“And
Pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah, (upon)
everyone who is able to undertake the journey to it; and whoever disbelieves,
then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, above any need of the worlds.”
(Aal-e-Imran,
Chapter #3, Verse # 97)
Why is Hajj an obligatory duty?
Allah has created
humankind to worship Him. However, the human becomes entangled with mundane
life and forget about Him. Merciful Allah thus presents Hajj an obligatory duty
that is a unique blend of prayers, zakat and fasting. Hajj gives us the
opportunity to surrender ourselves to the glory of Allah and seek forgiveness.
All that Allah asks for is to be mindful towards Him and submit.
Materialistic thoughts
are not able to provide the peace of mind that all men are looking for ages.
Duties, stress, hectic work pressure and other tension pull you away from your
true nature that is to be close to Allah. Hajj allows a man to forget about
everything, get detached from rest of the world, submerged in the thoughts of Allah,
and find the peace in His arms.
Allah makes Hajj an
obligatory duty, done once in a lifetime, to all the Muslim people who are
sound mentally, physically and financially. Every Muslim also needs to
ensure that they are fulfilled all their worldly responsibility before that.
Allah has created
humankind to worship Him. However, the human becomes entangled with mundane
life and forget about Him. Merciful Allah thus presents Hajj an obligatory duty
that is a unique blend of prayers, zakat and fasting. Hajj gives us the
opportunity to surrender ourselves to the glory of Allah and seek forgiveness.
All that Allah asks for is to be mindful towards Him and submit.
Materialistic thoughts
are not able to provide the peace of mind that all men are looking for ages.
Duties, stress, hectic work pressure and other tension pull you away from your
true nature that is to be close to Allah. Hajj allows a man to forget about
everything, get detached from rest of the world, submerged in the thoughts of
Allah, and find the peace in His arms.
Allah makes Hajj an
obligatory duty, done once in a lifetime, to all the Muslim people who are
physically, mentally and financially sound. Every Muslim also needs to ensure
that they are fulfilled all their worldly responsibility before that.
When is it performed?
As per Islamic
calendar, capable Muslims are required to travel to Makkah with an intention to
perform Hajj. Each year Hajj starts on the 8th day of the lunar month, Dhu
al-Hijjah. Hajj is a five-day-long process that lies between the 8-12th days of
the lunar month. The solar calendar (Gregorian calendar) precedes the lunar
calendar (Islamic calendar) by around ten days every year. Due to this reason,
hajj falls 10-11 days earlier than its previous year dates in the Gregorian calendar.
Hajj an obligatory duty
includes many rituals such as wearing Irham, staying and offering prayer in
Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, performing Ramy (throwing seven pebbles) at
Jamarat-al-Ula’, ‘Jamarat-al-Wusta’ and ‘Jamarat-al-Aqaba’ and sacrificing the
animal in the name of Allah. They also need to perform Tawaaf (seven times anti
clock circumambulations around the Kaaba; Starting from the Hajar-al-Aswad),
drinking water from Zamzam well, Sa’y (to and fro walking between As-Safaa and
Al-Marwah seven times) and performing Qasar or Halaq (a ritual of cutting hair
either entirely or trimming it equal to a length of a fingertip).
