Imam Baqir (a.s) said:
الحَجُّ والعُمرَةُ سوقَانِ من أسواقِ الآخِرَةِ؛ اللازِمُ لهُما مِن أضْيافِ اللهِ تعالى. إِنْ أبقَاهُ، أبقاهُ وَلا ذَنبَ لهُ، وإنْ أَماتَهُ، أَدخَلَهُ الجَنّةَ.
“Hajj and Umrah are two markets of the Hereafter. Those who enter into them are Allah’s guests. If Allah preserves his guest’s life, he will live free from sins and if He makes him die, he will be admitted into Paradise.”[20]
HAJJ PILGRIMS ARE GOD’S GUESTS
Imam Sadiq (a.s) said:
الحَاجُّ والمُعتمِرُ وِفدُ اللهِ؛ إِن سَأَلوهُ أَعطَاهُم وإِن دَعَوهُ أَجابَهُم وإِن شَفَعوا شَفَّعَهُم وإِن سَكَتوا ابتَدَأَهُم ويَعوَّضُونَ بالدِّرهَمِ الفَ الفِ دِرهَم.
“The performers of Hajj and umrah are Allah’s guests. If they ask, they will be given, if they pray, they will be answered, if they intercede, their intercession will be accepted, if they keep silent, they will be blessed, and they will be given a million dirhams for each one they have spent.”[21]
LOOKING AT THE KAABA IS BLESSING, TOO!
Imam Sadiq (a.s) said:
مَن نظَرَ الى الكَعبَةِ لم يَزَلْ تُكتَبُ لهُ حَسَنَةٌ وتُمحَى عنهُ سَيِّئَةٌ حَتّى يَنصَرفَ بَبَصَرِهِ عنهَا.
“Whoever looks at the Kaaba, rewards are written for him and his wrongdoings are written off until he takes his look away from it.”[22]
The Imam (a.s) also said:
مَن نظَرَ الى الكَعبَةِ كُتِبَتْ لهُ حَسَنَةٌ ومحِيَت عنهُ عشرُ سيّئاتٍ.
“Whoever looks at the Kaaba, a reward is written for him and ten of his wrongdoings are written off.”
THE PRECINCT OF THE KAABA IS SHOWERED WITH MERCY AND BLESSINGS
Imam Sadiq (a.s) says:
إِنَّ للهِ تعَالى حَولَ الكَعبَةِ عِشرينَ ومِائَةَ رَحمَةً؛ منها سِتُّونَ للطّائِفِينَ وأَربَعونَ لِلمُصَلّينَ وعِشرونَ للنّاظِرينَ.
“Allah sends down one hundred and twenty blessings in the precinct of the Kaaba; sixty for those who circumambulate, forty for those who worship, and twenty for those who look at it.”[23]
WHAT BLESSED ACT THE CIRCUMAMBULATION OF GOD’S HOUSE IS!
قَدِمَ رجُلٌ على أبي الحسَن (الإمام الكاظِم) عليه السلام فقال: قَدِمتَ حَاجاً؟
قال: نعم.
فقال: تدري ما للحَاجِّ؟
قال: لا.
قال: مَن قدِمَ حَاجّاً وطافَ بالبَيتِ وصَلّى رَكْعتَينِ كَتَبَ اللهُ لهُ سَبعين ألفَ حسنةً ومحَا عنهُ سَبعين ألفَ سيّئةً ورفعَ لهُ سَبعينَ ألفَ دَرَجَةً وشَفَّعَهُ في سَبعينَ ألفَ أهل بيتٍ وقضَى لهُ سَبعين ألف حاجةً وكتب له عِتقَ سبعين ألفَ رقبةً قيمةُ كلِّ رقبةٍ عَشَرَةُ آلاف دِرهَم.
A man came to Imam Kazim (a.s):
‘Are going on Hajj?’ the Imam asked.
‘Yes,’ said the man.
‘Do you know the rewards of Hajj?’ asked the Imam.
‘No,’ answered the man.
Then the Imam said:
‘Whoever comes to Mecca, circumambulates the Kaaba, and performs two Rak’at[24] of prayer, Allah will write seventy thousand rewards for him and write off seventy thousand of his wrongdoings, elevate him seventh thousand scales, accept his intercession for seventy thousand families, fulfill seventy thousand of his needs, and write for him the reward of setting free seventy thousand slaves worth ten thousand dirhams each.
As we have previously mentioned, the visitation of God’s House is a sign of man’s thankfulness to his Benefactor, a prerequisite for courtesy, man’s human quality, a cause of distinction from animals, and a means to win God’s favor and obtain all blessings in the world and the Hereafter. How inhuman it would be then for a man not to consider himself duty-bound to visit his Benefactor and to offer his thanks to Him! What is more inhuman is that God invites man to His House but man ignores such an invitation! Such heedlessness arises from the inner unbelief of one who “disbelieves, then surely Allah is Self-Sufficient above any need of the worlds. (The Holy Quran; 3:97)”
It is worth mentioning that according to the Holy Quran and traditions, unbelief has different stages one of which is disbelief in the secondary precepts. This kind of disbelief does not lead to abiding in Hell forever unless it arises from disbelief in the fundamentals of the religion. Such disbelief is equal to atheism and subject to abiding in Hell forever.
قَال: قُلتُ فَمَن لم يَحُجَّ منّا فقدْ كَفَرَ؟ قال: لا، ولَكِنْ مَن قَالَ ليسَ هَذا هَكَذا فَقدْ كَفَرَ.
It is related that Imam Kazim (a.s), as was asked about the forsaker of Hajj, said:
“The forsaker of Hajj is not unbeliever, but if a man denies that Hajj is obligatory, he is then unbeliever.”[25]
The late Faiz says: “The forsaker of Hajj is not unbeliever, for unbelief is related to ideology and not practice.”
He also says:
وإنمَّا يمُوتُ يهودِياً أَو نصرَانِياً لأنَّهُ لوِ اعتَقَدَها لأتَى بِها مَع عَدَمِ المانِعِ والاستِطاعَةِ وتَوَقُّعِ الفَوتِ بالمَوتِ.
“One who forsakes Hajj without having an excuse will die as a Jew or Christian because he would have performed Hajj had he believed in its obligation taking in consideration that he is able to do it and that he should have expected he might die at any moment before being able to perform it.”[26]
FORSAKERs OF HAJJ, on the day of judgment, are with JEWs OR CHRISTIANs
Addressing Imam Ali (a.s), the Holy Prophet (saw) says:
يا عليّ ، تارك الحجّ وهو مستطيع كافر ، يقول الله تبارك وتعالى : (وَلِلّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ).
يا عليّ ، مَن سوّف الحجّ حتّى يموت ، بعثه الله يوم القيامة يهوديّاً أو نصرانيّاً.
“O Ali, one who forsakes Hajj while having the means (to perform it) is unbeliever, for Allah Himself has said: ‘And pilgrimage to the House (Hajj) is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah, upon everyone who is able to undertake the journey to it; and whoever disbelieves then surely Allah is Self-Sufficient above any need of the worlds.’
O Ali, anyone who delays Hajj until he dies, Allah will raise him as Jew or Christian on the Day of Judgment.”[27]
Imam Sadiq (a.s) says:
مَن مَاتَ وَلم يحِجَّ حِجَّةَ الإسلامِ؛ لم يمْنَعْهُ مِن ذَلِك حاجَةٌ تُجحِفُ بهِ أَو مَرضٌ لا يُطيقُ فيهِ الحَجَّ أَو سُلطانٌ يمنعُهُ فَلْيمُتْ يَهودِيّاً أو نَصرانِياً.
“He who dies before he performs the obligatory Hajj while he was not too needy, too ill, or too persecuted to perform it will die as non-Muslim (i.e. Jewish or Christian).”[28]
Ghazali says:
فَأَعظِمْ بعِبادَةٍ يَعدِمُ الدينُ لِفَقدِها الكمالَ ويُساوي تاركُها اليهودَ والنّصارى في الضلالِ وذلِك هو الجهلُ المبينُ والخِزيُ الفَضيحُ.
“How excellent is the worship (of Hajj) by the lack of which the religion lacks perfection and the neglector of which becomes as same as Jews or Christians in terms of deviation—this is surely the evident ignorance and the scandalous infamy.”[29]
FORSAKER OF HAJJ WILL BE BLIND ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
... قَال: سَألتُ أبا الحَسنِ ( الإِمامَ الرِّضا) عليه السلام عن قَولِ اللهِ تعَالى "وَمَنْ كَانَ في هَذِهِ أَعْمَى فَهُوَ في الآخِرَةِ أَعْمَى وَأَضَلُّ سَبِيلاً" فقَالَ: نزَلتْ فِيمَن سَوَّفَ الحَجَّ حِجَّةَ الإِسلامِ وعِندَهُ ما يحِجُّ بهِ فقَالَ اَلعَامَ أَحِجُّ، اَلعَامَ أَحِجُّ، حتَّى يمُوتَ قَبلَ أنْ يحِجَّ.
…I asked Imam Reza (a.s) about the Quranic Verse, ‘And whoever is blind in this (world), he shall also be blind in the Hereafter; and more erring from the way. (17:71).’ The Imam (a.s) said:
This Quranic Verse is about one who delays Hajj despite having the means (to perform it) and keeps on saying, I will go on Hajj this year, but does not do until he dies.’[30]
