Hajj

(The Pilgrimage)
Reaching Toward Allah 

Hajj occurs during the highly respected month of Zul-Hijjah'. The land of Makkah (Mecca) is tranquil and peaceful. Instead of fear, hatred, and war, the desert is characterized by security and peace. An atmosphere for worship where people are free to face Almighty God is prevalent. 

Do you not hear Ibrahim's command:

And call upon the people for Hajj. They will come to you on their bare feet or riding any weak camel and they come to you from every far desert (Qur'an 21: 27).

You, oh Mud, search for and follow the spirit of Allah! Accept his invitation; leave your home in order to "see" Him. He is waiting for You! 
Human existence is frivolous unless one's aim is to approach the spirit of Allah. Separate yourself from all those needs and greeds which distract you from Allah. Therefore, join the eternal human migration to Hajj. "See" Almighty Allah! 
Before departing to perform Hajj, all of your debts should be paid. Your hates and angers toward relatives or friends must disappear. A will must be drawn. All of these gestures are an exercise in the preparation for death (which will overtake everyone some day). These acts guarantee your personal and financial clearance. The last moments of farewell and the future of man are symbolized. 
Now you are free to join eternity. On the day of resurrection, when "you can do nothing" in Allah's court, where "your eyes, ears, and heart are the best witnesses of what you have done," 

You and every organ of your body are responsible for your deeds. While you are in this "house of correction" get ready for the "house of justice". Exercise death before you die-go to Hajj !( Qur'an 22: 36 )
Hajj represents your return to Allah, the absolute, who has no limitations and none is like Him. To return to Him signifies a definite movement toward perfection, goodness, beauty, power knowledge, value, and facts. On your way toward the eternal, you will NEVER approach Allah. He is to guide you in the right direction and not to be your destination! 

Islam is different from Sufism. A Sufi lives "in the name of Allah", and dies "for the sake of Allah". But, a Muslim strives to approach Almighty God :

To Allah we belong and to Him is our return.

All affairs tend toward Allah ( Qur'an 2:156 & 42:53). 
Our goal is not to "perish", but to "bloom". This is done not "for Allah" but rather to bring us "toward Him". Allah is not so far away from you; therefore, try to reach Him! Allah is closer to you than yourself! 

We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (Qur'an 50:16). 

On the other hand, everyone beside Allah is too far to be reached! Oh man, all the angels prostrated to you; yet, through the passage of time and societal influence you have changed greatly. You have not abided by your promise to worship none but Almighty Allah. Instead, you have become a slave to idols, some of which are man-made. 

In an assembly of truth, in the presence of a sovereign omnipotent (Qur'an 54: 54);

Your nature is characterized by loyalty to other individuals, self-devotion, cruelty, and ignorance, a lack of direction, fearfulness, and greediness! This life has caused you to acquire animalistic traits. Now you are like a "wolf", "fox", "rat", or "sheep". 
Oh man, return to your origin. Go to Hajj and visit your best friend who created you as the best creature. He is waiting to see you! Leave the palaces of power, the treasures of wealth and the misleading temples. Dismember yourself from the flock of those animals whose shepherd is the wolf. Join the flock at Miad who is going to see the house of Allah or the house of the people. 

Dr. Ali Shariati 

Hajj

Poem by Naser Khosrow 

The pilgrims returned with reverence. They were thankful to the Merciful God. 
On their way to Mecca from Arafat, They repeatedly said "Labbaika" with great respect. 
While tired of experiencing the hardships of the desert of They rejoiced that they are saved from the torture and the fire. 
They have performed the Hajj and completed the Umra. Now, they safely return to their homelands. 
I took time to go and welcome them back, although men of my class did not normally do this. But among the crowd of this caravan, I had a dear and very sincere friend.
I asked him how he accomplished. This very difficult and fearful trip! 
I informed him that since he had departed and left me alone
All I could feel was regretful ness and sadness. 
Now, I am happy that you performed the Hajj, And you are the only Hajj in our homeland. |
Now, tell me, how was your performance? How did you respect that holy territory?
When you were about to remove your clothes and wear the Ihram What was your "intention" during those exciting moments? 
Did you absolutely avoid all the things that must be avoided And whatever is inferior to Almighty Allah? 
He replied NO! 
I asked him: If he said "labbaika" With full knowledge and great respect? If he heard the command of Allah? Or, if he obeyed as Ibrahim did? 
He replied NO! 
I asked him: While he was in Arafat, while he stood so close to Almighty God, Did he have a chance to know Him? Was he not eager to learn a bit of the knowledge? 
He replied NO! 
I asked him: When he entered the Ka'ba As the family of "Kahf and Raquim" had done, Did he deny his self-centeredness? Did he fear the punishment of the hereafter? 
He replied NO! 
I asked him: When he shot the idols, Did he think of them as evil? Did he then avoid wrong deeds?
He replied NO! 
I asked him: When he offered the sacrifice, To feed a hungry person or an orphan, Did he first think of Allah? And, did he then kill his selfishness? 
He replied NO! 
I asked him: When he stood in Abraham's position, Did he rely absolutely on God? Sincerely and with strong faith? 
He said NO! 
I asked him: While he circumambulated, when he made the Tawaf of Kaaba, Was he reminded of all the angels, who constantly circumambulate this world?  |He said No!
I asked him: During his Sa'y, While he was running between Safa and Marwa. Was he sanctified and purified? 
He said NO! 
I asked him: Now that he had returned from Mecca, And felt home-sick for the Ka'ba Did he bury his "self" there? Was he impatient to go back? 
He said NO! 
"Of whatever you have asked me so far, I have understood nothing!!!" 
I said: Oh friend, you have not performed the Hajj! And, you have not obeyed God! 
You went to Mecca and visited the Ka'ba! You spent your money to buy the hardships of the desert! 
If you do decide to go to Hajj again, try to perform it as I have instructed you! 

Hajj as a shift against racism:

El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X)'s letter

Malcolm X is one Muslim who saw the light of true Islam through his Hajj in April 1964. As a former member and speaker for the Nation of Islam, a black spiritual and nationalist movement, he believed that the white man was the devil and the black man superior.
After leaving the Nation of Islam in March 1964, he made Hajj, which helped change his perspective on whites and racism completely.
Here is an excerpt of a letter El Hajj Malik El Shabazz wrote about his Hajj experience. In it, he explains what it was during this blessed journey that made him so profoundly shift his perspective on race and racism:

"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 experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white.
You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have been always a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth.
During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass and slept in the same bed (or on the same rug)-while praying to the same God with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of the blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the actions and in the deeds of the ‘white' Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana.
We are truly all the same-brothers.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds."

Taken from:
http://www.soundvision.com/info/racism/xletter.asp

http://www.tebyan.net/english/default.htm