[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="A tribute to Hajar" ids="81471,81474,81472,81473"]
By Amal Al-Sibai
Of the five pillars of Islam, Haj is the most difficult, and it must be performed by Muslims once in a lifetime.
Haj is a ritual of worship that engages all of our faculties; physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and it involves a substantial financial cost.
It involves a great deal of physical exertion. Often the heat, walking long distances, sitting for hours in the bus, and pushing through crowds is all so exhausting that it dulls our mental and spiritual awareness of the rituals of Haj.
We may get so wrapped up in our physical discomfort that we fail to reflect on the sanctity of the place we are in and the meanings behind some of the rituals and motions that we are performing.
Each year, the time of Haj should remind us of the great Prophet Ibrahim and his wives, Sarah and Hajar.
Prophet Ibrahim and his first wife Sarah had traveled to Palestine and then to Egypt to spread the message of God: to worship One God and to live a righteousness life. Sarah had believed in Prophet Ibrahim when very few people had. Sarah was barren and Prophet Ibrahim had reached old age; they both yearned for a child. Sarah had been given a servant girl in Egypt, Hajar. Sarah offered the servant girl to Prophet Ibrahim to marry.
Hajar gave birth to their first son, Ismail.
Prophet Ibrahim traveled with his wife Hajar across the Arabian Desert and stopped in Makkah, which was then a dry, uninhabited land; not the bustling city that it is today. Shortly afterwards, Prophet Ibrahim set out to leave Hajar and their baby boy. All she had was some water and dates.
Hajar asked Prophet Ibrahim, “Did Allah command you to do so?”
When he replied that his Lord had commanded him to do so, Hajar said, “Then Allah will take care of us.”
What a strong and courageous believer she was, and what firm trust in Allah she had!
Worried about his wife and child, Prophet Ibrahim supplicated to Allah, {Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House, our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them the fruits that they might be grateful.})Chapter 14, verse 37)
As pilgrims, we need to remind ourselves that we are in a sacred place. Allah answered the prayer of Prophet Ibrahim and people were drawn to Hajar and her baby. And until this day, the blessings continue and the hearts of millions of people each year are drawn to Makkah.
Hajar was in an extremely difficult circumstance; the water and dates ran out, and her baby cried out in thirst and hunger. Hajar did not complain or despair. She ran to the top of Mount Safa in hopes of seeing travelers passing by. She saw none, and again in search of people she ran to the top of Mount Marwah, looking for someone to help. She kept running between Mount Safa and Marwah seven times.
Hajar is honored by all Muslims as a wise, brave, and pious woman. The incident of running between Safa and Marwah hills seven times is repeated by the pilgrims during Haj, in remembrance of Hajar and her child.
When Hajar returned to her baby, she found that water was flowing from under her baby’s feet, where he had been kicking the sand in frantic hunger. Hajar thanked Allah. She and her baby drank from the cool, pure, sweet water, the spring of zamzam, which pilgrims today drink from and replenish their tired bodies with. After a short time, people began to move to this valley. A few tribes settled and it gradually became a small town.
This town was near a busy trade route and many merchants began to pass through bringing in wealth.
Whenever you drink zamzam water, remember to say the supplication that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught his companions, “O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, plentiful provision, and cure from all diseases.”
Prophet Ibrahim returned to Hajar and their son, who had grown into a healthy boy. Prophet Ibrahim had a vision that Allah commanded him to sacrifice his son. This pained him and he told his son about his vision.
Ismail said to his father as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, {O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast}. (Chapter 37, verse 102)
Obeying the command of Allah, Prophet Ibrahim and Ismail walked out to the place of sacrifice. On the way, the devil appeared to Prophet Ibrahim to convince him to disobey Allah. Each time the devil appeared, Prophet Ibrahim threw stones at the devil, and this happened three times.
That is the reason why pilgrims during the Haj pelt stones at the three pillars, which symbolizes our rejection of giving into the whispers of the devil to do any evil or to disobey our Lord.
This was a test for the patience of Prophet Ibrahim and his son, and of course Allah saved Ismail, and instead Prophet Ibrahim sacrificed a sheep.
Similarly, many hardships we face in our lives are from Allah to test our patience and faith.
Envisioning that Makkah and its vicinity is a place where prophets have trodden should make us more mindful during our pilgrimage. It is an area where the Angel Jibril descended to deliver the Revelation to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Mina is where the tents are set up for the visiting pilgrims to spend three to four nights, and it is also in Mina where the three pillars are found for throwing the stones or jamaraat. Also in Mina lies a cave known as ‘Cave of Mursalaat’ as this was where the Prophet (peace be on him) was when Surah Mursalaat was revealed to him.
As for Arafat, it is also known as the Mountain of Mercy. On the ninth day of Haj, pilgrims go to Mount Arafat where they stand in contemplative vigil and pray and recite the Qur’an, asking Allah for His forgiveness and mercy.
It is here that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave his last sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him for the Haj towards the end of his life.
