Haj - A call for peace

by Mohammed NAALIR

Portraying the theme of unity which is a unique concept of Islam, the Muslims from various parts of the globe throng the Holy Mecca to pay homage to the Almighty while paying tribute to Prophet Ibrahim for his incomparable sacrifice, made to the God 1,500 years ago in Mecca.

Every year in the month of Thulhaj the Muslim devotees gather in the Holy City of Mecca from the time of Prophet Ibrahim to fulfil the Haj duty.

Islam is a way of unity. It says: Hold the rope of unity tightly you will never be misled. With the celebration of Haj there are several things to be recalled, the first being the incredible spring and the second, the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim's one and only child Ismail to God. At the very outset Allah directed Prophet Ibrahim to leave his wife Hajara and beloved son Ismail in a desert where nobody was available to help or safeguard them except the Almighty. Accepting the order of the Almighty Prophet Ibrahim left his son and wife in the desert with no human souls.

On his way after leaving son and wife in the desert he begged the Almighty that God, believing only "in your protection I have left my wife and child here, so make this place a safe city to afford protection to them, provide them with tasty food and fruits." The Holy Mecca City is evidence to the extent to which the Almighty fulfilled the request of Prophet Ibrahim.

According to history of Islam, Mecca was established at the request of Prophet Ibrahim to Almighty Allah. Still Holy Mecca remains a safe city for all those who come there and it provides asylum to the helpless.

All food items in their possession finished because of daily consumption. Later nothing remained to eat. They did not have even a date fruit in their possession. It was not an easy task for a female with an infant to spend the day and night without food and water. The brave Mother Hajara with a view to fulfilling the duty of the Almighty and her husband temporarily made a tent using dried date palm leaves to take shelter with her beloved child Ismail. Even though Hajara was hungry she calmed her son by feeding him with breast milk. As she spent several days without any food she could not breastfeed her son, Ismail any longer.

The mother was taking pains to feed her infant son. With the intention of finding water she left the infant alone and went in search of water. She ran between the rocks of Safa and Marwa seeing the mirage of water amidst the unbearable heat of the sun and burning soil. She ran here and there among the Safa, Marawa rocks but ended in failure. She finally returned disappointed to the place where her infant son was left. A miracle was waiting for her. Hearing the cries of her son she ran to him. Then she saw a miraculous spring below her son's feet. Seeing the spring she could not overcome her happiness and shouted 'Sam, Sam' (stop, stop) to prevent the water from being absorbed by the desert sand. The Almighty brought water to Mother Hajara and her son to a place where no water were available at all.

As a soldier obeys his superior, the spring ceased forthwith. Mother Hajara fed her beloved kid, Ismail with water and she also quenched her thirst. It became food for them as well as medicine for diseases.Prophet Muhammadhu (Sal) also described the 'Sam, Sam' well. While Ismail was seven, Prophet Ibrahim saw a dream that he should sacrifice his beloved son Ismail.

He saw the same dream for three days. Finally he explained the dream to his wife. She said that if it was Almighty's wish you must fulfil it without delay. On his way to sacrifice Ismail near Mina, Prophet Ibrahim explained to his son about the sacrifice. At once the son said that if it is the wish of Allah it is our duties to fulfil it without delay. Later the Almighty protected Ismail from being sacrificed.

Muslims all over the world will recall this and pay tribute to Prophet Ibrahim's incomparable sacrifice forever.

There are five fundamental duties to be fulfilled by a Muslim compulsorily according to its importance during his lifetime. Haj is the final duty to be performed by a Muslim based on his or her economic stability.

All activities of Haj depict death and the activities after death. One goes to Holy Mecca leaving one's beloved children, wife, relatives and one's jobs temporarily. This reminds us of death and of one's Kabur life which will last until Kiyama.

The Meekath is the place where the Haj pilgrims wear the Haj suit of Ihram.

After wearing the Ihram the Hajjis will say, "Thalbiyah" "Labbaique Labbaique". This means 'I have come to your presence accepting your call.' The Arafa ground is the place where Hajjis from various parts of the world throng without with no regard to colour, community, country, caste, rich or poor on the ninth of Thulhaj. The gathering at Arafa ground reminds us of Al-Mahshar ground where all will be awakened for final judgement by Allah!

All beg for pardon for their sins at Arafa ground as well as relief from the Abyss.

Jamra is the place where the Hajjis will throw stones at Satan. Here the Hajji challenges that he would eradicate all satanic thoughts from his mind.

The run between Safa and Marwa is carried out to recall Mother Hajara.

Kaabathullah is the first place to pay homage to the Almighty. During the Thufaan flood in Prophet Nooh's time the Kaabathullah was covered with sand dunes. Allah ordered Prophet Ibrahim to renovate the Kaaba for the worship by the devotees.

Prophet Ibrahim along with his son Ismail renovated the Kaaba and made it a place to pay homage to the Almighty.

Thereafter, Allah ordered Prophet Ibrahim to give an open call to all Muslims throughout the globe to come for Haj.