Hajj to the House – educational stops:

The journey of Hajj is full of lessons and admonishments by which it touches the heart, whispers to the conscience, addresses sentiments and feelings, and moves the mind. The one doing the Hajj will not receive its great reward unless he realizes, learns and contemplates these lessons and admonishments. The following are some of these lessons and admonishments:

Firstly: Surrender and submission to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds:

This is the first lesson that a pilgrim learns from Hajj. The pilgrim, from the beginning to the end of ihram, surrenders to the Commands of Allah Almighty. This surrender is reflected when the servant of Allah obeys His commands even if they do not coincide with his own inclinations. He surrenders himself to the Commands of Allah just as a dead person surrenders himself to his washer on the washing table, and even more.

The Muslim submissively does these rituals while realizing that full surrender is a prerequisite for a valid and accepted Hajj. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, kissed the Black Stone and said: "I know that you are just a stone with no ability to harm or benefit. Had I not seen the Messenger of Allah kissing you, I would not have kissed you." [Al-Bukhari]

It was also narrated that when ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, touched the Black Stone, he used to say : "O Allah, I do that out of faith in You, not in the Stone; out of belief in Your Book, not in myths; out of fulfilling my pledge to You, not to anyone else; out of compliance to the Sunnah of Your Prophet not the Sunnah of anyone else."

For one to be a true believer, he has to surrender to the Commands of Allah, obey His sharia and refer judgment to His ruling. This is a prerequisite for the testimony of faith to be valid and accepted. In the Quran, Allah Almighty says (what means): {But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you [O Muhammad] judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.} [Quran 4: 65]

Surrender and submission to the sharia of Allah is not a supererogatory action; rather, it is the origin of worship and the essence of being a slave to Allah. This is the essential difference between the believer and others. Dr. Yoosuf Al-Qaradhaawi said:

The believer has freed himself from being a servant of his self or other creatures to be a servant of Allah only. He has freed himself from obeying his inclination to obeying Allah. The believer does not act according to his inclinations or the inclinations of others. Rather, he is liable for a pledge to be fulfilled, a covenant to be respected, and a methodology to be followed. This is a logical obligation that is a necessity of the contract of faith.

The necessities of the contract of faith:

One has to surrender all his life affairs to Allah, so that His truthful Prophet leads him and His Revelations guide him.
The Lord says, "I command … I forbid," and the servant says, "I hear and obey."
Man frees himself from surrendering to self inclination to surrendering only to the sharia of Allah.

This is the attitude of the Muslim during the Hajj:
Allah says, "Leave your family," and he says, "Yes."
Allah says, "Leave your country," and he says, "Yes."
Allah says, "Take off your worldly garments," and he says, "Yes."
Allah says, "Perform tawaaf (circumambulating the Ka‘bah) seven times," and he says, "Yes."
Allah says, "Perform sa‘y (walking between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah) seven times," and he says, "Yes."
Allah says, "Slaughter your hady (sacrificial animal)," and he says, "Yes."
Allah says, "Shave your head," and he says, "Yes."

This is the ultimate surrender and submission to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Secondly: Developing the conscience:

The rituals of Islam create living hearts, aware consciences, and wholesome hearts. Rather, this is the sublime purpose of Islam in general. It urges the Muslim to observe the watchfulness of Allah in secret and in public, when one's actions are apparent or hidden, when one is alone or before people. Belief in Allah and observing His rituals create these meanings within souls. Allah Almighty says (what means): {And conceal your speech or publicize it; indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts. Does He Who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted?} [Quran 67: 13-14]

With these verses, Allah Almighty wants to keep the hearts of the believers living and their consciences awake. Only through these two qualities, the servant reaches the degree of acting as if he sees Allah or at least realizes that Allah sees him. This is the meaning of ihsan, which is mentioned in the hadith of Jibreel (Gabriel), may Allah exalt his mention. The Prophet said: "(Ihsan is) to worship Allah Almighty as if you see Him, for He sees you although you cannot see Him." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The hearts and consciences of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were brought up on these meanings. This is clearly reflected through the incidents of Maa‘iz and Al-Ghaamidiyyah, may Allah be pleased with them. [Muslim]

Here is a wonderful story that happened when ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was traveling. ‘Abdullah ibn Dinaar, may Allah have mercy on him, related:

While we were on a journey, a shepherd descended from the (direction) of the mountain. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him, "O shepherd! Sell me a sheep!" The shepherd said, "I am a slave (meaning that the flock is owned by his master)." ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Tell your master that the wolf ate the sheep." The shepherd replied, "Where is Allah?" ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, then wept and went along with the shepherd, bought him from his master, set him free, and then said to him, "This word has freed you in this world, and I hope that it will save you in the Hereafter."

Developing the conscience clearly occurs through the different rituals of the Hajj. Referring to this, Allah Almighty says (what means): {Hajj is [during] well-known months, so whoever has made Hajj obligatory upon himself therein [by entering the state of ihram (state or ritual consecration)], there is [to be for him] no sexual relations and no disobedience and no disputing during Hajj. And whatever good you do—Allah Knows it. And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah. And fear Me, O you of understanding.} [Quran 2: 197]

Reflect, dear brother and sister, whatever good you do, Allah knows it. When a person does one of these forbidden things during the Hajj, who watches him? Who guards him? Is there a policeman standing nearby? Are there guards surrounding him? No, it is internal watchfulness, self-watchfulness, and conscience-watchfulness.

This is clearly manifested when the restrictions of ihram are before the pilgrim's eyes, but he refrains from it out of fear of Allah and out of desire to receive mercy, forgiveness and reward from Him.

Reflect when the pilgrims, men and women, intermix during the tawaf and their bodies come close or even touch each other. Nevertheless, there is a living conscience and an alert heart to keep away the whispers of Satan as well as the inclination of the self, which is a persistent enjoiner of evil.

Thirdly: Developing determination and strengthening morale:

The most wonderful description given to the soldiers of Khalid ibn Al-Waleed, may Allah be pleased with him, was: "If they wanted to uproot the mountains, they would do so." This statement denotes firmness of determination and strength of morale. Allah Almighty willed to make the journey of Hajj a means or, rather, one of the ever greatest means, of upbringing determination and strengthening the morale of the Muslim individual.

How could this not be when the pilgrim leaves the country he is familiar with, the house that he likes, and the people with whom he lives. He abandons his wealth and travels away from his children. He sets out on a journey that is not safe, even in our twenty-first century, for the car could crash, the ship could sink, the plane could fall, the tents could be burned, pilgrims could be chocked to death in a tunnel, or they could fall down because of the intense crowdedness. Nevertheless, one's determination becomes firmer, and morale becomes stronger.

Allah Almighty has willed that people observe the Hajj to an uncultivated land. Despite the undeniable wonderful services in Mecca, it is not fit to be either a winter or a summer destination. As evidence, you can observe its streets, which are cut through mountains, and its houses, which are carved from the mountains. While you are coming or going, you find the roads either ascending or descending.

Also, Allah Almighty has linked the Hajj to the lunar months so that it is performed in the summer for a while and in the winter for another while. These factors contribute to developing determination and strengthening the morale.

After learning these facts, we realize that Islam is not a religion of resignation, tameness, slackness, or comfort. Rather, it is a religion of jihad and struggle. Therefore, the Hajj is considered a form of jihad for the sake of Allah; rather, it is the best form of jihad. ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that she said: "O Messenger of Allah! We see that jihad is the best deed. Should we (women) not actively participate in it?" The Prophet replied, 'No, the best jihad for you is a valid and accepted Hajj.'" [Al-Bukhari]