فإذا قَضَيْتُم مَناسِكَكُم فَاذْكُرُوا اللهَ كَذِكْرِكُم آبائَكُم أوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْراً.
“So when you have performed your devotions, then laud Allah as you lauded your fathers, rather a greater lauding. The Holy Quran; 2:200)”
We have already discussed how the physical acts of the Hajj rites represent the spiritual stations of perfect human beings who attain affinity with God and live a prosperous life in both this world and the Hereafter. Now that we have completed the Hajj rites, we should see whether we have gone through a spiritual change or not.
PEOPLE OF THE PRE-ISLAMIC ERA PERFORMED HAJJ, TOO
Reading history, we find out that the Arabs in the pre-Islamic era performed Hajj as follows: During the Hajj season, after performing the usual rites and sacrificing animal, gathered in Mina, started vying with each other in glory and boasted of having such and such fathers and ancestors. They were so business-minded that even in the gatherings held in Arafat and Mina under the name of Hajj, they were thinking of increasing their profits, boasting their business and living an aristocratic life. What they lacked and what was meaningless of them was moral virtues and spiritual perfection. They were an example of a people described by the Holy Quran:
قُلْ هَلْ نَنَبِّؤُكُمْ بِالأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالاً. الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعاً
“Say: Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in their deeds? These are they whose labor is lost in this world's life and they think that they are well versed in skill of the work of hands. (18:103-4)”
They were thinking only of the worldly wealth and ignored the spiritual aspect of Hajj. In this relation, the Holy Quran says:
فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُمْ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلاقٍ. وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
“But there are some people who say, Our Lord! Give us in the world, and they shall have no resting place... And there are some among them who say: Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire. They shall have (their) portion of what they have earned. (2:201-2)”
O PILGRIMS OF THE SACRED HOUSE
O pilgrims of the Sacred House, come to yourselves, for the heavenly call of the Holy Quran echoes in the ears of our soul: O Couriers of God’s House who have taken off your worldly garment and have given positive response to your Lord! O you who stay in Arafat, al-Mash’ar, and Mina! O you who stone Satan to death! O you who sacrifice the animal of concupiscence! O you who remove vices by shaving your head and clipping your nail! O you who renew your pledge with God by caressing the Black Stone! Do not forget your covenant and remember God a great deal! Remember the following Quranic Verse throughout your life:
اَلْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَعْلُومَاتٌ فَمَنْ فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ الحَجَّ فَلا رَفَثَ وَلا فُسُوقَ وَلا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللهُ وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُولِي الألْبَابِ.
“The pilgrimage is (performed in) the well‑known months; so whoever determines the performance of the pilgrimage therein, there shall be no intercourse nor fornication nor quarrelling amongst one another; and whatever good you do, Allah knows it; and make provision, for surely the provision is the guarding of oneself, and be careful (of your duty) to Me, O men of understanding. (2:197)”
