The journey of Hajj is in fact a great\nmigration; it is a divine journey. \nIndeed it is a grand opportunity to construct and re-establish one\u2019s\nmorally through its holy war against desire. The rituals done in the pilgrimage\nto Mecca for Hajj, resembles the memories of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), his son:\nIshmael (PBUH), and his wife: Hajar. If we neglect these memories, a greater\npart of Hajj will yet remain a mystery for us. \nYes, the answer to this mystery can be found in the quest of Prophet\nIbrahim (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within this pilgrimage, when we reach\nthe land of Mina, to our surprise we will see many animals that have been\nslaughtered. So many sacrifices! What are they for? How can slaughtering an animal be a part of\nworship?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, when we remember the incident\nof Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), and how he was about to sacrifice his son, his most\nbeloved, to obey the command of Allah, the reason behind the tradition of\nsacrifice in Hajj becomes a bit clearer. Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) passed yet\nanother test, and he was exempted from killing his son, instead Allah (SWT)\nsent an animal for Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) to sacrifice in the way of Allah (SWT). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sacrifice is the secret of leaving\neverything in the way of the Lord. Sacrificing for Allah (SWT) represents the\npurifying of one\u2019s heart from all else but the remembrance of Allah (SWT). And\nthus, we will be able to understand the depths of this act only when the\nrelationship of this father and son with their Lord during the moment of\nsacrifice is presented in our souls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we reach Jamaraat (three large\ncolumns that pilgrims need to throw seven small stones at each rock) we may\nwonder about the point of such an act. What problem does this act resolve? A\ndeeper look however, reminds us that these acts recall the memories of Ibraham\n(PBUH) when fighting against the Satan. It was when the Satan tried to stop\nIbrahim (PBUH) from performing Allah\u2019s (SWT) orders. The Satan revealed himself\nto Ibrahim (PBUH) three times to weaken him and create doubt in his heart.\nIbrahim (PBUH) tried to keep Satan away by throwing stones at him. Once we bear\nthese memories in mind, certainly then will we understand more about this part\nof Hajj.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This ritual is implying that everyone\nwill confront evil throughout his life. The evil will not stay away from us\nunless we further it. If we expect to receive peace and blessings from Allah\n(SWT) as Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), then we certainly must follow that path of\nIbrahim and fight our desires till we defeat it and get it completely away from\nour souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we go to “Safaa” and\n“Marwah” we see people walking from a small mountain to a smaller one\nfor seven rounds. At a certain part some even jog and walk after a few moments.\nWe may wonder to ourselves if these people are trying to accomplish a goal. The\nanswer to our wonder can be found in the story of the pious Hajar. When Hajar\nwas searching for water to feed her son, Ishmael (PBUH) in the middle of the\ndesert, she ran around two mountains, Safaa and Marwah, yet she found no water.\nShe however did not lose her hope from Allah (SWT), and that is when Allah\n(SWT) blessed Hajar by flowing a spring of water right under the baby’s foot.\nHence, in Hajj when we see ourselves running with Hajar and walking in her\nfootsteps. Through this we come to this realization that one can get anywhere\nin the path of Allah (SWT) only through significant efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consequently, we can realize that Hajj\nshould be learned and practiced with the memories of Prophet Ibraham, Ishmael,\nand Hajar (PBUT). Every pilgrim should recall the history while performing the\nrituals. By doing this they will gain a deeper understanding of the philosophy\nmoral effects of this great journey; otherwise the journey without such a\nknowledge is of less value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Reference:\nTafseer Nemooneh, vol. 19, p. 125)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congratulations to all Muslims upon\nthe great feast of sacrifice, Eid al- Ad\u2019ha, the purification of worldly\ndependency and the call of divine unity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The journey of Hajj is in fact a great migration; it is a divine journey. Indeed it is a grand opportunity to construct and re-establish one\u2019s morally through its holy war against desire. The rituals done in the pilgrimage to Mecca for Hajj, resembles the memories of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), his son: Ishmael (PBUH), and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28431,28248],"tags":[24921,24919,24920,24923,24922,18131,24348,20345,21060,18418,20617],"class_list":["post-4882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eid-al-adha","category-occasional-letters","tag-2005-01-21","tag-constructive-worship","tag-eid-qurban","tag-hajar","tag-hajj","tag-holy","tag-ibrahim","tag-mecca","tag-memories","tag-occasion-letters","tag-war"],"yoast_head":"\n