LECTURE TITLE:
Ten Good Manners for Hajj
By Imam al-Ghazali
LECTURER (AND TRANSLATED):
Shaykh Abdal-Hakim Murad
LANGUAGES :
In English.
LECTURE :
There are ten good manners which the pilgrim should observe.
Firstly, the money he spends must come from halal sources. He
must strive, likewise, to avoid carrying on any business while on Hajj,
such as would occupy the heart and distract his attention; for his
purpose should be solely to remember Allah and to honour His rites. It
is related that ‘at the end of time, four types of people will perform
Hajj: the rulers (for enjoyment), the wealthy (to do business), the
poor (to beg), and the Quran-reciters (to show off).’ This report
indicates the kind of worldly purposes which can lie behind people’s
Hajj, and they all destroy the Hajj’s merit and prevent people from
performing the ceremony in its inward reality. Particularly devoid of
benefit is the Hajj made by someone on another’s behalf in exchange for
money, for such a pilgrimage is done for the sake of this world, not
the next. Scrupulous believers and people of pure heart have said that
the only exception which ever occurs to this is when the intention is
to stay in Makka for some time, and the only way to afford the journey
is this kind of surrogate Hajj. If this is the intention, namely, that
one is using dunya to pursue din, and not the other way around, then
such a paid pilgrimage is not wrong. But the intention should be stated
as ‘visiting Allah’s pure House, and helping an incapable Muslim
brother to discharge an obligation’.
Secondly, the pilgrim must not assist Allah’s enemies by
paying them unlawful taxes and levies. Such people are considered among
‘those who obstruct God’s path’, and include the desert Arabs who
ambush pilgrims along the route. Because to hand them money is to give
support to injustice, one must find ruses and tricks to avoid this as
much as one can. Wearing poor and humble clothes will often help. But
if this is not possible, then some scholars have said that if the Hajj
is a second or subsequent one, then it is best to return home without
making the payment. Such charges are a disgraceful innovation, and to
submit to them gives them the appearance of legitimate custom, and
brings only humiliation and abasement to the Muslims.
Thirdly, one should bring much food with one, and be
open-hearted and generous in sharing it with others. But one should not
go to wasteful extremes in enjoying delectable kinds of food and drink,
as those who live in luxury do. Other than this, one cannot be too
generous and liberal in feeding other pilgrims, for ‘goodness knows no
extravagance’. To share one’s food supply with others during the Hajj
is to spend in God’s path; as Ibn Umar said: ‘The best pilgrim is the
noblest in intention, the purest in giving, and the greatest in
certainty.’ The Prophet, upon him be blessings and peace, once said: ‘A
fulfilled Hajj has no reward other than Paradise.’ He was asked, ‘O
Messenger of God, and what is the “fulfillment” of Hajj?’ and he
replied: ‘Speaking good words, and giving out food.’
Fourthly, during the Hajj one must renounce all rafath,
fusuq, and jidal, as the Quran says. ‘Rafath’ is an inclusive term for
loose and obscene talk. It includes flirting with women and mentioning
anything connected with sexual desire. ‘Fusuq’ is a term for any
departure from obedience to Allah, while ‘jidal’ means boastful and
argumentative talk of the kind that provokes rancour, scatters one’s
intention, and violates the rules of good manners and behaviour. It is
reprehensible, therefore, to criticise or go against the wishes of
one’s companions, for one should always be gentle and respectful of
travellers to God’s House. Good character is not the repayment of harm,
but the endurance of it. It is said that travel (safar) received its
name because it unveils (sufur) people’s character traits, which is why
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) told a man who claimed that he
knew a friend well, ‘Have you travelled with him?’ When the man replied
that he had not, Umar simply said, ‘Then you do not know him.’
Fifthly, one should perform as much of the Hajj as possible
on foot. On his deathbed, Ibn Abbas told his sons: ‘My sons, you should
make Hajj on foot, for the walking pilgrim receives seven hundred
blessings from the Sacred Sanctuary with every step he takes.’ One
should take particular care to walk during the important rituals, such
as the movement from Makka to Arafat and to Mina. Some ulema, however,
have held that riding is better, because this allows one better to
assist others, is safer, and keeps one away from situations which may
provoke anger and resentment in one’s heart. In reality, this view is
not in conflict with the former opinion: one should simply use one’s
discernment, so that one walks if one finds walking easy, but rides if
one is weak or fears that walking will worsen one’s behaviour and
damage the quality of one’s actions. When performing the rites of Umra,
it is best to walk, and to spend the money thus saved in good works.
Sixthly, the pilgrim who chooses to ride should ride on a
saddle rather than in a canopied howdah. The only exception is the
pilgrim who is weak or unused to riding, and fears that he may fall off
the normal camel-saddle. There are two considerations here. Firstly,
one should give ease to the camel, and howdahs are uncomfortable for
them to bear; and secondly, one should avoid imitating the appearance
of the proud and wealthy. The Prophet, upon him be peace, made Hajj
riding, in order that people could follow him and note his actions, but
he rode on an old cloth-saddle which had cost only four dirhams. In
later times, caravans became splendid affairs, so that Ibn Umar,
beholding one of them, said: ‘Few pilgrims, but so many beasts!’ He
then noticed a pauper in rags, and said, ‘Here is a hajji that is
magnificent indeed!’
Seventhly, one should have a ragged, dusty, untidy
appearance, with uncombed hair, without much external ornament or any
inclination to pomp and show. For otherwise, one might be inscribed
among the proud and haughty who live in luxury, rather than among the
weak, poor, and pure in heart. The Prophet (upon whom be peace)
observed that ‘the [true] hajji is untidy of hair and unkempt’. And
Allah the Exalted declares: ‘Behold the visitors to My House. They have
come to Me dusty and with unkempt hair, from every deep valley.’ And He
says: ‘Then let them end their unkemptness’ – by shaving their heads
and trimming their nails.
Eighthly, one must be gentle with the animals one rides. It
is not allowable to overburden them, or to sleep on them. The pious
Muslims of old never slept on animals, except for accidental dozing;
neither did they sit on them for extended periods without a break.
Allah’s Messenger, upon him be peace, has said: ‘Do not treat your
animals as chairs’. It is recommended, and this is the Sunna, that one
dismount from time to time to allow the animal to rest. When on his
deathbed, Abu’l-Darda said to his camel: ‘My camel, I never overloaded
you, so do not complain of me before your Lord!’ Allah rewards people
for kindnesses shown to any living thing; so we must uphold the beast’s
right, and the right of the owner of the beast who rented it out. To
descend for a while and walk beside it gives relief to the animal, and
pleasure to the camel-agent. A man once asked Ibn al-Mubarak to take a
book with him and deliver it at his destination. ‘I shall ask the
agent’s permission’, he said, ‘for I have already agreed on an animal
and a fee.’ See how scrupulous he was over carrying a single book,
whose weight was negligible. For if one opens the door to a little,
then after a time, much will flow through it.
Ninthly, the pilgrim should seek to please Allah by offering
a sacrifice, even if this is not obligatory upon him. He should strive
to ensure that it is a plump and valuable animal. If the sacrifice is
optional, he should eat from it, but not if it is obligatory. What is
intended is not the supply of great quantities of meat, but the
purification of the soul and the suppression of the ego’s love of
avarice. ‘Their meat and flesh do not reach God; but the piety from you
reaches Him.’
Tenthly, one must be pleased by the expenditures and
sacrifices one makes, and the losses one suffers to one’s money or
person; for such trials are a sign that one’s Hajj has been accepted by
God. A misfortune on the way to Hajj is like one of the difficulties
which confront the warrior in Jihad, so that for every pain one feels,
and for every loss one sustains, one has a reward – and Allah does not
allow the reward of any good person to be lost
BIBLIOGRAPHY :
Author : Shaykh Abdal-Hakim Murad
Copyright : © Shaykh Abdal-Hakim Murad
Retrieved from : Mas’ud Ahmad Khan’s Web Presence
