Through this religion, Allah has taughtt man everything that is good and has asked him to practice upon it, and in a like manner, He has shown him everything that is bad and has asked him to refrain from it.

It was during the blessed life of the Messenger of Allah (May Allah send peace and blessing upon him) that Allah announced this glad tiding to the whole mankind, saying that the religion of Islam has been made perfect and complete and that this is the way of life which He has chosen for them.

The religion of Islam being perfect, means that in all its teachings whether in beliefs or practices, there is perfection and completion. There is no belief which a Muslim is required to adopt, except that it is in Islam and there is no act of worship which a believer is required to practice except that it is in Islam.

In a like manner, mention has been made of every such thing which brings about the pleasure of Allah in words and actions and mention has also been made of those things which bring about the displeasure of Allah.

It is this perfect and complete way of life which has come from Allah and it is the same way of life which has been taught by the Prophet (SA).

Besides teaching the religion, the blessed Messenger of Allah (SA) also practically demonstrated it to his beloved Sahabahs (companions)  (RA) through his noble deeds and actions. The Companions (RA) seized this opportunity and learned every thing from him. They did not only learn the Quraan, but along with this, they acquired the commentary, the message and every law which was contained in it. In a similar manner, they did not only learn the Prophet’s blessed words, but with this, they understood the wisdom of his speech and statements; they understood the laws established from his speeches and actions; they learned his lifestyle and they understood the law and ruling regarding everything which he allowed or disallowed. They spent years in his companionship and some never separated themselves from him, instead, they sacrificed for the sake of learning and followed him wherever he went, so that they may not miss the opportunity of listening to him.

It is with such zeal and enthusiasm, they gathered a great wealth of knowledge and understanding which made them the great masters of Islamic learning. Their knowledge and understanding of this religion were endorsed by all others from among the blessed companions and they became the custodian of the ‘Knowledge of Prophet hood’. They were also revered, respected and looked upon as the great authorities of Islamic knowledge. Their true knowledge and understanding brought about accuracy in their judgments which resulted in the soundness of their verdicts and most of all, it became a means of guidance to many who flocked around them.

They were seen as the beams of light whose radiant streaks dispelled the darkness of ignorance which had taken root in the hearts of men.

The knowledge they gained from the blessed Messenger of Allah (SA) was thus preserved and protected and was now about to be disseminated to the other generation known as the Tabi’oon. (The generation of Muslims after the Sahabahs - Companions).

In this era also great personalities emerged, who, like their predecessors were fully committed and dedicated to the field of Islamic knowledge. They sacrificed greatly and undertook long and tiresome journeys for the sake of learning. They did not allow poverty and want to deprive them of this great gift, but instead, with inadequate means of food and shelter, they traveled through the scorching heat of the sun, through the desert and valleys and over the mountains moving from one city to another in search of the light of knowledge. Through this great sacrifice, Allah blessed them with deep understanding and wisdom and chose them to be the disseminators of this knowledge to the succeeding generations.

In this way our dear readers, the knowledge and understanding of the perfect way of life, Al-Islam came from one generation to the other until it has reached to the people of this era.

In every era, Allah has chosen some of his servants to be the bearers of the knowledge of His perfect religion and has granted them the wisdom and true understanding of the chosen way of life, so that through them, the religion of Islam would reach to the succeeding generation in its pristine purity.

This system has continued from the very beginning of Islam and will go on until the last day. Through this method, Muslims of every era can rest assure that they will always know the truth of the teachings of Islam and it will never disappear from the face of the earth.

However, although Islam in its pristine purity will always be alive, there will continuously be elements and false bearers who would try to distort the true teachings and will ultimately bring about misguidance to many.

In this respect, history has witnessed the emergence of many such groups and sects, whose main objective was to misrepresent the truth of Islam. However, through Allah’s help and the never-ending effort of the true scholars, many of these sects died their natural death and were buried in the past.

However, although the names of many of these groups would have disappeared in the past, it should be noted that some of their thoughts, ideologies and tendencies are still present until today. It is therefore a matter of great importance that as Muslims, we become aware of some of the ideologies and thoughts of these deviated sects (of the past), so that we may safeguard ourselves against them.

(To be continued in our next brochure.)

Hajj or Pilgrimage means a special visit to a special place during a specific time. It is the fourth pillar of Islam which is performed in the month of Dhul Hijjah over a period of five days, from the 8th to the 13th. Even though the actual rituals of the Hajj is performed on these mentioned days the Hajj can become compulsory from the known months. The Quraan mentions:

“The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known months. So whoever intends to perform Hajj therein (by adopting the Ihram) then he should not engage in intimate relationship (with his wife) nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj. And whatever good you do, Allah knows it. And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness). So fear Me, O people of understanding.” (2:197)

The above verse mentions of “the well-known months”. These months according to Abdullah ibn Masood, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn Zubair refers to the lunar months of Shawwal, Dhul Qa’dah and the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.

According to the jurists Hajj can also become compulsory at such time in which the people of a particular place commence the journey for Hajj even though it may be before the months of Hajj.

Although it is a physical ritual act of worship which becomes compulsory upon a believer when he/she has the necessary means and provisions to undertake the journey, Muslims believe that in reality it is the response to a call which was made by the great prophet and friend of Allah, Hazrat Ibrahm (A.S). This fact is clearly borne out by the teachings of the Holy Quraan which states that Allah commanded Ibrahim (A.S) in the following words, "And proclaim the pilgrimage among men, they will come to you on foot and on every camel, lean on journeys, through deep and distant mountain highways." (22:27)

According to authentic traditions, it is narrated that after Ibrahim (A.S) and his son had completed the construction of the Holy K’aba upon the order of Allah, he (Ibrahim) received the above command. Upon this, Ibrahim (A.S) submitted to Allah, “How can I make my voice reach out to mankind?” (It is important to know that at the time of receiving the command there were only 3 people on the soils of Makka and Madina. They were Ibrahim, his wife Hajirah and his young son Ismail (A.S). As such, Ibrahim realized that it was very difficult for him to reach out to mankind through his proclamation of the order of Hajj) In reply to Ibrahim (A.S), Allah said, “Call and I would cause it to reach.” And so, Ibrahim (A.S) called out to mankind in the following words, “O Mankind! Your Lord has taken a house (as His house), so make pilgrimage to it.” The mountains were humbled by this so much so that the statement reached the deep recesses of the earth. It was made to be heard by all mankind even to those who were still in the wombs of their mothers and backs of their fathers. Everything heard it and answered with the words “Here I am O Allah, here I am.” These are the very same words recited by pilgrims on Hajj.

COMPULSION OF HAJJ

"Pilgrimage to the House is a duty men owe to Allah, Those who have the ability." (3:97)

‘Ability’, in the above verse, means the health, strength and wealth to do the pilgrimage. The verse goes on to say, "Whoever disbelieves, Allah is independent of the world." (3:97)

It means whoever refuses to perform the Hajj then Allah is not in need of it. In a Hadith reported by Imam Muslim, it is stated that the Prophet (S.A) delivered a sermon and said in it, "Oh Mankind! Pilgrimage has been made incumbent upon you, so you should make the pilgrimage.” The reward of an accepted Hajj is known from the hadith, "Whoever performs the pilgrimage without talking indecently and committing any faults returns from the pilgrimage as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him."

Allah says in the Quraan about those people upon whom the Hajj was compulsory and died without performing it, "O you who believe let not your riches or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And spend something out of the sustenance which We have bestowed on you before death should come to any of you and he should say, Oh my lord, why don't you give me a little time that I may give some charity."(63:9-10)

BENEFITS

Hajj is such a unique form of worship that the benefits of all other acts of worship can be found in it. For example:

- In salaat we face the direction of the Kaaba but in Hajj we are able to go directly to the Kaaba and look at it.

- In Zakaah we part with a small amount of our wealth but in Hajj we have to part with a larger portion including our strength, health and our time.

- In fasting we are taught to observe self-control during the day. However in Hajj we must have self-control during the day and the night (while we are in the state of Ihram).

Hajj teaches us many things. It teaches us that to achieve closeness to Allah we must sacrifice and the closer we are the more sacrifice we must make. An example of this is the life of Ibrahim (A.S). From his early age his sacrifice began.

- He was thrown into fire

- He had no children until he was 86 years old.

- He was turned out of his hometown while he was only a child.

- He was ordered to sacrifice his son.

Many of the rites of Hajj point to this direction of sacrifice. First of all spending the money and the time is a great sacrifice for most people.

Then there is the hardship and the turmoil of journey. Then there are the rigours and hardship of the restriction of Ihram.

Along with this we then have the running between Safaa and Marwa where the pilgrim walks seven times between the mounts of Safaa and Marwa, re-enacting the action of Hajirah the mother of Ismail and the wife of Ibrahim (A.S).

This is also connected to sacrifice. Hazrat Ibrahim after living for 86 years without a child, when he does receive an offspring, Allah commanded him to carry the child and his mother to the barren, red valley of Makka and leave them there.

This is where Hajirah ran between Safaa and Marwa in search of water or people
with water.

It was at this time that the well of Zam Zam came into being at the heels of her son, Ismail (A.S). There we see the great sacrifice of the father, mother and son.

All these acts show that sacrifice is necessary to get closer to Allah. Another rite of Hajj that signifies sacrifice is ‘the sacrifice of animals’, which is connected to an even greater sacrifice, that of a father sacrificing his son.

It is mentioned in the Holy Quraan: "O my Lord! Grant me a righteous son, so We gave him news of a boy, forbearing. Then when the son reached the age of work with him, he said, "O my son! I see in a vision that I offer you in sacrifice. Now see what is your view."  The son said, "O my father! Do as you are commanded, you will find me, if Allah so wills, one practicing patience. So when they both submitted to Allah and he had laid him on his forehead we called out to him, O Ibrahim! You have already fulfilled our vision Thus indeed do We reward those who do right for this was truly a trial. And We ransomed him with a greater sacrifice."(37:100-107). The Holy Quraan teaches us that we will not attain righteousness until we sacrifice that which we love most.

From this incident of Ibrahim and Ismail (A.S), comes another rite of Hajj. The pelting of the Jamaraat or the pillars. These pillars represent the three places where Satan tried to dissuade Ibrahim and Ismail (A.S) from carrying out the command of Allah.

Hajj also teaches us to observe the sanctity of place and time. For Hajj cannot be performed in any other place but Makka and its environs and at no other time but in Dhul Hijjah from the 8th to 13th.

It teaches us about the brotherhood of mankind under the banner of Laa ilaa ha il-lal-laah. A gathering of people from every corner of the world with one goal, to please Allah and to fulfill His commands.

Hajj is the similitude of death. The pilgrims leave their homeland for the holy cities. Then leaves everything and everyone behind. The only thing they carry is the provision that they made for their journey. Death is the same. We leave everything and everyone behind. We only carry provisions for the hereafter.

When the Haaji (Pilgrim) puts on the Ihram it reminds of how he will be dressed for his burial.

On the plain of Arafah he is reminded of how it will be on the Day of Judgement. The sun will be above his body and he will be concerned with begging for mercy and fearful of sinful acts. All of these acts and rites that remind us of death are meant to also remind us to prepare for death.

Preparation for death means obeying Allah and one of His commands is to perform Hajj.

Respected Muslims, we are presently in the month of Dhul Qa’dah, one of the months of Hajj and upon checking ourselves we may realize that we posses the necessary means to perform this sacred duty to Allah. Firstly we should all have the intention in our hearts to fulfill our duty as early as possible. This year may be a bit too late to start arrangements and getting things in order to go for the journey since most of the Hajj groups would have already finalized their arrangements. However, we can intend firmly in our hearts to go the next year and start making all the necessary arrangements to do so.

May Allah accept the Hajj of those whom He has chosen to undertake the journey this year and may He accept and fulfill the intentions of all those who intend to perform this noble duty in the years to come. Aameen.