As over two million pilgrims have gathered in the holy city of Mecca to perform the self-building and society-reforming pilgrimage that is a manifestation of Islamic unity, let us reflect on the facts.
The Hajj was not an innovation of the fallible human mind. It was God Almighty Who decreed it. And the person chosen to proclaim it was the great Patriarch of antiquity, Prophet Abraham (PBUH). In the distant past, in the remote wilderness of Arabia in an obscure place called Mecca, the Father of the Human Race, Adam, had built a symbolic house for the Unseen but Omnipotent Creator, a house that was submerged by the great deluge of the days of Prophet Noah (PBUH). It was now the duty of Abraham to raise the foundations of this sacred house built on a spot that is believed to be the first piece of land on which the sun shone after dry land began to emerge from under the surface of the oceans long before mankind was created. Abraham, with the help of his young son Ishmael, whom he was divinely commanded to sacrifice, and whose sacrifice was deferred by God to be fulfilled later in history by his illustrious descendant Imam Husain (PBUH) at Karbala, completed the reconstruction of the Ka’ba, the cube-shaped structure. He was then asked by God to proclaim the pilgrimage. Abraham obeyed although except for his wife and son no other human being was present in the Mecca of those days. The call of the tried and tested Patriarch did not echo and die out in the barren mountains that surrounded Mecca. In fact it reverberated and with precision pierced the wombs of the unborn who in the spiritual world of pre-creation responded to Prophet Abraham’s call for the Hajj pilgrimage.
Allahomma labbaik, labbaika la sharika laka labbaik, is what every pilgrim to the Holy Ka’ba says when he or she enters the inviolable land, where the killing of even an insect is divinely prohibited during the Hajj, when pilgrims are clad in that most endurable of all clothing, the seamless Ehraam that resembles the shroud and is a reminder for mankind of the final journey of the human soul. The phrase is the response to Abraham’s call. It means: Here I am O Allah, here I am. There is no partner unto You. Here I am.
This is manifestation of the promise of God, Who relates in verses 27 and 28 of Surah Hajj His tidings to Abraham: "And proclaim to mankind the Pilgrimage: they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path, That they may witness advantages for them and mention the name of Allah during stated days."
The Hajj pilgrimage is thus incumbent once in a lifetime on every grown-up able bodied man or woman having the financial means and security of travel to Mecca. The pilgrims follow the path of Abraham when performing the rituals. For example when they make walk between the hillocks of Safa and Marwa with a prayer on their lips and hearts turned towards the All-Merciful, they are in fact emulating the quest of Abraham’s wife Hajar for water for the baby Ishmael in what was once a barren and treeless land. When they drink the waters of well of Zamzam they contemplate on God’s Bounty and how the spring burst out from the bowels of the earth to quench the thirst of the infant. When they move to the plain of Arafaat on the 9th of Zilhijja to spend the day in prayer and contemplation they yearn for the consciousness and cognizance of God Almighty that Adam and Abraham attained on this tract of land. When they sacrifice an animal – sheep, goat, cow or camel – they commemorate the miraculous substitution of the ram for the young Ishmael. When they stone the symbolic Satans, a ritual that is called Rami al-Jamaraat, they re-enact the steadfastness of Abraham, Hajar and Ishmael against the temptations of the devil that had appeared separately to the three to try to desist Abraham from carrying out God’s commandment. The pilgrims in fact are required to cast off the devilish tendencies in human beings and undergo a spiritual cleansing so that the Almighty accepts their pilgrimage.
The Hajj pilgrimage is an exercise for self-reform. It is an opportunity to mould oneself and inculcate manners and morals. It is a form of worship that strengthens the relationship between mankind and the Creator. The Hajj is also the supreme manifestation of Islamic unity. Here Muslims of every denomination rub shoulders with each other to perform the same rites and rituals. They circumambulate the Ka’ba, the focal point for Muslims throughout the world, which God Almighty in verse of Surah has described as "Most surely the First House appointed for mankind is the one at Bekka, blessed and a guidance for the nations."
The Ka’ba is thus the pinnacle of monotheism that inspires Muslims to form a monolithic community despite the superficial differences of race, colour, language and class. It is an inspiration to remove poverty from society and to implement social justice. The Hajj beckons Muslims to avail of divine blessings by recognizing their enemies and taking precautions against the plots of the oppressors who scheme to destabilize them and plunder their resources.
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