Performing Haj, the Sacred Journey to Makkah Al-Mukarromah – The 5th Pillar of Islam.
Islam prescribed Five articles to practice (Arkanul Islam). We have been performing four of them, which are
1) Declaration of Syahadah : to bear witness that there is no god trustworthy to be worshipped except Allah and Nabi Muhammad is His final messenger.
2) Perfoming Solah (Obligatory) five times in a Day : this is to constantly remember Allah and to submit to Him.
3) Performing Saum (Fasting) in the month of Ramadhan : this is to control our nafs – desires, obey to Allah’s decrees and to give full submission to Allah to be blessed with taqwah.
4) Giving Sadaqah (Zakat) to the needy as prescribed : this is to establish the standard of our humanity, to establish universal economic balance and justice and to strengten our relationship with others through compassion, mercy, care and justice.
Finally now it is the time to …
5) Perform The Spiritual Ibadah Haj (our haj pilgrimage) – THE MOST SACRED JOURNEY IN OUR LIFE FOR ALLAH in order to give our total submission sacrificing ourselves for the sake of Allah, to be able to gain Allah’s blessings.
In normal circumstances, if there was no Covid-19 crisis, many of us would be in Makkah already to perform ibadah haj or most of us may be travelling or waiting to travel to Makkah Al-Mukarromah. Allah’s Mercy is infinite, everything happens with Allah’s decree, only the real chosen people are allowed to perform Haj, especially this time. Allahu Akbar!
To perform ibadah haj, we need to be in a state of ihram. Ihram means entering whole heartedly with niyyah to perform Ibadah haj/ Umrah with specific cloth, obeying the prescribed prohibitions/conditions of ihram, such as….
• cutting hair
• cutting nails
• trimming moustasche or beard
• cannot kill/harm any living creatures, be it animals , insects or plants
• no verbal abuse, fight, or hatred among the pilgrims
• no physical intimacy between husband and wife, all these prohibitions and conditions will remain until thahallul (free) from the Ibadah.
Psychology of Ibadah Umrah/Haj
• During the state of ihram, we have to adhere to certain rules of performing the haj pilgrimage.
• Cleansing our soul by giving our total submission to Allah.
• We are not allowed to kill animals during ihram means we need to respect and honor all His makhluk (creatures) in whatever shape or size.
• To instill the values for others and to teach the mankind to be merciful to others.
• To teach mankind the true meaning of sacrifice and convey the message of universal compassion, justice, mercy, humility and love.
• To be an obedient servant of Allah
Ya Allah, we beg for Your infinite mercy to invite all of us to Your sacred land on this sacred journey.
Ya Allah with Your infinite mercy grant all of us thoufeeq to submit ourselves to you wholeheartedly.
Ameen ya Allah.
Realization Of My Soul 