PEARLS OF WISDOM: WHAT AFTER HAJJ? > What after Hajj? > > Allaah The Almighty Legislated the acts of worship and > obedience for great wisdom and sublime objectives. No > wonder, as they strengthen the faith, purify the soul, > correct the attitude and refine the morals. If acts of > worship did not achieve these objectives, then the Muslim > would not benefit from them properly. In such a case, acts > of worship might turn into lifeless rituals that one > performs without any actual influence on his reality and > attitude. > > This rule applies to Hajj. When the believer performs Hajj > properly realizing its objectives and feeling its meanings, > it will be of great influence upon him in this life and in > the Hereafter. > > Thus, dear pilgrim, Allaah The Almighty Honored you with the > blessing of visiting His House and Enabled you to perform > His obligation. Therefore, you have to stop and contemplate > your conditions, review the state of your heart and correct > the course of your life. > The first thing you have to realize is the greatness of the > blessing that Allaah The Almighty Bestowed upon you when He > Facilitated your affairs and Enabled you to perform this > great duty. Certainly, this necessitates you to praise > Allaah The Exalted for this blessing, of which many people > are deprived, despite their longing for it. Praising Allaah > The Almighty for this blessing entails preserving it, > adherence to obedience to Allaah The Almighty and compliance > with His religion and Sharee‘ah. > > The most important thing that you should maintain after your > Hajj is the issue of steadfastness and guarding this great > deed (your performance of Hajj) against things that could > nullify it. You should ask Allaah The Almighty ceaselessly > to Help you adhere firmly to His religion and Guide you to > obey Him, and Make you avoid His disobedience so that you > {will be with the ones upon whom Allaah Has Bestowed favor > of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the > martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as > companions}[Quran 4:69] > Allaah The Almighty Gave people examples illustrating this > issue to warn His slaves of invalidating their deeds and > losing them when they need them urgently. Allaah The > Almighty Says (what means): {Would one of you like to have a > garden of palm trees and grapevines underneath which rivers > flow in which he has from every fruit? But he is afflicted > with old age and has weak offspring, and it is hit by a > whirlwind containing fire and is burned. Thus Does Allaah > Make clear to you [His] verses that you might give > thought.}[Quran 2:266] > This example speaks about those who did good deeds and then > regressed replacing good deeds with evil ones. We seek > refuge with Allaah The Exalted from this. In his commentary > on this verse, Ibn ‘Abbaas, May Allaah Be Pleased with > him, said: This is an example of a rich man who does good > acts out of obedience of Allaah and then Allaah Sends him > the devil whereupon he commits sins till all his good deeds > are lost.” [Al-Bukhaari] > > Dear pilgrim, remember that the accepted Hajj has signs. The > most prominent of these signs is the continuity of > uprightness and obedience to Allaah The Exalted. > Furthermore, your relationship with Allaah The Almighty > should be better than before. Al-Hasan Al-Basri, May Allaah > Have mercy upon him, was told that the accepted Hajj is > rewarded by Paradise. He said, “The sign of this is to > return (from Hajj) renouncing this world and aspiring to the > Hereafter.” > I wish that you, dear pilgrim, would finish your Hajj while > you realize that its most important objective is to train > the Muslim in worshipping Allaah The Almighty alone, to > comply with His commandments, avoid His prohibitions and > follow the Sunnah of His Prophet sallallaahu > `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his > mention ). These objectives are not confined to a certain > time; rather, the Muslim should adhere to them as long as he > is alive. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And > worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty > (death).} [Quran 15:99] > Your condition after doing good deeds should be like those > about whom Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And they > who give what they give while their hearts are fearful > because they will be returning to their Lord -} [Quran > 23:60] > Although they try to get closer to Allaah The Almighty > through various acts of worship, they fear that their deeds > may be rejected. That is why ‘Ali, May Allaah Be Pleased > with him, used to say, “Be more concerned about the > acceptance of your deeds than about the deeds themselves. > Have not you read the Quranic verse in which Allaah The > Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, Allaah only Accepts > from the righteous [who fear Him].} [Quran 5:27]?” > > Hence, Allaah The Almighty Commanded the pilgrims to seek > His forgiveness after departing from ‘Arafah and > Al-Muzdalifah saying (what means), {Then depart from the > place from where [all] the people depart and ask Forgiveness > of Allaah. Indeed, Allaah Is Forgiving and Merciful.} [Quran > 2:199] > Finally, dear pilgrim, you stood at ‘Arafah, you shed > tears and you showed remorse over your previous misdeeds. > Allaah The Almighty Emancipated you from Hell, so beware of > regressing to sins after being forgiven by Allaah or drawing > near Hell after being saved from it. > Be determined to make your Hajj a turning point in your > life, reckon yourself and determine what influence your Hajj > had upon your heart, attitude, words and deeds. > Keep doing good deeds even if they are little, because > regular small deeds are better than interrupted greater > ones. You should know that deeds, which Allaah The Almighty > Loves most, are the most regular and constant ones even > though they were little. > We ask Allaah The Almighty by His Names and most beautiful > Attributes to Accept your Hajj, Forgive your sins and Reward > you for your efforts. We also ask Him to Accept our good > deeds and Provide us with steadfastness and uprightness > until death. >
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 07:25:42 +0000