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| Guest Name |
Prof. Shahul Hameed
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Consultant to Discover Islam Section in IslamOnline.net
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| Subject |
Ask About Pilgrimage
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| Date |
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006
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Time |
Makkah
From...
07:45...To...
18:00
GMT
From... 04:45...To...15:00
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Host
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Dear visitors,
The session has just started. Please feel free to join us with your questions.
After the session has ended, you can view the whole dialogue by clicking Recent Sessions, or later on Archive.
For feedback and suggestions, please e-mail us at EngLivedialogue@islamonline.net.
Yours,
Ask About Islam Editing Desk
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David
- Australia
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What is the primary motivation of people who go on pilgrimages?
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| Answer |
Salam, David.
Thank you for your question.
Man from the very beginning is haunted by a feeling of dissatisfaction about his environment, which urges him to search for perfection. It is this instinctual urge that eventually leads him to believe in God, the Perfect Creator Who could wish into being whatever He wills.
We may say that the human discontent is related to his essential existence as a soul. Because he knows he cannot live by bread alone. If material comforts or technological advancement could satisfy man, the most advanced countries would not have recorded alarming rates of suicide, for instance. So the problem is basically spiritual. It is the spirit that urged Siddartha (Buddha as a young man) to leave the comforts of his palace looking for Enlightenment. The same must have been the first motivation of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when in his youth he sought the solitude of the Cave of Hira for contemplation.
Thus we can see that the primary motivation of man that urges him to leave the warmth and security of his home is a spiritual yearning. Because man has a spirit unlike other creatures.
Modern man faces many kinds of psychological problems too. From the point of view of psychology, he is a curious animal: He seeks, explores, and even puts his life in danger with a view to having new knowledge and new experiences.
What is called ‘psychological’ is possible, because humans have ‘psyche’(psyche - ORIGIN Greek psukhe ‘breath, life, soul’) which essentially is soul; and basically, as said above, it is because of his soul that man goes on long journeys to seek His God…
Hope I have answered your question.
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Shafi Ahmed
- Saudi Arabia
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Sales Co ordinator
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My aunt (my mother's sister) has arrived with her husband to perform Hajj. She is sick and of an old age. I visited her last week and she is not be able to walk properly. My question is that whether I can help in performing Hajj by taking her on wheelchair. I am not performing Hajj. I will be in normal position and clothes.
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Salam, Shafi.
Thank you for your question.
In Makkah and around the Saudi authorities have made as many possible arrangements as they possibly can. For the weak, the sick, the handicapped, and elderly people, there are special services provided. Wheel chairs and on-shoulder-litters can be rented for those who need them. Ask the authorities for these services inside Al-Masjid Al-Haram. Sometimes you may find them free, but usually they are not very expensive. Take advantage of these services if you need them. Similarly the throwing of pebbles for your aunt can be entrusted to other pilgrims.
In fact, there is no need for you to be in ihram to help your sick aunt with tawaaf and sai`. But if you really wish to be beside your aunt helping her do all the rites of Hajj, why don’t you yourself perform the Hajj with her? Because, if you are in normal clothes without a Hajj permit, it is possible that you may have problems in many places owing to the present security situation.
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Roshan
- Bangladesh
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Hello sir,
Muslims say that no pilgrimage is like Hajj. Why?
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Salam, Roshan.
Thank you for your question.
First, Hajj is unique in that the pilgrims come from all corners of the earth and are dressed alike to gather in one place (i.e. a truly international gathering of all nations) on specified days.
Second, it is the largest annual gathering of pilgrims in any religion.
Third, Hajj declares: the unity of God, the unity of humanity and the unity of the Religion of God. No rite in Hajj is meant to commemorate events in the life of Muhammad (peace be on him) but events in the life of Abraham and his family - and Abraham is revered as the Patriarch of mankind by three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This also is another unique aspect of Hajj.
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John
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What is the essence of Hajj?
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Salam, John.
Thank you for your question.
It was the African American Muslim leader Malcolm X who described his Hajj experience in these words:
There were tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experience in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white...
America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem...
I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their colors.
(Haley, Alex, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. New York: Ballentine Books, 1965, p. 340.)
The great Iranian philosopher Dr Ali Shari’ati wrote thus:
Human existence is frivolous unless one's aim is to approach the spirit of Allah. Separate yourself from all those needs and greed which distract you from Allah. Join the eternal human migration of Hajj. "See" Almighty Allah!”
When you go for Hajj, you need to bid farewell to all your day-to-day concerns and activities; you need to pay off all your debts or at any rate make arrangements for paying them off... All your pet hatreds and dislikes should be forgotten: It is like a preparation for the final journey.
Once you have done all this, then and then only, you are ready to join the great congregation in the House of God.
“While you are in this "house of correction" get ready for the "house of justice". Exercise death before you die - Go for Hajj!”
For Hajj symbolizes your final return to Allah, the Eternal. Because, to Allah we belong and to Him is our return. All affairs originate from Allah and tend toward Allah. In the House of Allah, You can be closer to Him than your jugular vein!
But do not forget that “only the sincere and the righteous will be in the assembly of the truthful and in the presence of the Sovereign Omnipotent.
Hope I have to some extent attempted to convey something meaningful towards telling you about the Essence of Hajj, which you have to experience first hand to know...
Thank you very much indeed.
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Cas.
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Are there any ethical lessons in Hajj?
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Salam, Cas.
Thank you for your question.
Of the ethical lessons of Hajj, you may get some idea from my answer given to John above.
Useful links:
Spiritual Ethics of Hajj
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Dave
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How to prepare yourself for this journey?
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Salam, Dave.
Thank you for your question.
For a detailed answer to the question, you may read the Hajj Handbook published by Soundvision, available online:A Handbook of `Umrah & Hajj
Or read the excellent article by Brother Ali Al- Halawani in our site:
Hajj: A Journey Without End
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James
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As a new Muslim, what should I do in the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah?
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Salam, James.
Thank you very much for your question.
May Allah Almighty bless you and reward you for your choice of Islam as your way of life.
You can observe fasting during these days. You can also do more good deeds in general such as helping the needy, visiting your relative, making more dhikr and .
It is an act of the Sunnah to say takbir, tahmid, tahlil and tasbih during these days.
For more on this, read the following links:
First 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah: What to Do?
Hope this will suffice for the time being.
May Allah bless you and reward you!
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Amr
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What are the benefits of Hajj on individuals and the society at large?
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Salam, Amr.
Thank you for your question.
The individual and social benefits of Hajj can be summarized thus:
Hajj is a symbol of unity, whereby we get the message that all are equal in terms of rights and duties. Differences in race and nationality do not matter. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, "O mankind, there is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab, or for a non-Arab over an Arab, or for a white over a black, or for a black over a white. All of you are descended from Adam and Adam has been created from dust of the ground" (Ahmad).
Hajj purifies the heart and soul of the believer of many evils. It trains Muslims to unite at other times and in other places.
Hajj teaches us to be charitable to our brothers and to avoid miserliness. Hajj increases piety and makes the heart fit to honor the symbols of Allah.
Hajj instills into believers qualities like forbearance and putting up with annoying people.
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Dr S.Rifai
- United Kingdom
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translator.
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Dear Brother in Islam. I'm very happy that the Saudi government had reduced the number of people who want to do Hajj for the second time. That is a every good idea. Because, many people died in the last few years in Hajj. I hope and pray that this year people can make less congestion this year. However, what about people who want to make Hajj for the first time. Can they limit their numbers?
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Salam, Dr Sulaiman.
Thank you for your question.
I think the decision of the Saudi govt. will only benefit those who do Hajj for the first time, since the restrictions are meant for those who do Hajj repeatedly.
Certainly the first timers must get precedence and those who want to do Hajj again and again must understand.
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Mohsin Khan
- United States
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Scientist
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Salam Professor,
As we all know that many accidents have occurred in the past during Hajj. Keeping these accidents in view some critics of Islam have accused our Prophet for asking Muslims worldwide to attend the Hajj. What is the need to go to Hajj if people die? How should I answer them?
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Salam, Dr Mohsin Khan.
Thank you for your question.
Our life in this world is ephemeral; we are not going to live here for ever. Religion teaches us that after death, there is an eternal life waiting for us. The whole corpus of Islamic teaching (as well as Jesus' utterances for instance) underscores the transience of earthly human life. So a believer is not afraid of death as such.
Moreover the fact that hundreds of thousands of people annually die in road accidents during holidays in the U.S for instance, does not prevent them from traveling. What about the 655,000 humans killed in the death valleys of Iraq, as a result of the stupid decision taken by the leaders of "the civilized world"?
In fact Islam and its teachings (including Hajj) give eternal life to believers in Paradise as well as earthly life here below to hundreds of thousands.
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Brave
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How to introduce Hajj to my non-Muslim colleages?
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Salam, Brave.
Thank you for your question.
I think you should first of all point out the fundamental tenets of Islam to the non-Muslims. After that, you can point out the differences between pilgrimages in other religions and Hajj:
1. Hajj is an obligatory pilgrimage prescribed by God Almighty for all believers who are capable; it is a duty potentially binding on all Muslims as a form of worship due to their Creator. Whereas the pilgrimages of other religions are optional; and the origin and history of such pilgrimages show that they were initiated by humans much later than the putative origin of those religions. And the purpose of those pilgrimages is decided by the pilgrims themselves: for example, the expiation of sins, or a special blessing for themselves, etc.
2. Hajj is the only pilgrimage that regularly takes place on the specified days of a particular month every year. Whereas other pilgrimages have no fixed dates.
3. The Hajj brings together at Makkah every year a larger number of pilgrims than any other pilgrimage at any other place in the world.
4. And Hajj brings so many humans of so many different races, tribes, colors, languages and nationalities united in one place, wearing the same garb, participating in the same rites for the worship of the One and Only God. No other pilgrimage does anything even closely resembling this.
Hope such an introduction will be helpful.
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Editor
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Finally, we would like to thank our guest for speaking to IslamOnline viewers today, and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue. We apologize for not being able to accommodate all the questions within the time allocated to this session. We request our readers to join us in the upcoming sessions.
Yours,
Ask About Islam Editing Desk
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