Lessons of Creed Acquired
From The Hajj[1]
By
‘AbdurRazzaq bin ‘Abdul-Muhsin al-Badr
Translated by
Abbas
Abu Yahya
Chapter 2
An Explanation of a Number of Benefits of Hajj
As was mentioned in the previous discussion of the excellence of Hajj
and its high stature, Hajj is from amongst the most distinguished acts
of worship and the greatest means of seeking closeness to Allaah. It is a pillar from the great pillars of
Islaam and it is a principle from the strong foundations upon which Islaam
stands and is built as was indicated previously when we mentioned the worldly
and religious virtues and benefits of the Hajj, which a person can
neither enumerate, nor limit nor is a person able to count them, and in this
regard Allaah Ta’ala says in the
Noble Qur’aan:
وَأَذِّن فِي ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡحَجِّ يَأۡتُوكَ رِجَالٗا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٖ يَأۡتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ
عَمِيقٖ ٢٧ لِّيَشۡهَدُواْ
مَنَٰفِعَ لَهُمۡ وَيَذۡكُرُواْ ٱسۡمَ ٱللَّهِ فِيٓ أَيَّامٖ مَّعۡلُومَٰتٍ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّنۢ بَهِيمَةِ ٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِۖ فَكُلُواْ مِنۡهَا
وَأَطۡعِمُواْ ٱلۡبَآئِسَ ٱلۡفَقِيرَ ٢٨ ثُمَّ لۡيَقۡضُواْ تَفَثَهُمۡ وَلۡيُوفُواْ نُذُورَهُمۡ وَلۡيَطَّوَّفُواْ بِٱلۡبَيۡتِ ٱلۡعَتِيقِ
مَنَٰفِعَ لَهُمۡ وَيَذۡكُرُواْ ٱسۡمَ ٱللَّهِ فِيٓ أَيَّامٖ مَّعۡلُومَٰتٍ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَهُم مِّنۢ بَهِيمَةِ ٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِۖ فَكُلُواْ مِنۡهَا
وَأَطۡعِمُواْ ٱلۡبَآئِسَ ٱلۡفَقِيرَ ٢٨ ثُمَّ لۡيَقۡضُواْ تَفَثَهُمۡ وَلۡيُوفُواْ نُذُورَهُمۡ وَلۡيَطَّوَّفُواْ بِٱلۡبَيۡتِ ٱلۡعَتِيقِ
<<And proclaim to mankind the Hajj. They will come to you on foot and on every
lean camel, they will come from every deep and distant mountain highway (to
perform Hajj). That they may
witness things that are of benefit to them and mention the Name of Allaah on
the appointed days, over the livestock animals that He has provided for
them. Then eat thereof and feed
therewith the poor having a hard time.
Then let them complete their prescribed duties and perform their vows,
and circumambulate the Ancient House.>>
[al-Hajj: 27-29]
Therefore the Hajj is full of religious and worldly benefits, and
the arabic letter Laam [ل ] in the saying of
Allaah: <<…may witness things that are of
benefit to them……>> is the arabic letter Laam which is used for
purpose and reason which, here, is connected to the saying of Allaah:
<<And proclaim to mankind the Hajj. They will come to you on foot and on every
lean camel………>>, which means; if the Hajj is proclaimed they will
come to you walking and riding so that they can witness benefits; i.e. they can
be present for their benefits, and the meaning of ‘be present’ is that they can
achieve these benefits.
His saying << منافع - benefits>> is the plural of <<منفعة - benefit >>, because Allaah intended benefits from this specific
act of worship, religious and worldly benefits, which are not found in any
other act of worship which is done together, communally.
Ibn Abee Haatim narrated in his Tafseer on the authority of Ibn
Abbas –RadhiAllaahu
anhumma- who said regarding the saying of Allaah Ta’ala:
<< may witness things that are of benefit to them>>
‘Benefits in the world and benefits in the Hereafter. As for benefits of the Hereafter then it is
the pleasure of Allaah- Azza wa Jal- and as for
benefits of the world then it is what they acquire of the meat of the goat and
the slaughtered animals and business.’[2]
AbdurRazzaq narrated on the authority of Mujahid –Rahimullaah- regarding the statement of Allaah <<…may witness things that are of benefit to them>> he said: ‘Business and that which is pleasing to Allaah from the matters of the
world and the Hereafter.’[3]
Ibn Jareer at-Tabari narrated in his Tafseer on the authority of
Mujahid –Rahimullaah- <<…may witness things that are of benefit to them.>> He said: ‘The reward in the Hereafter and business in the worldly life.’[4]
So the benefits which the pilgrims achieve and encounter in their Hajj
to the House of Allaah the al-Haram, are many and varied:
-
Religious benefits of
distinguished acts of worship and momentous acts of obedience which cannot take
place except in the Hajj.
-
Worldly benefits of profits and
achieving worldly gains, as Allaah mentions in the context of the Ayaat
of Hajj in Soorah al-Baqarah :
لَيۡسَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ جُنَاحٌ أَن
تَبۡتَغُواْ فَضۡلٗا مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡۚ
<<There
is no sin on you if you seek the bounty of your Lord >>[al-Baqarah : 198]
It is narrated by Abu Daawood and others on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas - RadhiAllaah anhu - who said:
‘They used to be frightened to buy and sell and to
conduct business during the prohibited season and during the Hajj because
they would say ‘These are the days of Dhikr (remembrance).’ Then Allaah revealed :
لَيۡسَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ جُنَاحٌ أَن
تَبۡتَغُواْ فَضۡلٗا مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡۚ
<<There
is no sin on you if you seek the bounty of your Lord >>[al-Baqarah : 198]
It is narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas -RadiAllaah anhu- that he said, regarding the meaning of this Ayaah:
‘There is no harm in you buying and selling before the
Ihraam or after it.’[5]
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqitee -Rahimullaahi- said : ‘And the scholars of Tafseer are agreed on the meaning of
the statement of Allaah : <<There is no sin on you if you seek the bounty
of your Lord >> that there is no sin upon the person performing Hajj
nor is there any harm if he desires to profit from business during the days of Hajj
if this does not busy him from
performing the rituals of Hajj.’[6]
Also from the worldly benefits for the people doing Hajj are what
they gain from the sacrificial and slaughtered animals, as Allaah Ta’ala
mentions :
<< In them (cattle offered for sacrifice) are benefits for you for
an appointed term and afterwards they are brought for sacrifice unto the
Ancient House >>
Further to that is what the pilgrim gains of religious benefits, which
cannot be compared to the worldly benefits since, in the Hajj, there are
great rewards and plentiful expiations, forgiveness of sins, cancellation of
bad deeds and many other great religious benefits which cannot be counted- all
of which the pilgrim attains if he has Taqwa of Allaah during his Hajj
by fulfilling His commands and keeping away from His prohibitions.
What greater good can there be?
What can be more profitable than that the pilgrim departs from his Hajj
and he is as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him, with no sin or mistake, as Allaah mentions :
فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوۡمَيۡنِ فَلَآ إِثۡمَ عَلَيۡهِ وَمَن
تَأَخَّرَ فَلَآ إِثۡمَ عَلَيۡهِۖ لِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰۗ
<< But whosoever hastens to leave in two days, there is no sin on
him and whosoever stays on, there is no sin on him, if his aim is to do
good>>
[al-Baqarah :203]
Ibn Jareer chose in his Tafseer of this Ayaah, after mentioning the sayings of the people of
knowledge, the saying, that its meaning is:
‘So whosoever hastens the two days from the three days of Mina and he
leaves on the second day, then there is no sin upon him since Allaah has purged
him of his sins, if he had feared Allaah during his Hajj, avoided that
which Allaah had ordered him to avoid, and done what Allaah had commanded him
to do and had been obedient in performing the Hajj according to what
Allaah had required from him, from His laws. Whosoever delays the Hajj
until the third day ……..then there is no sin upon him, since Allaah has covered
up what has preceded from his sins and crimes if he had Taqwa of Allaah
whilst carrying out the Hajj within its limits.’[7]
Then Ibn Jareer mentions some clear narrations from the Messenger of
Allaah - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - with this meaning, and from them is his - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – saying: ‘He who
performs Hajj and does not commit intercourse nor is disobedient to
Allaah then he returns cleansed from his sins just as the day his mother gave
birth to him.’[8]
The Messenger -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said :
‘The reward of a complete Hajj is nothing but
Paradise.’[9]
The Messenger - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - said :
‘Perform the Hajj and the ‘Umrah
regularly since they do indeed negate poverty and sins just as the bellows get
rid of the filth from iron.’[10]
So these texts show that
if the pilgrim performs Hajj within its limits according to what Allaah
commanded then he has become free from all his sins, as Allaah -Jala wa ‘Ala
- says :
فَلَآ
إِثۡمَ عَلَيۡهِۖ لِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰۗ
<<there is no sin on
him, if his aim is to do good >>
[al-Baqarah :203]
Meaning; for the one who
fears Allaah in his Hajj by carrying out the commands and keeping away
from the prohibitions.
There is no doubt that
this is a great virtue and an amazing benefit which the believing hearts hasten
to receive and the truthful souls desire to achieve. By Allaah how great are His virtues and how
great are the benefits. When the pilgrim
returns to his country after having carried out his Hajj and having his
sins forgiven, he is left pure and clean from his sins and bad deeds, just as
the day his mother gave birth to him, with no sin upon him nor any mistakes if
he had Taqwaa of his Lord in his Hajj.
In fact, from the great
favours of the Lord – far is He from imperfection - and from His beautiful
kindness to His pilgrim slaves, is that He boasts to His Angels about the
pilgrims to His House al-Haram when they stand altogether on the plain
of ‘Arafat and says: ‘Look at My slaves coming to Me from every deep valley
with dishevelled hair, covered in dust and sacrificing , I take you as
witnesses that I have indeed forgiven them.’[11]
By this, it becomes clear
that the pilgrim returns from his Hajj with the greatest of profits and
the biggest of gains and it is none other than forgiveness from his Lord for
his sins.
So, after his Hajj
he begins a new, righteous life full of Eemaan and Taqwaa, filled
with goodness, being upright and persistent in obedience, but achieving this
reward is conditional on performing the Hajj correctly with sincerity
and truthfulness and sincere repentance, coupled with avoiding anything of committing
intercourse or disobedience to Allaah that cancels out the Hajj, as was
mentioned earlier. If he performs his Hajj
like this, then it wipes out what was before it and the pilgrim departs from
his Hajj in a wonderful state, like the day his mother gave birth to him
without any sin or mistakes.
[1] This Highly beneficial booklet was compiled from a series of
lectures that the Shaykh delivered in Masjid Quba for the visiting
pilgrims. It was translated by Allaah’s
blessings in 1423 A.H. in the Prophetic City of al-Madina.
[2] Mentioned as-Suyuti in ad-Durur al-Manthoor (6/37)
[3] Tafseer ‘AbdurRazzaq (2/36)
[4] Jama’ al-Bayaan (10/ 147)
[5] Narrated by Ibn Jareer (2/282)
[6] Adwaa al-Bayaan (5/ 489)
[7] Jama’ Al-Bayaan (2/309)
[8] Saheeh al-Bukharee and Muslim
[9] Muslim
[10] Narrated by Nisae, and at-Tabaranee in al-kabeer, and al-Albaanee
authenticated it in as-Saheehah (1200)
[11] Narrated by Ibn Khuzaimah in his authentic book and shaykh
al-Albaanee said it was weak in ‘Silsilah Daeefah’. The first sentence, i.e. up to the word [
dusty ], has a supporting witness from the hadeeth of ‘Abdullaah bin ‘Amr bin
al-‘Aas which is mentioned by Ahmad, from the hadeeth of Abu Hurairah which is
mentioned by Ahmad, and Ibn Khuzaimah, al-Hakim in ‘al-Mustadrak’ and other
than them.
