The Imams’ sayings act as warning to the ignorant ones that Hajj is the journey of soul, not distance. If a man’s soul gets into the state of Ihram, reaches the House of God, touches the Black Stone[63] with the hand of the heart, stays on Mount Arafat with full heart, stops in al-Mash’ar al-Haram with full soul, sacrifices the sheep of the carnal desires with the knife of certitude and submission (to the Lord), he has performed a true Hajj.
THE HAJJ OF PROPHET IBRAHIM (a.s), A SPIRITUAL ONE
Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) reached such a stage of contentment and submission (to the Lord) inspired by God that he was ready to sacrifice his son for his Lord. He rolled up his sleeves without hesitation, laid down his endeared son, put the sharp knife on his throat, and thought of nothing but carrying out God’s order. Such a degree of cognition of God is the result of his true spiritual journey.
He truly visited God’s House and out of sincerity took off the garment of pleasure and worldly inclinations from his soul and put on a garment of submission to God and said ‘Labbayk’ from the bottom of his heart, entered into the sanctuary, stayed in the lap of the mountain of cognition, immersed his senses in divine thoughts, and saw world ornaments as worthless pebbles. He took his son to the altar and put the knife on his throat in Mina saying to himself, ‘I turn my face to the direction of the One Who originated the heavens and the earth.’[64]
Reaching such a state requires traversing different stages including giving up pleasures, forgetting one’s desires, and throwing pebbles at the alluring Satan to a degree that God’s pleasure is considered above the life of even the endeared son.
CONTENT, NOT FORM, IS IMPORTANT
It is strange to see that people in everyday life look for truth and reality but when the religion and the Hereafter is concerned, they become content with form and external feature rather than true meanings. We never expect a sugarless piece of cake to taste sweet, but consider a prayer without the presence of heart as perfect, complaining to God that we have offered our prayer but we have not seen a positive effect!
A nourishing food or a trip of leisure leave certain effects, how is it then that a month-long fasting and being guest of God do not leave any effect on souls? How is it acceptable that we do not benefit by the supplications while we have the household of the Prophet -the Ahl ul-Bayt- (a.s) as the best spiritual food and the means for purification? How is it that a weak-long trip to the seaside changes our complexion, but seven-fold circumambulations of the Kaaba, visiting the graveside of the Holy Prophet (saw) and the Imams (a.s) do not change our souls?
As a matter of fact, if we take the title of Hajji off most of those who have been to Mecca, what emblem of Mecca, circumambulation, or touching the Black Stone do we see in them?
WHERE ARE THE TRUE FEATURE OF ISLAM AND THE EFFECT OF PROSTRATION?
Do Muslims not have, according to the Holy Quran, a special feature making them distinct from others, and that is the marks of prostration, humbleness, and submission to God? “…Their marks are in their faces because of the prostration. (The Holy Quran; 48:29)”
The effect of prostration alone in the face of a Muslim is not a sign of servitude; rather it should be seen in his business, culture, and all aspects of life. Regrettably, what is not seen in the life of the ummah is the true feature of Islam and the marks of prostration. In certain cases, the feature of unbelievers is seen in Muslims’ lives.
READ THE FOLLOWING REPORTS AND GET TO KNOW THE FEATURE OF A SHIITE MUSLIM
رُويَ عَن أميرِ المُؤمنِينَ عليهِ السلامُ أنّهُ خرجَ ذاتَ ليلةٍ منَ المسجِدِ – وكانتْ ليلةً قَمراءَ- فَأمَّ الجَبّانةَ ولحِقَهُ جماعةٌ يقفُونَ إِثرَهُ، فَوقفَ عليهِم ثمّ قال : مَن أنتم؟
قالوا : شيعتُكَ يا أميرَ المُؤمنِينَ.
فَتفَرّسَ في وجُوهِهِم ثمّ قال : فَما لي لا أَرى عليكُم سِيماءَ الشّيعةِ؟
قالوا : وما سِيماءُ الشّيعةِ يا أميرَ المُؤمنِينَ؟
قال : صُفرُ الوجوهِ من السَّهرِ، عُمشُ العيونِ من البُكاءِ، حُدبُ الظّهورِ من القِيامِ، خُمصُ البطونِ من الصّيامِ، ذُبلُ الشِّفاهِ من الدُّعاءِ، عليهِم غَبَرَةُ الخاشِعينَ.
It was narrated that, once, during a moonlit night, Imam Ali (a.s), coming out of the mosque, headed for wilderness. The crowd following him reached there. He asked about their identity, and they answered, ‘O Amir ul-Mu’mineen, we are your Shiites (followers). The Imam cast a deep look at them, saying, ‘How is it that I do not see any mark of Shiism on your faces?’
‘What are the marks of a Shiite Muslim?’ they asked, and the Imam (a.s) answered:
‘Those who are pale of keeping vigilance, weeping out of fear of Allah, bent out of too much standing for prayer, hungry due to fasting, dry-mouthed because of supplications, with marks of prostration in their faces.’[65]
This is another narration:
عن أبي عبدِاللهِ عليهِ السلامُ قالَ: كَانَ علِيُّ بنُ الحُسينِ عليهِ السلامُ قاعِداً في بيتِه إذ قَرعَ قومٌ عليهِ البابَ، فقالَ : يا جاريةُ انظُري مَن بالبابِ، فَقالوا : قَومٌ مِن شيعتِكَ. فَوثبَ عجلانَ حتّى كادَ أن يَقعَ، فَلمّا فتحَ البابَ ونظَر إليهِم رَجعَ وقال: كذِبوا فأَينَ السَّمْتُ في الوجوهِ ؟ أين أثَر ُالعِبادةِ؟ أينَ سِيماءُ السّجودِ؟ إنّما شِيعتُنا يُعرَفونَ بعبادتِهِم وشَعَثِهِم؛ قَد قَرِحتْ منهُم الآنافُ، ودَثرَت الجِباهُ والمَساجدُ. خُمصُ البُطونِ، ذُبلُ الشّفاهِ، قد هيّجَتِ العبادةُ وجوهَهُم، وأَخلَقَ سهرُ اللّيالي وقَطعُ الهَواجرِ جُثَثهُم، المُسبِّحونَ إذا سَكَتَ النّاسُ، والمُصَلّونَ إذا نامَ الناسُ، والمحَزُونونَ إذا فَرِح النّاسُ.
Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated: As he was sitting in his house, a group of people knocked the door at Imam Sajjad (a.s). He asked his slave girl to see who it was. They shouted, ‘It is a group of your Shiites.’ The Imam (a.s) jumped so hurriedly that he was about to fall down. When he opened the door, he took back and said, ‘They must be lying. Where is the mark of Shiism on their faces? Where are the marks of prostration on them? Our Shiites are known of fear of the Day of Judgment, their foreheads having the marks of prostration, being thin due to fasting, and dry-mouthed because of supplications. The prayer makes their faces wrinkled, keeping vigilance, and fasting on hot days make their bodies exhausted. When (other) people are at rest, they (the true Shiites) glorify Allah, when people are asleep, they are in prayers, and when people are merry making, they are sad.’[66]
The same God-fearing, enlightened people, in their love for the Hereafter, havefought the enemies of God throughout the history of Islam. They considered martyrdom in the way of God as the highest degree of happiness and the best means for affinity with God. We therefore realize that a true Shiite is pious and heedless of the worldly ornaments but does not live the life of a recluse. He stands against the oppressing powers with his strong faith and steadfastness. Describing such people, the Holy Quran says: “Those who fight in His way in ranks as if they were a firm and compact wall. (61:4)” Therefore, no one can say that the school based on piety, detachment from this world, prostration, and prayer fails to nurture heroes.
Nevertheless, we stand in prayer with our heart full of love for this world without God’s remembrance. We fast with a soul polluted with sins. We go on Hajj pilgrimage with illegally gotten money, abandon what is obligatory but do what is praiseworthy and expect the positive effects on our lives and wish to be among the angels at the same time!
Addressing to Jesus (a.s), God says:
يا عِيسَى، قُل لِظَلَمَةِ بني إسْرائِيلَ: لا تَدعُوني والسُّحْتُ تحتَ أَحضَانِكُم والأصْنامُ في بُيوتِكُم، فإِني آلَيتُ أنْ أُجيبَ مَن دَعانِي وأَنْ أجعَلَ إِجابَتي إيّاهُم لَعناً حتّى يَتفرَّقوا.
“O Jesus, tell the Israeli wrongdoers not to call upon Me while they have illegal riches under their arms and keep idols at home, for I have sworn I will answer one who calls upon Me. My answer to the call for these wrongdoers is to curse them until they part from one another.”[67]
يا عِيسَى، قُل لهُم قَلِّموا أَظفارَكُم مِن كَسْبِ الحَرامِ وأَصِمُّوا أَسماعَكُم مِن ذِكْرِ الخَنى وأَقبِلوا عَلَيَّ بِقلوبِكم فإِنّي لستُ أُريدُ صُورَكُم.
“O Jesus, tell them: Take your nails off illegal business, cover your ears from obscenity, and come to Me with full heart, for I certainly do not want your external faces.”[68]
A religious report says:
مَن حَجَّ مِن غَيرِ حِلِّهِ ثمّ لبّى قالَ اللهُ عزّ وجلّ له: لا لَبّيكَ ولا سَعدَيكَ حتّى تَرُدّ ما في يَديكَ.
“Whoever goes on Hajj with illegal money when saying Labbayk, Allah will say: I will not accept your ‘Labbayk’ until you return the money to its owner.”[69]
Imam Sadiq (a.s) says:
“How much wailing and how few devoted hajjis are!”[70]
(In other words, the noise of the performers of Hajj is extremely loud but, unfortunately, real performers of Hajj are very few.)
WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF SKEPTICISM
Skepticism about religious laws made by certain individuals has different motivations. Part of it is by prejudiced and malevolent individuals aimed at diluting Muslims’ ideology so as to carry out their destructive plots in the Islamic society and to attain their satanic goal. Another part arises from ignorance of the truth and philosophy of the heavenly teachings. These skeptics see the external face but they are unaware of the philosophy behind them. These people are ignorant, arrogant, egotist, and unwilling to understand the philosophy of the religion
