Embarking on Accepted Hajj (Maqbool)
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the world. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon the noble Prophet (SAW), his household, his companions and all the righteous servants of Allah till the Day of Accountability Allah (SWT) commands Prophet Ibrahim (AS) in the Glorious Qur’an: “And proclaim the Hajj among mankind, they […]
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the world. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon the noble Prophet (SAW), his household, his companions and all the righteous servants of Allah till the Day of Accountability
Allah (SWT) commands Prophet Ibrahim (AS) in the Glorious Qur’an: “And proclaim the Hajj among mankind, they will come to thee on foot and mounted on every camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways.” Hajj: 28.
As you prepare for this spiritual journey I have these pieces of advice for you. The noble Prophet (SAW) is reported by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud to have said, there is no reward less than Al-jannah for a Hajj mabruur (accepted Hajj).”-Tirmidhi.
Therefore, for you to be among the category of people whose Hajj will be accepted, you have to strive hard to stay within the limits of the rules and regulations guiding the rites of Hajj. Before you embark on the journey, make sure you leave your dependants with enough to sustain them; they should not to beg. And make sure you meet all other conditions necessary for the journey.
Good conduct is demanded of pilgrims as Allah (SWT) says in the Glorious Qur’an….. “nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj and whatever good you do be sure Allah knows it and take a provision with you for the journey, but the best provision is At-taqwa (piety) so fear me, o men of understanding.”-Baqarah:197. In this verse Allah (SWT) lays emphasis on excellent moral conduct (no sin no dispute) and to make taqwa the best provision. Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrated: I heard the Prophet (SAW) say “whoever performs Hajj and does not commit any rafath (obscenity) or fusooq (transgression), he returns (free from sin) as the day his mother gave birth to him.” (Bukhari).
The money for Hajj must be from halal source; the Hajj rites should be performed correctly, complete and sincerely for Allah so that your Hajj is blessed and accepted. Do not introduce innovation; do it the way it was done by the noble Prophet (SAW) as he used to say during Hajj “learn from my rituals”.
The pilgrims should be kind, generous and easy going both in their wealth and actions; as possible, try not to annoy or disturb them in the Holy places and market places or in the crowded places, such as tawaf, Safa and Marwa and at the Jamarat etc.
While in Makkah or Madina, try to perform all your obligatory prayers in Masjid Al-Haram and Masjid Nabawi as the Messenger of Allah(SAW) is reported to have said “A prayer in the mosque of mine is better than one thousand prayers in anywhere else, except Al-Masjid Al-Haram. A prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram is better than one hundred thousand prayers in anywhere else.” – Ahmad.
If you calculate the superiority of one prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram according to the hadith, then one prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram is equivalent to the five daily prayers offered over a period of 50 years, six months and 20 days and the five daily prayers offered over a single 24-hour period are equivalent to the five daily prayers offered over a period of 277 years, nine month and 10 days.
If you must visit any place outside Makkah and Madinah, do not allow it to deprive you of observing your salat in congregation in the Haram. Remember that they are historical sites and not sites of ibadah or worship. In other for you to be able to perform your daily prayers in the Haram especially if you are not leaving very close to it, after the Subhi salat you can go home and come back for the rest of salat of the day and return home after Isha’i.This is possible as you can get what you can eat within the vicinity of al-Haram.
Regarding the black stone, many pilgrims would like to touch or kiss it because of its importance as the Prophet (SAW) was reported to have said “Allah will raise the stone on the Day of Judgment, and it will have two eyes with which it will see, and a tongue with which it will talk, and it will give witness in favour of everyone who touched it in truth.” (Trimidh). If in the process of torching it, you inconvenience others it suffices for you to point hand towards it. Pray to Allah to give you good health to be able to carry out all the Hajj rites particularly between 8-13 of Dhul Hijjah.
May Allah make this year’s Hajj free from any disaster. May Allah grant us victory over the enemies of Islam. Amin
Nasirudeen wrote from Sheikh Hamdan Model Secondary School, Gwagwalada, Abuja