Alhumdullah, I made Hajj in 1996 and it is truly a blessed experience. If you haven't made Hajj, it is to be made at least once in a lifetime if you can afford it. If you want to make it then I would advise you to keep looking for opportunities for its affordablity come together, and take advantage of it when it does. The best provision for Hajj is Tawqah, however generally other provisions are needed to facilitate the pilgrimage, especially if you live in another country - Passports, visa, innouclations, travel, food, lodging, healthcare, money, and coverage of your ongoing responsibilities at home while you are gone.
I have heard people voice regrets, when circumstances came together to make there Hajj possible, and they didn't take advantage of it. Thereafter they realized how rare it is, that all that is needed is available simetaneously.
This article struck me as to how similar
Prophet Ibrahim's call to Hajj is to Prophet Muhammed's call to prayer, established independently and centuries later.
Those who answer the Hajj call are Allah's guest in the Holy precincts around Mecca. Those who answer the call to prayer are Allah's guest in the masjid and congregational prayer. The Saudi government host the Hajj pilgrimage. The masjid administration hosts the congregational prayer.
Each host has a duty and obligation to facilitate those that answer the calls, hajj and congregational prayer rituals.
Peace, Curtis Sharif
Houston, Texas
Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:36:42 -0800
From: Shahid Khan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: The Call of Prophet Ibrahim
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The Call of Prophet Ibrahim
WHEN Ibrahim, peace be upon him, completed the structure of the Ka bah,
Allah (Glorified be He) commanded him to call the people to Haj. Ibrahim,
peace and blessings be upon him, pleaded, O Allah! How shall my voice reachall of those people? Allah told him that his duty was only to give the call
and it was up to Allah to make it reach the people.
Ibrahim, peace be upon him, then climbed Mount Arafat and called out in his
loudest voice, O People! Verily Allah has prescribed upon you Haj, so
perform Haj.
Allah revealed in the Qur an: And proclaim the Haj among mankind. They will
come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every camel, lean on account of
journeys through deep and distant mountain highways. ( Surat Al-Haj, Ayat
28).
To this very day millions upon millions of Muslims continue to answer the
call of Prophet Ibrahim, peace and blessings be upon him. Perhaps this year
you shall be amongst those who answer the call.
Performance of the Haj washes away all sins. Abu Hurairah narrates: I heard
the Prophet say, Whoever performs Haj and does not commit any Rafath
(obscenity) or Fusooq (transgression), he returns (free from sin) as the day
his mother bore him. (Sahih Bukhari).
Haj is one of the greatest deeds one can accomplish in his or her lifetime.
Abu Hurairah narrates: The Prophet was asked, What deed is the best? He
said, Iman in Allah and His Messenger. Then what? Jihad in the sake of
Allah. Then what? Haj Mabroor, a Haj accepted by Allah.
Abu Sha tha said, I contemplated the good deeds that a person does. I found
that salah as well as fasting are a jihad of the body. And that Sadaqah is a
jihad of someone s wealth. But Haj is a jihad of both body and wealth.
The Du a of the one in Haj shall be accepted. The Prophet, peace and
blessing be upon him, said, The soldier in the path of Allah and the one who
performs Haj and the one who performs Umrah, all are the delegation of
Allah! He called them and they answered. And they asked Him, and He shall
grant them (what they ask for)! (Authentic, narrated by Ibn Majah and Ibn
Hibban.)
And in another Hadith: Verily Allah boasts of the people of Arafat before
the people of Heaven (angels) saying: Look to my servants who have come to
Me disheveled and dusty.
Indeed, the Prophet said, And there is no reward for an accepted Haj, except
Jannah!
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Compiled from various sources.
Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to
post on
Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in
not-for-profit publications.
Note that an English translation of the Qur'an is an interpretation of the
Qur'an, and does not have the perfect status as the Qur'an in its original
Arabic form.
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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