Imam Al-Ghazzali's 'good manners' guide on the Haj
Sacrificial offering: One of the good manners Iman Al-Ghazzali suggests is that the pilgrim should seek to please Allah by offering a sacrifice, even if this is not obligatory upon him.Picture: EPA
Friday, November 30, 2007
THERE are good manners which Imam Al-Ghazzali suggested the pilgrims observe.
Firstly, the money they spend must come from halal sources. He must strive, likewise, to avoid carrying on any business while on Haj, 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 Haj: the rulers (for enjoyment), the wealthy (to do business), the poor (to beg), and the Quran-reciters (to show off)". Worldly purposes which can lie behind people's Haj, and they all destroy the Haj's merit and prevent people from performing the ceremony in its inward reality.
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". To hand them money is to give support to injustice, one must find ruses and tricks to avoid this as much as one can.
Thirdly, one should bring much food with one, and be generous in sharing it with others. 'Ibn 'Umar said: "The best pilgrim is the noblest in intention, the purest in giving, and the greatest in certainty." The Prophet, once said: "A fulfilled Haj has no reward other than Paradise." He was asked, "O Messenger of God, and what is the 'fulfillment' of Haj?" and he replied: "Speaking good words, and giving out food."
Fourthly, during the Haj 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.
Fifthly, one should perform as much of the Haj as possible on foot. 'Ibn 'Abbas told his sons: "My sons, you should make Haj on foot, for the walking pilgrim receives 700 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 Mekah to Arafat and to Mina.
Sixthly, the pilgrim who chooses to ride should ride on an open-topped vehicle rather than in a canopied one. The only exception is the pilgrim who is weak or unused to riding, and fears that he may fall off the usual vehicle.
The Prophet made Haj 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 Haji 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 observed that "the (true) Haji 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, the pilgrim should seek to please Allah by offering a sacrifice, even if this is not obligatory upon him. He should ensure the animal is plump and valuable. 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."
Ninthtly, one must be pleased by the expenditures and sacrifices one makes, and the losses suffered to one's money or person; for such trials are a sign that one's Haj has been accepted by God. A misfortune on the way to Haj is like one of the difficulties which confront the warrior in Jihad, so that for every pain one feels, one has a reward. Jannah
Firstly, the money they spend must come from halal sources. He must strive, likewise, to avoid carrying on any business while on Haj, 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 Haj: the rulers (for enjoyment), the wealthy (to do business), the poor (to beg), and the Quran-reciters (to show off)". Worldly purposes which can lie behind people's Haj, and they all destroy the Haj's merit and prevent people from performing the ceremony in its inward reality.
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". To hand them money is to give support to injustice, one must find ruses and tricks to avoid this as much as one can.
Thirdly, one should bring much food with one, and be generous in sharing it with others. 'Ibn 'Umar said: "The best pilgrim is the noblest in intention, the purest in giving, and the greatest in certainty." The Prophet, once said: "A fulfilled Haj has no reward other than Paradise." He was asked, "O Messenger of God, and what is the 'fulfillment' of Haj?" and he replied: "Speaking good words, and giving out food."
Fourthly, during the Haj 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.
Fifthly, one should perform as much of the Haj as possible on foot. 'Ibn 'Abbas told his sons: "My sons, you should make Haj on foot, for the walking pilgrim receives 700 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 Mekah to Arafat and to Mina.
Sixthly, the pilgrim who chooses to ride should ride on an open-topped vehicle rather than in a canopied one. The only exception is the pilgrim who is weak or unused to riding, and fears that he may fall off the usual vehicle.
The Prophet made Haj 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 Haji 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 observed that "the (true) Haji 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, the pilgrim should seek to please Allah by offering a sacrifice, even if this is not obligatory upon him. He should ensure the animal is plump and valuable. 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."
Ninthtly, one must be pleased by the expenditures and sacrifices one makes, and the losses suffered to one's money or person; for such trials are a sign that one's Haj has been accepted by God. A misfortune on the way to Haj is like one of the difficulties which confront the warrior in Jihad, so that for every pain one feels, one has a reward. Jannah
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