Hajj as an Exposition of True Love

<FONT size=3><FONT color=#003366>Secondly, haj manifests a true exposition of affection and inordinate love. In order to understand this properly the following should be borne in mind: Man's relation with his Creator in Islam is of two kinds. Firstly man stands as a mere slave before Him, in a Master-slave relationship; where Allah is Master, the Sustainer the Creator, the Almighty, and man is the servant, slave and subject. Man is the worshipper; and Allah is the only One worthy of worship. For this reason everything in salaah emphasises this relationship and radiates humility, humbleness and submission on the part of man. Hence, man enters salaah undisturbed with dignity, neatly dressed with proper behaviour; as in the case of one presenting himself at a royal court of some king; where special regulations are imposed for all as far as attire, neatness etc., is concerned. We therefore see that for salaah the clothes must be clean, a person must have performed wudhu (ablution) and act with calmness and dignity as in the case of being present before a king. The Musalli (one in prayer) stands before his Lord with his eyes lowered, and lifting his hands up to his ears he then praises the Lord, and glorifies His name. Thereafter; complying with the rules of the royal court; the arms are folded; with the hands below the navel; in sincerity begs for favours from his king. Thereafter the servant bends down praising Him.

Things move to a climax as the Musalli (one in prayer) prostrates himself, thereby exhibiting his complete weakness, humility and submission. While prostrating every single part of the body shows the humble attitude expected of a slave, while only the tongue praises Allah; his King. During salaah a complete tranquil and dignified manner is required as is expected in the presence of a mighty powerful king in his court. That is the reason why it is makrooh to run towards the masjid for salaah. One should walk calmly with dignity. Then while waiting for salaah it is makrooh to sit with the fingers of one hand interlocked in the fingers of the other. For the same reason it is makrooh to crack the finger joints and knuckles in salaah, and to cough without cause or necessity, to look around from side to side, to wear one's clothes in a manner other than the way in which it should be worn, to hang clothes (coats, overcoats) over the body without putting the arms through the sleeves, because salaah resembles one's presence in the Royal Court. Salaah therefore is not valid if one talks to anyone (except Allah), or if the wudhu is nullified or if one laughs aloud, intentionally or unintentionally, and also if one lifts both one's feet off the ground while in sajdah. All these things nullify the salaah because it is against dignity. When one ponders over all these things, doubt no longer exists that salaah is indeed the exhibition of true humility before the Creator and is in fact a perfect resemblance of the court of the king of kings. That is then the one aspect of man's relationship with Allah; the Master-slave; king subject relationship.

Secondly, there is between man and Allah another relationship based on love and gratitude. Here Allah is the Lord, Sustainer, Beneficient, Gracious, the One possessing all the attributes of beauty and perfection. Man by nature possesses the ability to love, admire and adore beauty and virtue. Such has he been created. The second relationship is of Allah as the possessor of all attributes of beauty and perfection and man as the admirer of that. It shows Allah as the Beloved, man as the lover searching for the object of his love; and striving his utmost for the pleasure and reciprocal love of his beloved. The distinct exposition of this relationhip is shown in haj. It shows a love so great that everything is being sacrificed in the interest of gaining His love also.

The haaji is seen right at the outset leaving home and severing all connection with his home, his family, his children and dear ones. He casts them all aside and then sets forth towards his most Beloved. His love is such that without complaint or doubt he braves the journey through deserts and jungles, plains and mountains, valleys and hills, rivers and oceans to reach his destination. Greatly impatient and over-anxious the journey continues. The reason for this impatience and over-anxiousness is the fact that the time has come near for the annual gathering of all His lovers at His House. A gathering for which He Himself has issued the invitation. No doubt such a journey will contain its fair share of difficulties and obstacles, but with great tolerance these are overcome. So the haaji proceeds until it is time for ihraam; which is his attire in the presence of his Beloved - without any head-gear or shirt on the body; an appearance of a man humble and submissive without any form of adornment; in fact, that of an inordinate and ardent lover. In this manner on his journey he nears the house of Allah; the house of his Beloved. Actually this should have been the position the moment he set forth from his home and not merely at the borders of the Haram; hence some ulama are of the opinion that it is more virtuous and rewarding to enter into ihraam from one's home. However, because so many things become haraam after entering into ihraam, and because it becomes very difficult to remain in ihraam with all it's very strict rules, Allah in His wisdom decreed that it could be performed at the borders of the Haram. Therefore when the haaji enters the Haram at its borders, he should be like an ardent lover, with dishevelled hair and dust-covered ihraam clothes, uttering aloud the labbaik.

That is what Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] made apparent when he said: "Dishevelled hair and one laden in dust." The manner in which the haajis present themselves is so much appreciated and liked by Allah that He boasts about it in front of the angels saying:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

<FONT size=3><FONT color=#003366>It is obvious that after a long and tiresome journey this will be the appearance. The more apparent this untidiness is the more it will show his devotion and love. The haaji searchingly continues his journey; and in this untidy state, while shouting the labbaik, he moves towards his goal, and then eventually enters <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City><st1:place>Mecca</st1:place></st1:City><FONT size=3><FONT color=#003366>.

<FONT size=3><FONT color=#003366>It is to this that Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] referred when he said: "Haj means raising the voice; crying out aloud the labbaik; and shedding the blood of the Qurbani animal." In fact many ahaadith indicate that the male haaji is encouraged to raise his voice while uttering labbaik. Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] said: "Jibra'il AS. said to me: `Instruct thy companions to recite the labbaik with raised voices'." It is a fact that shouting this call and announcing one's presence at the gate of the Beloved with so much pleasure and yearning for Him is indeed a sign of ardent love. In this manner he enters <st1:City><st1:place>Mecca</st1:place></st1:City>, and also the house of his Beloved. There we see him walking in circles around the holy house. We see him in reverence and love, touching the door; and holding onto it. Tawaaf commences at the Hajarul Aswad - the black stone - which a haaji is required to kiss or to touch with his hand. Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] called it "The right hand of Allah". That kissing of the hajar is in symbolic terms the kissing of the hand of his Beloved Master. Is that not a sign of Allah's grace to allow this insignificant man such liberty? To the great ones who lost and drowned themselves in the love of Allah, the touching of the Ka'bah's corners and the stone and also the door of the Ka'bah signify kissing the hands and feet of the Beloved, which are manifest signs of love. Perhaps there is not a poet worth his name who did not in one or another of his works express this exposition of love.<o:p></o:p>

<FONT size=3><FONT color=#003366>When Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] once performed tawaaf he was seen placing his lips on the black stone for a considerable time, until tears flowed from his eyes. He then saw Umar standing near him, with tears rolling down his cheeks. Seeing this he said: "This is indeed a place where tears are to be shed." Further we see the haaji's hugging the curtain that covers the Ka'bah. Here again it shows the lover's hugging and pulling at the clothes of the beloved, while begging for his forgiveness and attention and favours. Similar is the case of the one who attaches himself to that section of the wall of the Ka'bah called the Multazam. The Multazam is the section between the Hajarul Aswad and the door of the Ka'bah. It is a significant and most blessed section where duaas are heard and supplications answered.

It is reported that Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] and the Sahabah RA. used to attach themselves to and place their cheeks against the Multazam. It is something that brings to mind the search of one madly in love with his beloved. The description of the ardent lover does not end there. After that the haaji is seen running from the hill of Safa in the direction of Marwa and back numerous times. We see him with bare head (in Ihraam) and without his usual pants and shirt, running towards his Maker - the object of his love - as one who is deeply distressed. We see him as a lover in that distressed state, not knowing whether he is worthy of his Beloved's attention; and ready to be tested by Him. Gaining momentum we next see him leaving <st1:City><st1:place>Mecca</st1:place></st1:City> to spend a night in Mina, from where he then proceeds in the morning for the desert waste of Arafaat. Continuing this trail of His beloved, we see him that same night at Muzdalifah where he spends the night and early the next morning he sets forth for Mina. Thereafter, it is back to <st1:City><st1:place>Mecca</st1:place></st1:City><FONT color=#003366 size=3> and again to Mina. "What is the love for Layla compared to the love for the Lord; Allah Ta'aala." For the sake of His love every pathway is being trodden. What a hazardous journey it is! One morning the lover is in one place, the afternoon at another the evening again in yet another place. The last phase of this unique scene of a searching lover comes at the time of stoning the Shaytaan at Mina, which signifies casting aside and obliterating everyone and everything that can possibly come between the lover and the Beloved anything that can keep them apart, especially this Shaytaan that he now stones.

This phase ends with the sacrificial act of Qurbani. In reality this is the sacrifice of one's own self, which in His mercy Allah has changed to an animal sacrifice. This is the climax of the lover's exposition of love. In actual fact he sacrifices himself and offers his entity on the sacrificial altar to his beloved Master. In other words before this he was prepared to sacrifice his health wealth, strength and time. Now he sacrifices his most precious possession - his life - for Allah.

In the above paragraphs the close similarity in the performance of haj and the deep love of the devotee are briefly mentioned. There has been no time to go into minute details. Apart from these there are numerous other points of wisdom and significance in haj. This is the case with all Allah's commands. Very often these points of significance and intrinsic meaning are such that our intelligence does not even perceive. The more one ponders over these commands, day by day, more and more significances and meanings become clear and apparent. Everyone looks at a command of Allah according to his ability from his own point of view, and with his own professional eye, and each one will see very many different meanings. Hence a politician looking at haj sees its many significances differently from a sufi. These cannot all be put on paper here.