The Spirituality of Hajj (5)
By: Spahic Omer/IslamiCity
(continued from last week)
Due to all this, plus the supplication of Ibrahim that the believing human hearts incline towards it, the Ka’bah is dearly loved and longed for. Because it signifies the result of a direct heavenly initiative and involvement, the Ka’bah’s intrinsic charm and beauty are beyond description. Lost for words, while watching, touching, or circumambulating it, most people tend to give in to the stream of profuse, albeit incommunicable spiritual, psychological and even intellectual emotions the circumstances generate. As if they sense that being silent and self-effacing, acknowledging the supernatural and divine overarching character of the Ka’bah - while juxtaposing it with their flaws, inadequacies and this - worldliness - is the best and most profitable mood. Any other approach is set to divest visitors and worshippers of some of the boons they have come for and were instinctively looking forward to procuring.
Feeling hopeless, some people resort to closing their eyes and trying to “watch” and “embrace” the Ka’bah rather by means of their elated hearts and ecstatic souls. That way, all the inapt and under the circumstances “impairing” physical senses are temporarily shut, and through that metaphysical God-granted capacity that graces each and every human creature, one’s self is attempted to be elevated to a higher spiritual vintage point from where the Ka’bah could be “seen” and experienced better. Losing completely oneself inside the spiritual domains of the Ka’bah, it goes without saying, is the best way for a person to find and experience the quintessence of his own being, existence as a whole and the Ka’bah phenomenon itself.
If the Ka’bah is sanctified, so is its tawaf and the atmosphere the latter generates. As a result, a person performing tawaf must be cleansed of all major and minor physical impurities. He must be up to the task. Not only that; the Prophet (pbuh) said that tawaf around the Ka’bah is similar to Salat (prayer) except that people can talk during it. “So whoever talks in it, then let him not say but good.” Thus, just like in Salat, a person making tawaf is expected to “face” the Ka’bah and to capitalize on the opportunity to advance towards his ultimate destiny. All this is intended to optimize the function of the Ka’bah and its tawaf, and to prepare the people for things to come.
It is interesting to note that despite everything, there is no particular dhikr (remembrance of God) for tawaf. A pilgrim may read the Qur’an or say any dhikr he wants. This is important because dhikr, supplications and reciting the Qur’an should be placed in the service of aiding and boosting one’s experience of tawaf. People come from diverse religious, intellectual and socio-cultural backgrounds, hence there should be no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. What is inspiring and motivating for some, it is not so much for others.
People should feel free and have recourse to any dhikr, supplications and Qur’an recitation templates they want and feel can improve their knowledge and experiences. There are yet those who prefer contemplation – the activities of the mind and the soul at the expense of the tongue - above everything else. What is important is that the dimensions of a pilgrim – the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual – stay together and in unison work towards the same ends. A pilgrim is at loss if his dimensions are fragmented and incoherent, clouding his awareness and marring his sensations.
It is inappropriate – as it happens all the time unfortunately – that upon pilgrims certain dhikr, supplications and Qur’an reading patterns are rigidly imposed. Those pilgrims are navigated through the tawaf tide and asked to say or recite what they neither know nor understand. They blindly cling to it believing that such is the way and so, is the exclusive virtue.
Those people and their instructors are the proponents of deadening formalism and ritualism, which is a small manifestation of a much larger problem (the tip of the iceberg). For them, tawaf and the rest of Hajj are merely a set of dry and superficially meaningful ceremonies. The object is just to do, not really comprehend and live through the events. They travel through the tawaf stream like a traveller who sleeps through his night journey. He wakes up when everything is over.
In tawaf a pilgrim wears the upper sheet of ihram in such a way that it goes under his right armpit and over the left, exposing thus the right shoulder. Of the seven circles around the Ka’bah, a pilgrim should hasten, or jog, during the first three and walk during the remaining four circles. There is a historical reason for this, which persisted in order for the subsequent generations of Muslims to share a form and a feeling similar to that observed and felt by early Muslims.
A companion of the Prophet (pbuh), Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas, reported that when the Prophet (pbuh) and a company of Muslims came from Madinah to Makkah to perform ‘Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage) they were weakened somewhat by the fever in Madinah. Makkah was still in the hands of the polytheistic Quraysh and they wanted to employ this as a propaganda material against Muslims. They used to say to their countrymen: “People weakened with fever have come to you and they are afflicted with evil.”
Allah informed the Prophet (pbuh) about this and he commanded the Muslims to jog through the first three circuits of tawaf. It is believed that the same reason was behind exposing their right shoulders. The Prophet (pbuh) wanted to show the Quraysh that the opposite of what they were alleging was true. The initiative, without a doubt, was part of psychological warfare. Having witnessed the spectacle, the Quraysh said: “Are those the people you said are weak because of the fever? They are stronger and sturdier than us.” The Prophet (pbuh) did not instruct the Muslims to jog all through the seven circuits of tawah lest they overexert themselves.
The way tawaf is performed remains a sign of strength and endurance ever since. It is reminiscent of life struggles that await believers in their lives. As the followers of the truth, their tests will not end, in that Satan and his armies never sleep. Therefore, jihad (a comprehensive struggle to make the Word of God supreme) should be the top priority of believers and they should be ever ready. Their life interests, activities, possessions and even the ways they dress and behave ought to serve as the testaments of their inner state. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, although both are good. Strive for that which will benefit you, seek the help of Allah, and do not feel helpless.”
One should not forget the importance of following in the footsteps of and emulating the example of the Prophet (pbuh). Such is an unmistaken sign of true faith. ‘Umar bin al-Khattab said: “There is no reason for us to do ramal (i.e. jogging during the first three circles of tawaf) except that we wanted to show off before the pagans, and now Allah has destroyed them. Nevertheless, the Prophet did that and we do not want to leave it.”
As a rule, Hajj rituals, big and small – yet all Islamic rites and ceremonies - are learned from the Prophet (pbuh) exclusively. He himself used to lay emphasis on that throughout his Hajj. Once he said: “Take your rituals from me. I do not know whether I will be able to perform another Hajj after this one.” As per a report narrated by Imam al-Bukhari, Abdul-Malik bin Marwan wrote to al-Hajjaj that he should follow the companion ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar in all the ceremonies of Hajj. He did so because Abdullah bin ‘Umar was well-known for following the Prophet (pbuh) in the minutest details. He was al-Hajjaj’s sure thing in matters of uncertainty. Following Abdullah bin ‘Umar was tantamount to following the Prophet (pbuh).
Parenthetically, scholars are almost unanimous that revealing the right shoulder and jogging through the first three rounds of tawaf (ramal) is required only during the first tawaf of Hajj, which is tawaf al-qudum (tawaf of arrival). Such is the first thing a pilgrim does upon his arrival in Makkah and in the Holy Mosque. With it he greets the place and occasion – and is greeted by them. He announces his arrival and readiness to engage in the impending tasks. He demonstrates that he is sufficiently healthy and strong. Revealing the right shoulder and doing the ramal is not required during the subsequent tawaf al-ifadah (tawaf of visiting), tawaf al-wida’ (farewell tawaf) and the voluntary tawaf. In these three types of tawaf pilgrims wear their regular clothes, hence especially revealing the right shoulder becomes unrealistic.
The above lessons should likewise be imparted to pilgrims as part of their Hajj education, motivation and guidance. They are to be galvanized thus, prompting them to pledge to spend the remainder of their lives not merely as the servants, but also as soldiers of the truth. They can do that right during tawaf and in the vicinity of the Ka’bah, or at any stage of the revolutionary experience of Hajj.
The lessons have the potential to enhance pilgrims’ sense of purpose. Their sense of time, place and history will also be brought into focus, revealing and further augmenting their belonging to the universal community of believers moving across times, lands and ideas. Fulfilling their human need of feeling that they belong will go a long way towards the opening of new avenues for the enrichment of pilgrims and of their confidence-building.
As a sign of this crowning virtue of belonging, a pilgrim, having completed tawaf, offers a two-rak’ah (unit) prayer at the station of Prophet Ibrahim – the father of prophets and an ummah (a total nation, leader and model). Not to speak of the fact – in respect of quantity - that one prayer in the Holy Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram) is better than one hundred thousand prayers elsewhere, as revealed by the Prophet (pbuh).
Next, a pilgrim moves on to perform sa’y.