Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
I recently returned from the Hajj – alhamdulillah and had the following concerns:
1. Please describe the stoning of the Jamarat at the time of the early Muslims. I was there on that fateful 1st day when over 200 were reportedly stampeded to death & I was so nearly one of them. All I remember was complete & utter chaos … I was completely shocked…
2. One thing that I found difficult in Hajj was the mindblowing numbers. Whereas I have read of stories of pilgrims in the past praying a spirtually enriching prayer in the peace of the Rawdah or kissing the Black Stone with ease I found that all the rites of Hajj were characterized by being sandwiched between hundreds of pilgrims… It was difficult to exercise any concentration or to have spiritual uplift. Rather, much of time was spent with protecting my female family members from being squashed & worrying about my own very survival!
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
May Allah accept you Hajj, and make it a means for spiritual realization and Paradise.
1. Sidi, for the spiritual dimensions of Hajj, see Imam Ghazali’s Ihya’ Ulum al-Din or Ustadh Muhtar Holland’s selected translation inInner Dimensions of Islamic Worship.
2. The scholars of the spiritual way say that every Beauty must have a veil.
In the old days, the veil was the journey to Hajj: a life or death journey, with much trials, difficulties, brigands and highway robbers. Even the stay in Mecca was riddled with problems—especially the illnesses carried over by thousands of people who had all traveled from thousands of miles, and the lack of medical facilities. These difficulties have largely ended, but other veils exist for the one seeking the tremendous Beauty of Hajj.
The issue is that the physical and material are merely vessels for the spiritual. The reality remains one: every act of worship is about you and your Lord. Look beyond the vestiges of created semblances, and you’ll find your Creator. This is the beauty of Islam.
The Saudis have spent hundreds of millions in Hajj infrastructuredevelopment, and have by and large done a good job on this front.
3. The crowds are a test—a veil. The way around it is to be in a crowd of spiritually-inclined people, so that the group’s focus, devotion, and strength gives one personal focus, devotion, and strength. This is one of the great adaab of Hajj: selecting the best group to go with, ideally one led by a righteous scholar.
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam.