My Dear Readers,

At this very moment, during the blessed month of Dhul–Hijjah millions of pilgrims have started their journey of Hajj, the most important journey in a Muslim’s life. In this short script I want to sum up a few key points for us to remember about this blessed month of Dhul–Hijjah. Momentous events such as the blessed days of Hajj and the sacrifice of Ibrahim (As) for which the entire Muslim world is ordered to imitate his actions.

Before I delve into the blessed journey of Hajj, I want to draw your attention to some quotes from our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on the days of Dhul-Hijjah and its blessedness;

“There are no days during which the righteous action is so pleasing to Allah than these days (i.e. the first then days of Dhul-Hijjah)” (Bukhari)

In another hadith it mentions;

“There are no days more beloved to Allah that He be worshipped in them than the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah; fasting every day of them is the equivalent of fasting a year and standing every night of them (in prayer) is the equivalent of standing on the night of Qadr.” (Tirmidhi)

Now let’s talk about the Pilgrimage to Makkah, an epic journey. It’s the 5th and final pillar of Islam. One of the most anticipated events of the year for the Muslims as the billions globally yearn to be amongst the lucky few millions in makkah, dressed in 2 sheets of white, moistening their lips with the words “Labbaik, Allah humma labbaik!”: “Here I am, O Allah, Here I am!”

Hajj also summarises the dramatic story of our Deen.It reminds us about our primordial humannature: our Fitra. Fitra is our natural state, the way Allah made us. We were born innocent and pure, without sin. However, Allah also made us to be forgetful and we are easily distractible. It’s our tendency to lose focus and to forget which leads us to slide into sinful and shameful behaviour.

But then Hajj also offers redemption, divine mercy,and forgiveness. Allah reminds us never to despair of His Mercy. If we sincerely stop our bad behaviour and return to Allah’s obedience, His forgiveness is complete.

Hajj takes us on a journey back through time, retelling the moral and spiritual history of humankind. We visit the Kaaba, the first place of worship, built before the first church, before the first temple, or synagogue. Here we find ourselves at the Baytul-Laah, the House of Allah. It is the home of Monotheism, the cradle of Tawheed, of Divine Unity. Here we walk around the geographical centre of Islam, the Kaaba. This is the centre of our Islamic universe.

Our tawaaf symbolises effort, action, in a constant, circular motion, centred round a fixed and immovable idea of Unity: Just like the Kaaba, Tawheed. Unity of belief, Unity of purpose, stands firm amidst a swirl of individual opinions and different starting points.

The great plain of Arafat becomes the stage for a dramatic role-play of the very beginning and the very end: Long before time and space existed, Allah created our soul and the souls of every human being that ever was and ever will be. Then He asked them to testify according to themselves, by declaring the First Shahadah, the First Covenant. This was in the state of metaphysical time, or pre-Eternal Time. When Allah addressed the great assembled gathering of human souls, he asked them:

“Alastu bi Rabbikum?” “Am I not Your Lord?”   They all replied, in one thunderous voice, “Balaa shahidna”

“Yes, indeed! We testify to this, so that we have no excuse on the Day of Judgement to say that we were not aware of this (covenant).” [Sura Ar’af 7:172]

That was the very beginning. What about the very end? The great gathering on Arafah is our Day of Atonement. It’s also a dress rehearsal for the Day of Judgement, Yawmul qi-yaamah. This is how the entire human race will one day stand before Allah, awaiting the Final Judgement. In our simple ihram clothes, we cannot distinguish anyone’s wealth and social status. No one can see who is rich and who is poor; the president, the billionaire, the taxi driver, the teacher and the farmer all look exactly the same. This is exactly as Allah sees us. Allah isn’t looking at our social status or our designer clothes and expensive jewellery. Allah isn’t interested in what’s on the outside, only what’s inside.

Some narrations signifying the importance of the ay of Arafah are;

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said; “There is no day in which Allah saves more people from the fire than the Day of Arafah.” (Muslim)

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said; “Anyone who has an atom’s weight of faith in their heart will be forgiven by Allah on this day, whether or not they actually stand at Arafah.”

Hajj is an outward journey tracing the spiritual history of Islam. It is also the inward journey that we all must undertake, to find our own centre, in the Kaaba of our heart. What desires, what emotions and passions are still circling, making tawaaf around our spiritual heart? The spiritual heart, the qalb is truly the locus of our personality. This is our real driving force.

My dear readers, Dhul–Hijjah is also about killing the sense of “ownership” and proclaiming true love for Allah. We often say that we love Allah more than we love anyone or anything else. Do we really mean that? Do we really love Allah more than we love our families, more than our parents and children, more than our selfish egos?

Prophet Ibrahim (As) had a dream in which he was offering his son Ismail as a sacrifice to Allah. He told his son about the dream, and both father and son, being so devoted to Allah, they both agreed, and were prepared to follow Allah’s Will. But just as the sharpened knife was about to pierce Ismail’s jugular vein, Allah put a sheep in his place. Ismail’s life was spared. Both father and son proved their love and obedience to Allah. They passed the acid test of sincerity, ikhlaas.

Let us not forget the powerful message here. It’s easy to say, I love Islam, I love Allah and Prophet Muhammad pbuh. Talk is cheap, but where’s the evidence? How much are we willing to sacrifice for Allah?

In essence, Dhul–Hijjah epitomizes the word‘sacrifice’, whether for the lucky few millions on the journey of Hajj or for the billions at home through the deed of ‘Qurbani’. Each one of us is Ibrahim. Ibrahim has ‘Ismail’. So do we!

Our Ismail is our wealth. Our Ismail maybe our position or social status. Our Ismail may be our professional ‘Title’. Our Ismail maybe our ego or our love for the dunya. Our Ismail may even be someone we love or care about.

Ibrahim (As) wasn’t ordered to kill Ismail. Allah asked him to kill the sense of “ownership” because in essence, everything belongs to Allah.

May Allah the Almighty grant me the ability to understand the true meaning of Dhul-Hijjah. Ameen Yaa Rabb.