A pilgrim has to hold his tongue, for a great number of man’s sins results from his tongue. A man’s deeds can be ruined as a result of a slip of tongue. The Holy Prophet (saw) says:
وهَل يَكُبُّ الناسَ عَلى مَناخِرِهِم في النّارِ إلاّ حصائِدُ ألسِنَتِهِم؟ لا يَستَقيمُ اِيمانُ عَبدٍ حتّى يَستَقيمَ قَلبُهُ، ولا يَستَقيمُ قَلبُهُ حتّى يَستَقيمَ لِسانُهُ. رَحِمَ اللهُ عَبداً تَكَلّم خَيراً فَغَنِمَ أو سَكتَ عن سوءٍ فَسَلِم.مَن كانَ يؤمِنُ باللهِ واليَومِ الآخَرِ فليقُلْ خَيراً أو لِيسكُتْ.
“Has the people’s being thrown into the Fire (of hell) on their faces been for any reason other than their tongues? The faith of a servant of Allah will not become straight unless his heart is straight and his heart is not straight unless his tongue is straight. Allah may have mercy upon a servant who speaks good words and enjoys its blessings, refrains from speaking indecent words and is safe from its sinister consequence. He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must say good wording or keep silent.”[90]
Therefore, it is incumbent on the pilgrims to be careful about what they say and not to invalidate their great acts. They must refrain from telling lies, backbiting, swearing, taking oaths, self-praising, finding faults with others, mocking, joking, and vexing others.
اَلْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَعْلُومَاتٌ فَمَنْ فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ الحَجَّ فَلا رَفَثَ وَلا فُسُوقَ وَلا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ.
“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 quarreling amongst one another. (The Holy Quran; 2:197)”
The Holy Prophet (saw) says:
إنَّ الرّجُلَ لَيَتكلّمُ بكَلِمةٍ فَيُضحِكُ بها جُلُسائَهُ يَهوِي بِها أَبعَدَ مِن الثُّـرَيّا.
“On many occasions, a man may say something to make his companions laugh but as a result of the same words he will go far from Allah’s mercy as much as the distance between the earth and the heavens.”[91]
مَن صَمَتَ نَجا
“Whoever keeps silent will be delivered.”[92]
Jesus Christ (a.s) is quoted as saying:
لا تُكثِروا الكَلامَ في غَيرِ ذِكْرِ اللهِ فإنّ الذِينَ يُكثِرونَ الكَلامَ في غَيرِ ذِكرِ اللهِ قاسِيةٌ قُلوبُهُم ولكِن لا يَعلَمونَ.
“Do not speak too much save in remembering Allah, for those who speak too much but do not remember Allah are hardhearted but they do not know.”[93]
Therefore, a pilgrim should keep on remembering God and pronouncing His Names. To be reckless in a state of Ihram, to let eyes, ears, and tongues free to do what they wish, to insult the cook, the courier, and the co-travelers means to dishonor the Host in His House. We seek refuge to God from ignorance.
O brethren of sincerity and God’s confidants, let us say Labbayk from the bottom of our hearts in unison: Yes, here I am, O Lord, here I am. Here I am, there is no partner for You, here I am.
وَلْيَطَّوَّفُوا بِالْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ
“… And let them go round the Ancient House. (The Holy Quran; 22:29)”
We now enter the city of Mecca where the Messenger of God was born and the Holy Quran was revealed. It is the descending place of the revelation and the angels. It is a city of security. Its safety has covered both plants and animals. No one has the right to cut off a plant, to harm an animal even to scare away the birds form their nests. For this reason, the birds of the Sacred Mosque are accustomed to bet people and fly here and there without being scared. This, by itself, shows the spread of overall justice in the world of Islam to the extent that even plants and animals are secure from aggression let alone the human beings who have superior rights.
Mecca, the Mother of cities, is the birthplace of the real civilizations of human beings, a civilization devoid of corruption, indecency, and plundering, a civilization that generates godly, trustworthy, truthful, faithful, and pious human beings. Such a civilization produced the Holy Quran that has its rise from the horizon of Mecca. Therefore, Mecca is the mother of the cities where actual humanity lived. Mecca is the generator of a magnificent human civilization devoid of bestiality. Mecca is the city of monotheism, a sacred center, which houses the Ancient House, the ancient temple as well as the international Muslims’ Kiblah.
We now go through the streets of Mecca, though overcrowded but dignified and tranquillizing, and approach the Sacred Mosque. We see the flood of pilgrims pour into the magnificent Mosque and enthusiastically go towards the Kaaba through different gates opened to the guests of God. We, too, enter the Mosque and our eager look falls on the Kaaba, and edifice of glory and majesty having its head in heaven, casting its shade upon God’s servants and spreading its lap to give comfort to God’s guests who have come here from distant places with much trouble.
Like moths attracted to bright lights, the pilgrims, fascinated by the Kaaba, go round and embrace it as the dearest one, expressing their need to the One Who is free from want. They are deeply impressed by the scene. They start weeping and praising the House of God:
الحَمدُ للهِ الّذي عَظَّمكَ وشَرَّفَكَ وكَرَّمَكَ وجَعلكَ مَثابَةً للنّاسِ وأَمْناً، مُبارَكاً وهُدىً للعالمينَ.
“Praise is due to Allah Who gave you dignity and honor making you pilgrimage for men and place of security, blessed and guidance for the people of the world.”[94]
Yes, this is the House of the Lord of the heavens and the earth. It is a house whose magnificence makes the kings’ hearts sink and whose majesty and awe made the prophets prostrate themselves before it saying:
سائِلُكُ فَقيرُكَ مِسكينُكَ بِبابِكَ فَتَصَدّقْ عليهِ بالجَنّةِ
“O Lord, Your humble, poor, and needy servant has come to Your House. Do him favor by giving a portion of Paradise to him.”[95]
اللّهُمّ البيتُ بيتُكُ والحَرَمُ حَرَمُكَ والعَبدُ عَبدُكَ
“O Lord, the House is Yours, the Sanctuary is Yours, the servant too is Yours.”[96]
IMAM BAQIR BY THE SIDE OF THE KAABA
Aflah, the slave whom was set free by Imam Baqir (a.s) reports:
I was accompanying Imam Bqir (a.s) during Hajj. When he entered the Sacred Mosque and his look fell on the Kaaba, he was overwhelmed by weeping. I said, ‘My parents be ransoms for you, people are watching you, can you not lower your voice to a whisper?’ The Imam answered, ‘O Aflah, this is Allah’s House, why should I not be weeping? Perhaps He will look at me favorably making me delivered in the Hereafter.’
The Imam then circumambulated the Kaaba, performed the Tawaf Prayer in its proper place, and went into prostration. When he raised his head, I saw that his forehead was wet with tears.[97]
BEWARE, THIS IS THE PRECINCT OF THE KAABA, AND A HOLY PLACE
This is the place before which all the prophets from Adam (a.s) to the seal of the prophets (saw) as well as the immaculate Imams were humble, made circumambulation, and prostrated themselves. Traditions say that after the descending of Adam (a.s) –from Paradise-, God made a dome of white pearl in the present place of the Kaaba for him to circumambulate it. The dome survived until the time of Noah’s flood when God took it to the heavens. Since then, the site of the Kaaba became a place for circumambulation for the prophets (a.s) until the time of Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) who was missioned by God to build the Kaaba.
وإِذْ بَوّأْنا لإِبراهِيمَ مَكانَ البَيتِ
“And when we assigned to Ibrahim the place of the House. (The Holy Quran; 22:26).
وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبَرَاهِيمُ القَواعِدَ مِنَ البَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ
“And when Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundations of the House. (The Holy Quran; 2:127)”
With the passage of time, the Kaaba was sometimes completely or partially subject to changes. Yet it continued to survive with its majesty and glory and the ummah is enjoying its blessings.
SURVIVAL OF THE KAABA, A WONDER
It is a wonder that all the royal palaces built throughout history have been demolished but the Kaaba, a house built of mud and stone about four thousand years ago by Prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail (a.s) in a parched land is still upright and will continue to be loved by human beings until the Day of Judgment.
What is more wonderful is the attraction of this House. So many glorious and majestic buildings in the world are found in areas of good climate, but the Kaaba attracts people to itself without having means of entertainment or being satisfying people’s pleasure. The reason however is natural. It is God Himself Who has created this attraction in people’s hearts through Prophet Ibrahim’s supplication:
وَأَذِّنْ في النَّاسِ بالحَجِّ يأْتُوكَ رِجَالاً وَعَلى كُلِّ ضَامِرٍ يأْتِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ.
“And proclaim among men the pilgrimage: they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path. (The Holy Quran; 22:27)”
A quotation from Imam Sadiq (a.s) refers to the same secret:
لمّا أُمِرَ إبرَاهِيمُ وإسْماعِيلُ عَليهِما السّلامُ ببناءِ البَيتِ وتَمَّ بِناؤهُ قَعَدَ إِبراهيمُ عَلى رُكْنٍ ثُمّ نادَى: هَلُمّ الحَجَّ، هَلُمّ الحَجَّ... فَلَبّى النّاسُ في أصْلابِ الرّجالِ لَبَّيكَ دَاعِيَ اللهِ لَبّيكَ داعِيَ اللهِ عزّ وجَلّ. فَمَن لبّى عَشْراً يحِجَّ عَشراً ومَن لَبّى خمْساً يحِجَّ خمْساً ومَن لَبّى أكثَرَ مِن ذلكَ فَبِعَدَدِ ذلكَ ومَن لَبّى واحِداً حَجَّ واحِداً ومََن لم يُلَبِّ لم يحِجَّ.
“When Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (a.s) were assigned to build the House and they completed it, Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) sat on a pillar calling people to Hajj. Then people in men’s loins gave a positive response to the call of Allah. Whoever said Labbayk for ten times performs ten times of Hajj, whoever said for five times performs five times of Hajj, whoever said more performs more, and whoever said Labbayk once performs only one time of Hajj and one who did not say Labbayk performs no Hajj.”[98]
