Hajj are residences of shelter and tranquility for the heart.
\nMash\u2018ar (plural masha\u2018ir) connotes feeling and experience. The rites of Hajj cause the
\nheart to feel and experience the sweetness of nearness to Allah.
\nMashad (plural mashahid) is to witness with the heart the blessings of Allah at every
\nstation \u2013 to see, with one\u2019s inner sight, Allah\u2019s will as the Decreer of decrees and the
\nCauser of causes.
\nEach word connotes a different inner dimension of Hajj, as the movement, not only of
\nyour body or limbs, but of your heart. For as your body journeys from one place to
\nanother, so too must your heart travel through various stations (maqamat), each of which
\nwill provide it with shelter, solace and inner sight.
\n3
\nBecome angelic
\nHajj is your chance to become an angel and to live with the delight of an angel.
\nIn tawaf, you will be mirroring the worship of the angels, the mala\u2019ikah, those heavenly
\ncreatures created of pure light and enveloped in the worship of Allah. Texts teach that
\nthe Ka\u2018bah is connected in an imperceptible way to the Bayt al-Ma\u2018mur, the heavenly
\nKa\u2018bah of the angels, around which they are constantly in tawaf. Seventy thousand
\nangels perform tawaf around this house and are replaced with others, never to return.
\nAround the Ka\u2018bah, we are in a heavenly dimension. Near the Ka\u2018bah are the Hajr al-
\nAswad, or black stone, and the Maqam Ibrahim, both gems from jannah. We are taught
\nthat the hajr was darkened by the sins and transgressions of man. Its heavenly light is
\nnow folded from us. The hajr will be personified in the afterlife by Allah and will
\nwitness on behalf of those who approached it with truth and sincerity. The hajr can be
\nsaid to take a picture recording of your heart as you stand before it. Kissing the hajr is
\nthe most profound renewal of your covenant with Allah and a pledge of love, dedicated
\nobedience and soulful allegiance to Him.
\nTHE JOURNEY BEGINS
\nEntering into Ihram
\nAs you near the miqat, your heart will tremble and tremor. Is this really happening? Is
\nmy heart getting closer and closer to His House? Soon you will enter Allah\u2019s haram. It
\nis only fitting that you enter into a state, both externally and internally, that justly
\ncorresponds to this honour. Beyond the miqat, there is only talbiyah.
\nThe essence of Hajj is the journey of our hearts away from the house of our lower selves
\n(nufus) with its passions (shahawat), inclinations (ahwa\u2019) and attachment to the created
\nworld (khalq) to the haram and, ultimately, the House of Allah. We must leave our
\nattachments to receive the greatest connection. We must leave to arrive.
\nIhram is from haram. Both meanings, to be sacred and to be forbidden, are carried in it.
\nThrough the ihram, the heart is meant to leave the temporary and the finite \u2013 to make it,
\nin a sense, \u201cforbidden\u201d \u2013 and to prepare for the sacred audience of Allah\u2019s presence.
\nThe muhrim has disengaged from everything and anything that distracts him or her from
\nAllah and, consequently, from remembrance, peace and stillness. The muhrim has left
\nhis or her home taking taqwa or Allah-consciousness, the best sustenance, as a provision.
\nBeginning Talbiyah
\nOne enters into ihram with talbiyah. Talbiyah is the heart\u2019s most profound surrender to
\nthe invitation and call of Allah: Here I come to You, my Lord, here I come \u2013 fully and
\nforever.
\n4
\nWith the talbiyah, we proclaim that no associate (sharik) or attachment will distract us
\nfrom seeking Allah. Our hearts will not see, hear, obey, or be lured to another, besides
\nHim. The recitation of this talbiyah is to be said with constancy and conviction, and not
\nintermittently and infrequently. Talbiyah is essential to focusing our hearts. It will
\nremind us of the purpose of our journey; it will facilitate us in foregoing our rights,
\ndemands and expectations while yet rendering fully the major and minor rights of others;
\nit will dispel distractions; and it will make all obstacles easy, even pleasurable.
\nThere is no praise (hamd) and no dominion and power (mulk) except that Allah owns it.
\nEverything, whether tangible or intangible, belongs to Him. In fact, we are in praise of
\nHim by Him.
\nMuna
\nMina, or Muna, means desire, hope, longing.
\nSome texts teach that it was in Muna that Adam ( \u2018alayhi al-salam) longed and desired to
\njourney back home to paradise and to be, once again, in Allah\u2019s presence.
\nIt is in Muna that the journey begins. The day spent in Muna, termed the day of tarwiyah
\n(meaning, in part, to quench, to drink to one\u2019s fill), is meant for our heart to focus on the
\naim of their journey, to gather in resolution and focus, and to begin our inner momentum
\ntowards the House of Allah.
\n\u2018Arafat
\n\u2018Arafat means to know, to understand. Another verb scale conveys the meaning of
\nperfuming, making fragrant, scenting. \u2018Arafat is the essential pillar (rukn), of Hajj;
\nwithout \u2018Arafat there is no Hajj.
\n\u2018Arafat is the cleansing station outside the haram where we stand and seek forgiveness
\nfor all that we\u2019ve committed in our lives. We beg and implore Allah to make us worthy
\nof entering into His haram, visiting His House and being in His presence.
\nHere, on \u2018Arafat, we learn two things. As we acknowledge our disobedience, our sins,
\nour rebelliousness and our forgetfulness, we know our unworthiness as true servants. We
\nreveal everything to Allah, minor or major, Who knows already but simply wants us to
\nadmit with true transparency and sincerity what we is inside of our selves. Moreover, we
\nbegin to know the all-enveloping knowledge, the inestimable mercy, the boundless
\ngenerosity and the limitless grace of Allah in forgiving and effacing our sins. Who is it,
\nbeside Him, that can forgive and that does forgive? There is no refuge or flight from
\nAllah except to Him.
\nAllah celebrates, in the presence of the angels, the hujjaj on \u2018Arafat asking for
\nforgiveness. And He affirms to the angels that, yes, He has forgiven them.
\n5
\nNow, as the sun begins to set, you continue, perfumed and scented with the purity of
\nAllah\u2019s grace and forgiveness, ever closer to His haram.
\nMuzdalifa
\nMuzdalifa, from the Arabic root izdilaf, means to approach, to get closer.
\nMuzdalifa is a second station of cleansing and purification. The pilgrim is now closer to
\nthe Ka\u2018bah. We remain in supplication (du\u2018a\u2019) after fajr, imploring Allah again for
\npardon and guidance. Some scholars have said that in Muzdalifa, Allah also forgives our
\nviolations against the rights of others. Such violations are not usually forgiven unless, in
\naddition to seeking forgiveness, we remedy what has been violated.
\nMuna and the casting of the pebbles
\nDuring the Hajj of Ibrahim (\u2018alayhi al-salam), he was commanded to sacrifice his son.
\nAllah, of course, never intended that the slaughter take place. Allah wanted, instead, to
\npurify and free Ibrahim (\u2018alayhi al-salam) from every love and every attachment besides
\nHim.
\nIt was in Muna that the shaytan attempted to waylay Ibrahim (\u2018alayhi al-salam) from
\nsacrificing his son. Ibrahim (\u2019alayhi al-salam) casted pebbles at the shaytan to reject his
\ndesigns and prompting.
\nIn casting the pebbles, the pilgrim affirms Allah\u2019s greatness over everything and
\ncovenants with Allah that he or she will never regress to anything which displeases Him.
\nCasting the pebbles is the casting away of shaytan, the lower self (nafs) with its desires,
\ninclinations and evil, and, ultimately, casting away everything besides Allah. The pebble
\nis meant, not to hit the pillar, but to fall inside the container, or majmar, where it will
\nremain. The fire of the nafs, its impetus to evil, must be cast out, contained and confined.
\nOur nafs must be jailed for us to become free.
\nAfter the nafs is jailed by the casting of the pebbles, it is slaughtered. The sacrifice of the
\nanimal signifies the slaughter of the nafs by Ibrahim (\u2018alayhi al-salam). Ibrahim\u2019s
\n(\u2018alayhi al-salam) sacrifice was momentous: he sacrificed his very will. Ibrahim was
\nnamed the Khalil (cherished friend) of Allah because his love for Allah pierced and
\nconsumed his entire heart.
\nThe hair \u2013 signifying status, station and pride \u2013 is now shaved. Whatever remaining trace
\nand residue of the disobedient nafs is now completely cleansed.
\nNow, the pilgrim is welcomed by Allah to visit His Haram and His House. He or she is
\nnow freed from ihram, but not completely. Washing and the use of perfume are now
\npermitted; intimate relations are not. Approaching one\u2019s spouse is unbefitting
\nconsidering that now the pilgrim is going to visit the Host.
\n6
\nTawaf al-Ifadah
\nIfadah means to flood, to rush, to move.
\nThe movement from \u2018Arafat to the haram is called ifadah. The rite of tawaf that takes
\nplace after the casting of the pebbles, the sacrifice and the shaving of the head is likewise
\ntermed Tawaaf al-Ifadah.
\nThe heart (qalb), cleansed and purified from its attachments, inundated with love, desire
\nand longing, floods to the haram, to the House, and to its Lord. There, it
\ncircumambulates the House and renews its pledge of complete and loving submission.
\nSa\u2018i between Safa and Marwa
\nSa\u2018i means to work, to strive, to act.
\nWe remember in sa\u2018i the actions of Hajar (\u2018alayha al-salam) as she climbed, walked and
\nran up both Safa and Marwa looking for sustenance for her starving child. The miracle of
\nZam zam was gifted to Hajar for her efforts and sincere reliance. Rasulullah (sallalahu
\n\u2018alayhi wasallam) teaches that if we drink zam zam with firm faith and certainty, Allah
\nwill most definitely answer our supplication.
\nAs servants of Allah, we are embedded in time and space. We must act, all the while
\ncognizant that it is Allah who creates both cause and effect. To see waves upon waves of
\npilgrims walking and running between Safa and Marwa is to recognize that the reality of
\nour life is constant sa\u2018i between struggle and reward, struggle and reward. On the hills of
\nSafa and Marwa, where the pilgrim alights in reflection and supplication, the heart exalts,
\nseeing Allah\u2019s power in all matters, yours and others, large or small.
\nThe days and nights of Muna
\nDuring our stay in Muna, we re-affirm and re-declare our desire and hope for spiritual
\nfreedom by casting pebbles for three days. Each casting of the pebbles cements our
\nresolution to contain and confine both the lower self (nafs) and shaytan.
\nYou remain in Muna as Allah\u2019s guest. Here, we must eat and drink with the
\nconsciousness of a guest in front of a Most-Magnanimous Host. The greatest
\nnourishment during these days, as Allah himself indicates, is His dhikr, or remembrance.
\nWe are destined to leave but Allah intends we leave gradually, in gratitude to Him,
\nremembrance of Him and gathering a firm resolution for permanent change when we
\ndepart.
\nThen the last pebble is cast. Our final farewell is imminent.
\n7
\nThe farewell
\nMost have waited their entire lives for the encounter with the House of Allah. Many will
\nnever return. In truth, there is no certainty that any of us will ever gaze on the Ka\u2018bah
\nagain.
\nWhether we return or not, we will never forget. It is said \u2013 and it is true \u2013 that the Ka\u2018bah
\nbeckons you from afar, then haunts you forever.
\nIt is related that Ibn \u2018Abbas prayed this as his final farewell, clinging with his entire being
\nto the multazam, the wall of the Ka\u2018bah between the hajr and the door:
\nO Allah
\nThis House is Your House
\nAnd this servant is Your servant, and the son of Your servants
\nYou have carried me here on what You have made accessible to me of Your creation
\nUntil You have made me reach, by Your grace, Your House
\nAnd You have helped me fulfill my rites of Hajj
\n(O Allah)
\nIf You have been pleased with me, then be more pleased with me
\nAnd if You are not pleased with me, then I implore you to be generous to me now \u2013
\nBefore my house becomes distant from Your house
\nFor now it is time for my departure, if You permit me \u2013
\nNever to exchange You for anything else, nor Your House for any other house
\nNot being desirous of others instead of You, nor of any other house besides Your House
\nO Allah,
\nGrant me safety and good health in my body, protection in my religion and allow me a
\nbeautiful return
\nAnd provide me with deeds and acts of Your obedience for as long as You grant me life
\nAnd gather for me the best of this world and the next
\nFor truly You have power over all things.
\nA mother once told her son that the Ka\u2018bah says: The one who does not see me will never
\nrest; and the one who sees me will never rest.
\nMay our hearts find their ultimate rest by journeying to Allah long after our bodies have
\nreturned from Hajj. May we always be in Hajj.
\nHajj mabrur, my beloved brother and sister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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