Hajj (Pilgrimage)

I kept on kissing delightedly the black stone at ka’abah, Which reminded me of the black mole on the fair Countenance of my Beloved,

In this sanctuary of peace I was longing for the Beloved’s sword to cut me to pieces, I was going ‘round the hunter’s net’ to be caught and Killed in love

Whenever a lover speaks, his voice is bound to be drowned in pangs of love. His words may relate to hajj, charity (zakat), fasting, or anything else, but are immersed in love. This world of ours abounds with lovers of various categories. Some are lovers of fame; some are lovers of bread and butter. Everybody is a prisoner or slave of his passions. All are agreed in love, but the objects of their love are different. The higher the objective, the more superior the lover. The lovers of politics look at everything from a political angle. Prayer (salaat), according to them, is good, because it is the means of assembling five time a day in the mosque to discuss and solve problems. Friday congregation, according to them, is a greater occasion of meeting once a week. The two Eids provide still better chances to the people of a wider area to come together and to discuss and solve problems. Charity (zakat), according to them, is the source of a collective fund for public works. They admire fasting because it reminds them of the hunger of the poor people, or at most, it provides an exercise to pursue national interest even in the state of hunger and thirst. Pilgrimage (Hajj), according to them, is beneficial because it provides the chance of a universal conference of the Muslims to discuss and solve the problems of the ummah. There is no harm in saying that Hajj is one of the means of solving national problems, but looking at it purely from the political angle and ignoring its immense spiritual significance is:-

Each understands according to his capacity

On the contrary, those who possess higher ideals and broader vision look upon hajj as the source of gaining inner knowledge (maarifat) at every step and in every ritual of hajj, a way to achieve Divine nearness, presence, and union, in the light of that knowledge. They see the Divine Beloved in every performance, and behold the luster of His beauty (jammal), and Majesty (Jallal) at every place. Everything in the holy land is to them the mirror of Divine Attributes and Divine Perfection (kamaal). Every atom of the universe, according to them, is a treasure house of Divine mysteries:

Every leaf in the sight of the seeker,

Is a huge treasure of knowledge (Sa’adi)

The lovers of God seek nothing except this knowledge. For, it is this knowledge, which guides them to Divine nearness. It is this knowledge which nourishes and strengthens their love, and provides them the wings to fly to the regions of Divine proximity and ultimate unity. The flight is propelled by a mixture of intoxication of union (fana) and sobriety (baqa) of knowledge. The lovers live and die for this objective, in terms of the following ayah of the Holy Quran:-

Say: My prayers and my worship

And my life and my death, are

Unto God, Lord of the Worlds.

(Al-An’am, 6:162)

Therefore, while for the lovers of God, even temporal affairs of life are geared to serve a spiritual end, worldly peoples’ motives are the other way around. They seek worldly benefits through the blessings (barakah) of prayers.

In the light of the preceding introduction, let us now see what is hajj in the eyes of the friends of God, what lessons they learn, what benefit they derive from it and what blessings are conferred on them through it.

According to the Sufi Shaikhs, hajj is also a spiritual course (sulook-il-Allah). Hajj is a journey, sullok is also a journey. The goal of hajj is Allah, the goal of sullok is also Allah. The pilgrim of the spiritual journey has to remove himself from the world, and give up his ambitions, likes and dislikes, as well as comforts. Similarly the hajj pilgrim has to leave his hearth and home, and give up all pursuits and professions for the sake of Allah, and all his actions are for Allah. For instance, the hajj dress (ihram) signifies disregard of social connections and attachment with the Divine Lord. We usually dress in accordance with the custom of the times and requirements of social surroundings, as well as maintain our position and dignity. But when we retire into solitude, we dress to cover our nakedness and protect ourselves from heat and cold. The ihraam which consists of a sheet of cloth over out loins, and another sheet over the back, is therefore the most suitable dress, because during hajj, we have severed all connections with other-than-God and need not dress to maintain ourselves.

The significance of wearing unsewn clothes like ihraam is to give up limitation for the limitlessness of the Divine Beloved. When the cloth is cut into pieces and sewn into shirts and trousers, it loses the state of limitlessness (itlaaq) and confines into various shapes and forms. In the same manner, the philosophy behind wearing two unswen sheets of cloth is to foster detachment from the limitations of human life and attachment with the Limitless Being.

Not shaving the head during ihraam signifies coming out of the state of mortality (bashariyat) and entering the realm of immortality. Prohibition of cutting nails during ihraam tantamount to giving up one’s will, to let the Will of God prevail. Abstinence from perfumes during ihraam means abnegation of human attributes for abode in the realm of Divinity. Abstinence from matrimony signifies non-interference in the Kingdom of God. Abstinence from kohl (surma) stands for becoming absorbed in the absolute Being and giving up the habit of probing into the unseen world.

Miqaat means qalb. Makkah is Divinity. Kaabaah is Zaat (Essence). Hajar aswad (the black stone) is the reality of man, and its black colour signifies the changing nature of man. Is is said in a hadis of the Holy Prophet that initially this stone was white, but became black through the sins of mankind. The reality of man was originally created in the Image of God, but changed through sins. Says God in the Holy Quran:

That of goodliest fabric We

Created man. (Al-Tin, 95:4)

But he suffered degeneration and assumed the dark color through various factors, circumstances and environments. As said by God:

Then brought him down to be the

Lowest of the low; (Al-Tin, 95:5)

Circumambulation (Tawaaf) around the Ka’abah is an effort to gain access to Indeterminate Reality (Huwwiyat-i-Mutlaq) and comprehension of its Nature and extent.

The significance of the seven rounds is to gain access through the seven gateways, of the seven major Attributes of God called Ummahaat-us-Sifaat (Mother Attributes) which are: i. Being (Hayaat), ii. Knowledge (Ilm), iii. Will (Irada), iv. Power (Qudrat) v. Hearing (Samaa) vi. Seeing (Basar) vii. Speech (Kalaam). In doing so, we must obliterate or merge out own being into the Divine Being, so that our being becomes as God’s Being, our knowledge as God’s Knowledge, our will and power as God’s Will and Power, and our seeing and hearing as God’s Sight and Hearing, in terms of the hadis:

“When a servant of mine tries to draw near unto. Me through supererogatory worship, I love him and come so close to him that I become his eyes and he sees by Me; I become his ears and he hears by Me; I become his hands and he works by Me; I become his feet and he walks by Me; and I give him what he desires, and protect him when he needs protection.”

Prayer (salaat) after circumambulation (tawaaf) means that the pilgrim has reached perfection and has been identified with Divine Oneness. Offering prays behind Maqaam-e-Ibrahim signifies attainments of the status of friendship (khullat) so that having been attributed with Divine Attributes, man is now in a position to work miracles, and can cure the blind and the leper by mere touch, and can traverse the globe in an instant without the slightest vestige of anthropomorphism (balul) and ittehaad (incarnation).

Drinking at the fountain of Zamzam signifies comprehension of Divine mysteries. Drinking at the fountain of Zamzam copiously means continuous endeavor to imbibe Divine secrets and to call our, “hal mim mazeed!” (Is there more!).

Mount Safa is the symbol of purification of human attributes.

Mount Marwa means bestowal of Divine Attributes.

Shaving the head is the sign of acceptance or paying homage to Divine Over-lordship (Riaasat-i-Ilaahi).

Only trimming the hair, is the sign of not reaching optimum proximity but becoming stranded at lower heights.

Coming out of ihraam signifies descent to the mundane world to guide mankind to Divine nearness.

Arafat is the symbol of gnosis (maarifat or Divine knowledge). The word Arafat literally means two knowledge (ilm) or two kinds of knowledge, i.e. knowledge of Divine Majesty (Jalaal) and knowledge of Divine beauty (Jamaal). These are gateways to Divine union.

Muzdalifah means reaching a higher position.

Mash’arul barum is a symbol of respect for Divine Commands and obedience to the laws of Shariat.

Mina or sacrifice at Mina, is the sign of a greater degree of nearness which can only be attined by sacrificing the lower ideals for the higher.

Jammar-e-Salaasa is stoning the three devils, which signifies opposition to the three faces of lower self (nafs) i.e. ego, nature, and habit. The significance of stoning seven times is invocation of the seven major Attributes of God to crush the lower self (nafs).

Tawaaf-i-ifazat means an effort to continue receiving Divine Grace (Fazl-i-Ilaahi) up to eternity, since the Divine Being is Limitless and there is no end to the stages of Nearness.

The significance of tawaaf-i-widaa (farewell circumambulation) is to turn to God for guidance for oneself and all of mankind, because the friends of god are the trustees of Divine secrets and are duty bound to deliver the trust to those who deserve it. Allah says:

And if ye perceive in them a sound

Judgement, then hand over their

Substance to them. (Al-Nisaa, 4:6)

Every supplication (doa’) recited at a particular place is the harbinger of many blessings and knowledge of Divine secrets.

In short, this is the hajj of the friends of God (ahl Allah). If hajj is looked upon from this angle, and if all the spiritual benefits mentioned above are gained, it is real hajj. If not, it becomes a mere formality. But even a formality has some meaning in Islam and need not be slighted or regarded as useless. When formality has merits in Islam, how then can the limitless blessings, knowledge of Divine secrets, and attainment of perfection and high spiritual status behind the rituals of hajj be futile. If hajj is of this pattern, then all the political conferences held during hajj are acceptable. But when the very purpose of hajj is lost sight of, it becomes and blessings. It is not only pilgrimage (hajj) in which the friends of God seek Divine nearness, presence, and union Every kind of worship has the same significance for them. Nay, every worldly activity or pursuit has the status of worship for them and takes them closer to God.

Says Khwaja Hafiz of Shiraz:

When I speak of the mosque or tavern,

I mean thy Nearness O my Lord!

I have no other motives,

God is my witness.

I kept on kissing delightedly the black stone at ka’abah, Which reminded me of the black mole on the fair Countenance of my Beloved,

In this sanctuary of peace I was longing for the Beloved’s sword to cut me to pieces, I was going ‘round the hunter’s net’ to be caught and Killed in love

Whenever a lover speaks, his voice is bound to be drowned in pangs of love. His words may relate to hajj, charity (zakat), fasting, or anything else, but are immersed in love. This world of ours abounds with lovers of various categories. Some are lovers of fame; some are lovers of bread and butter. Everybody is a prisoner or slave of his passions. All are agreed in love, but the objects of their love are different. The higher the objective, the more superior the lover. The lovers of politics look at everything from a political angle. Prayer (salaat), according to them, is good, because it is the means of assembling five time a day in the mosque to discuss and solve problems. Friday congregation, according to them, is a greater occasion of meeting once a week. The two Eids provide still better chances to the people of a wider area to come together and to discuss and solve problems. Charity (zakat), according to them, is the source of a collective fund for public works. They admire fasting because it reminds them of the hunger of the poor people, or at most, it provides an exercise to pursue national interest even in the state of hunger and thirst. Pilgrimage (Hajj), according to them, is beneficial because it provides the chance of a universal conference of the Muslims to discuss and solve the problems of the ummah. There is no harm in saying that Hajj is one of the means of solving national problems, but looking at it purely from the political angle and ignoring its immense spiritual significance is:-

Each understands according to his capacity

On the contrary, those who possess higher ideals and broader vision look upon hajj as the source of gaining inner knowledge (maarifat) at every step and in every ritual of hajj, a way to achieve Divine nearness, presence, and union, in the light of that knowledge. They see the Divine Beloved in every performance, and behold the luster of His beauty (jammal), and Majesty (Jallal) at every place. Everything in the holy land is to them the mirror of Divine Attributes and Divine Perfection (kamaal). Every atom of the universe, according to them, is a treasure house of Divine mysteries:

Every leaf in the sight of the seeker,

Is a huge treasure of knowledge (Sa’adi)

The lovers of God seek nothing except this knowledge. For, it is this knowledge, which guides them to Divine nearness. It is this knowledge which nourishes and strengthens their love, and provides them the wings to fly to the regions of Divine proximity and ultimate unity. The flight is propelled by a mixture of intoxication of union (fana) and sobriety (baqa) of knowledge. The lovers live and die for this objective, in terms of the following ayah of the Holy Quran:-

Say: My prayers and my worship

And my life and my death, are

Unto God, Lord of the Worlds.

(Al-An’am, 6:162)

Therefore, while for the lovers of God, even temporal affairs of life are geared to serve a spiritual end, worldly peoples’ motives are the other way around. They seek worldly benefits through the blessings (barakah) of prayers.

In the light of the preceding introduction, let us now see what is hajj in the eyes of the friends of God, what lessons they learn, what benefit they derive from it and what blessings are conferred on them through it.

According to the Sufi Shaikhs, hajj is also a spiritual course (sulook-il-Allah). Hajj is a journey, sullok is also a journey. The goal of hajj is Allah, the goal of sullok is also Allah. The pilgrim of the spiritual journey has to remove himself from the world, and give up his ambitions, likes and dislikes, as well as comforts. Similarly the hajj pilgrim has to leave his hearth and home, and give up all pursuits and professions for the sake of Allah, and all his actions are for Allah. For instance, the hajj dress (ihram) signifies disregard of social connections and attachment with the Divine Lord. We usually dress in accordance with the custom of the times and requirements of social surroundings, as well as maintain our position and dignity. But when we retire into solitude, we dress to cover our nakedness and protect ourselves from heat and cold. The ihraam which consists of a sheet of cloth over out loins, and another sheet over the back, is therefore the most suitable dress, because during hajj, we have severed all connections with other-than-God and need not dress to maintain ourselves.

The significance of wearing unsewn clothes like ihraam is to give up limitation for the limitlessness of the Divine Beloved. When the cloth is cut into pieces and sewn into shirts and trousers, it loses the state of limitlessness (itlaaq) and confines into various shapes and forms. In the same manner, the philosophy behind wearing two unswen sheets of cloth is to foster detachment from the limitations of human life and attachment with the Limitless Being.

Not shaving the head during ihraam signifies coming out of the state of mortality (bashariyat) and entering the realm of immortality. Prohibition of cutting nails during ihraam tantamount to giving up one’s will, to let the Will of God prevail. Abstinence from perfumes during ihraam means abnegation of human attributes for abode in the realm of Divinity. Abstinence from matrimony signifies non-interference in the Kingdom of God. Abstinence from kohl (surma) stands for becoming absorbed in the absolute Being and giving up the habit of probing into the unseen world.

Miqaat means qalb. Makkah is Divinity. Kaabaah is Zaat (Essence). Hajar aswad (the black stone) is the reality of man, and its black colour signifies the changing nature of man. Is is said in a hadis of the Holy Prophet that initially this stone was white, but became black through the sins of mankind. The reality of man was originally created in the Image of God, but changed through sins. Says God in the Holy Quran:

That of goodliest fabric We

Created man. (Al-Tin, 95:4)

But he suffered degeneration and assumed the dark color through various factors, circumstances and environments. As said by God:

Then brought him down to be the

Lowest of the low; (Al-Tin, 95:5)

Circumambulation (Tawaaf) around the Ka’abah is an effort to gain access to Indeterminate Reality (Huwwiyat-i-Mutlaq) and comprehension of its Nature and extent.

The significance of the seven rounds is to gain access through the seven gateways, of the seven major Attributes of God called Ummahaat-us-Sifaat (Mother Attributes) which are: i. Being (Hayaat), ii. Knowledge (Ilm), iii. Will (Irada), iv. Power (Qudrat) v. Hearing (Samaa) vi. Seeing (Basar) vii. Speech (Kalaam). In doing so, we must obliterate or merge out own being into the Divine Being, so that our being becomes as God’s Being, our knowledge as God’s Knowledge, our will and power as God’s Will and Power, and our seeing and hearing as God’s Sight and Hearing, in terms of the hadis:

“When a servant of mine tries to draw near unto. Me through supererogatory worship, I love him and come so close to him that I become his eyes and he sees by Me; I become his ears and he hears by Me; I become his hands and he works by Me; I become his feet and he walks by Me; and I give him what he desires, and protect him when he needs protection.”

Prayer (salaat) after circumambulation (tawaaf) means that the pilgrim has reached perfection and has been identified with Divine Oneness. Offering prays behind Maqaam-e-Ibrahim signifies attainments of the status of friendship (khullat) so that having been attributed with Divine Attributes, man is now in a position to work miracles, and can cure the blind and the leper by mere touch, and can traverse the globe in an instant without the slightest vestige of anthropomorphism (balul) and ittehaad (incarnation).

Drinking at the fountain of Zamzam signifies comprehension of Divine mysteries. Drinking at the fountain of Zamzam copiously means continuous endeavor to imbibe Divine secrets and to call our, “hal mim mazeed!” (Is there more!).

Mount Safa is the symbol of purification of human attributes.

Mount Marwa means bestowal of Divine Attributes.

Shaving the head is the sign of acceptance or paying homage to Divine Over-lordship (Riaasat-i-Ilaahi).

Only trimming the hair, is the sign of not reaching optimum proximity but becoming stranded at lower heights.

Coming out of ihraam signifies descent to the mundane world to guide mankind to Divine nearness.

Arafat is the symbol of gnosis (maarifat or Divine knowledge). The word Arafat literally means two knowledge (ilm) or two kinds of knowledge, i.e. knowledge of Divine Majesty (Jalaal) and knowledge of Divine beauty (Jamaal). These are gateways to Divine union.

Muzdalifah means reaching a higher position.

Mash’arul barum is a symbol of respect for Divine Commands and obedience to the laws of Shariat.

Mina or sacrifice at Mina, is the sign of a greater degree of nearness which can only be attined by sacrificing the lower ideals for the higher.

Jammar-e-Salaasa is stoning the three devils, which signifies opposition to the three faces of lower self (nafs) i.e. ego, nature, and habit. The significance of stoning seven times is invocation of the seven major Attributes of God to crush the lower self (nafs).

Tawaaf-i-ifazat means an effort to continue receiving Divine Grace (Fazl-i-Ilaahi) up to eternity, since the Divine Being is Limitless and there is no end to the stages of Nearness.

The significance of tawaaf-i-widaa (farewell circumambulation) is to turn to God for guidance for oneself and all of mankind, because the friends of god are the trustees of Divine secrets and are duty bound to deliver the trust to those who deserve it. Allah says:

And if ye perceive in them a sound

Judgement, then hand over their

Substance to them. (Al-Nisaa, 4:6)

Every supplication (doa’) recited at a particular place is the harbinger of many blessings and knowledge of Divine secrets.

In short, this is the hajj of the friends of God (ahl Allah). If hajj is looked upon from this angle, and if all the spiritual benefits mentioned above are gained, it is real hajj. If not, it becomes a mere formality. But even a formality has some meaning in Islam and need not be slighted or regarded as useless. When formality has merits in Islam, how then can the limitless blessings, knowledge of Divine secrets, and attainment of perfection and high spiritual status behind the rituals of hajj be futile. If hajj is of this pattern, then all the political conferences held during hajj are acceptable. But when the very purpose of hajj is lost sight of, it becomes and blessings. It is not only pilgrimage (hajj) in which the friends of God seek Divine nearness, presence, and union Every kind of worship has the same significance for them. Nay, every worldly activity or pursuit has the status of worship for them and takes them closer to God.

Says Khwaja Hafiz of Shiraz:

When I speak of the mosque or tavern,

I mean thy Nearness O my Lord!

I have no other motives,

God is my witness.