Lessons from Hajj

Auto-generated transcript:Alhamdulillah we finished the Yawm al-Arafah today. We ask Allah to reward us in keeping with His Majesty and Grace and to grant our duas and to give us the opportunity for this again and again year after year. The people who are in Hajj, they have completed Yawm al-Arafah standing in Arafah and right now they would be in Muzdarifah, they would have finished the maybe even the Tawaf and so on. And Saeed and waiting for Yawm al-Nahar tomorrow for Eid and we also wait for Eid al-Fitr inshallah tomorrow and Eid al-Adha tomorrow inshallah. We ask Allah to help us to celebrate that in a way that pleases His Majesty and Grace. The Hajj is a beautiful journey. We ask Allah to enable us to do it. Those who have not done it. Make it your Niyah that you will do it next year. That is the number one. It's a Rukur of Islam. It's not just something which is just a Faridah. It's a Rukur. And of course obviously it's a Faridah. So it is something which is absolutely critical, must be done at the first possible opportunity. And I can tell you that it is an Ibadah to be done in your youth. Don't wait till you get old to do Hajj. It's very difficult. When you get old it becomes very difficult. But in your youth, it's very difficult. When you are young, alhamdulillah, it's good. So do it in your youth as soon as you can. Right? If you just think about this, when the person... Hajj is a reminder of the entire cycle of life. When a person puts on his Ihram, he is effectively reminding himself that a day will come when that is how he will live this world. In two pieces of glass. Everything he has will be gone from him. Nothing to destroy. Nothing to distinguish him. Whether he is rich or poor, whether he was a king or he was a pauper, whoever he was. Whether he was a scholar or whether he was ignorant, makes no difference. He will go in the same two pieces of glass. Just like when he puts on his Ihram, they all put on the same clothes. There is nothing to distinguish one from the other. Because in the sight of Allah, everybody is equal. And then when he makes Tawaf, he reminds himself that he is equal. He is equal. He reminds himself that this is the house to which Ibn-i-Aim called the other. He invited. Allah said, you call and I will send. And they come from every part of the globe. In every conceivable means of transport. To this day, there are people who are going to Hajj walking. People are going to Hajj on horseback. Three people from Spain have gone to Hajj this year on horseback. People have gone to Hajj walking. I have a friend of mine in Saudi Arabia. He lives in Jeddah. He is a Muslim. He told me his grandfather and three uncles. His grandfather had four sons. So one son, he told him to stay back. He was in Afghanistan in a place called Swat in Pakistan, Swat Valley. So he, grandfather said, one son, stay here with your mother. They will look after the property. The other three sons he took. And they walked from Swat to Makkah. On the way, closer to Makkah. They got attacked by a gang of Muslims. They were very angry. They were very angry. They have a big mouth. I am a robber. Just these four Bhatans, right. All they had were sticks. They slammed the daylights out of the people. Their leader they captured. They tied him up on ropes and they took him to Makkah. And they handed him over to the police. They say who are these? We are safe. We are unjudged. Who are these people? They are trying to attack us. So what happened? This happened. Take them. So the Saudi Government gives them award and all sorts of things. They arrested these ones and they are doing justice to them. So they have a lot of money. So they took them as a court. That is it. They walked and went for Hajj. Until today, there are people who walk and they walk. Right? Sheikh Abdullah was saying his grandfather took one year from Morocco to Mecca and back. He was 22 years old when he left for Hajj. He had no money. So he would go to some place, work a few days, get some money and go further. He took one year to go from Morocco to Mecca. Yeah? He did Hajj and so on, spent one year there. And then he took one year to go back. So he left at the age of 22 and he was back home at the age of 25. So on and so forth. Imagine the life, the memories that these things create. Today we have our heads and our phones. Right? That will be a memory, your cell phone. Get out. Go and look at the world. This is the age. This is the age when you should do these things. Just start. Start walking. Make a plan. Walk. But if you are tied with your, you know, apron strings to your mama and you cannot survive unless mama makes some parathas for you, goodbye, brother. Seriously, I'm telling you, get out of your houses. So when the, when the, the, the Haji, he's making tawaf, he remembers that because this is the house that Ibrahim alayhi salam, Ibrahim alayhi salam built. And even though they were building it on the roof of Al horasirsiniz , this, you know, forינוhk our sh婪rī Resurrection, they didn't pray no prayer at all. They're just talking aboutlez hon Maya. Noavor on Algotuf. But they were actually reemerge with power and power , Hukam of Allah, directed by Allah, ves accept our Tawbah, you are the one who accepts Tawbah. And then when he does say, he remembers our mother Hajar She knew that she had been left with her son there by her husband, not because the husband abandoned them but because he was directed by his Rabb. She asked him, have you been directed by Allah? He nods his head, he says go. Then our Rabb will not allow us to perish. With that Iman, with that Yaqeen, with that Tawakkul on Allah she does not sit still. She does what she has to do. She is going between Safa and Warwa, running from one hill to the other coming back to see if her son is okay. The lesson the Ahaji learns is, effort must be made. Sabar and Tawakkul does not mean just to sit and expect. We expect things to happen. We must have Iman on the Nose Mahal Tara without Iman. But Iman does not mean that I will just sit and say, okay let the food come to me. No. I must make my effort. Right? Then he goes from Makkah. The Ahaji is going now to Mina in preparation for Arafat. And when he stands on the plains of Arafat, what does he remember? He remembers the Day of Judgement. If he feels hot, he remembers that the sun will be setting. He remembers that the sun will be setting. He remembers that the sun will be at a distance of one spearhead, one spear length. And that scene of these millions of wajads bareheaded, covered in dust, with only two pieces of cloth, the ihram, standing there is so beloved to Allah . Allah calls His angels and says, Look at my faves. Look at them. Look at them. Look at them. What do they want from me? Ya Rabbi, they want your forgiveness. You bear witness, I have forgiven them. You bear witness, I have forgiven them. Nabi said on that day, Allah does not forgive more people than He forgives on any other day. More people on the Day of Arafat. May Allah count us among them. Who will be forgiven. Then he comes back Then he comes back to Mina, and when he stops at Jamarat, he remembers the test of Ibrahim where the shaitan tried to distract him when he was taking his son to fulfill the command of Allah to sacrifice him. The shaitan tried to distract him in three places. This is where we throw stones at the Jamarat. And then when the haji does his hadith, we remember this sacrifice. And we remember that Allah does not want you to kill your sons. Allah is saying, spend in the path of Allah That's why Allah substituted the ram. He substituted Ismail with the ram. So the Udaya, tomorrow InshaAllah, when we do the Qurbani, this is the highest, the best worship that you can do for that day. There is nothing superior to sacrificing an animal in the path of Allah for the sake of Allah. So sacrifice. Don't say, oh it cost $500, it cost $400. Let me go and hunt and see where I can get it for $100. No. There is no bargaining in Ibadah. The more the cost, the more the reward for you. So go and say, where is the most expensive ram that I can get? Go buy that one. Don't buy the cheap one. Because this one will be for you on the Day of Judgement. Don't try to economize in Ibadah. Right? If you want to buy a car, you want to buy the best car. You won't say, which is the cheapest car? Best of what I can afford. Use the same logic, better logic in the question of Ibadah of Muhammad and then the reward of this Ibadah is what? Complete freedom from sin. So anyone who is in Hajj who feels it is a test. Damesh Salaam said this is Jihad for the women. He said this is Jihad. He said Aisha asked him, you go in Jihad, the people go in Jihad, men go in Jihad, what about us? He said go for Hajj. This is Jihad for you. It is difficult. It is troublesome. It is uncomfortable. No doubt about that. But on the Day of Judgement think about this. If there is a scale, on one pan of the scale you have your difficulties of Hajj. On the other pan of the scale is complete freedom from sin. So what do you say about the difficulties? You will say this is nothing. Allah give me ten times more, I don't care but free me from sins. Because if I am free from sin I go to Jannah. Alhamdulillah. So we don't ask for difficulties but I am saying if there is a difficulty never, never, never complain. Do not bring a word of complaint onto your, on your tongue. Don't say oh see the Saudi government. It is not about Saudi government. You are, who are you? What are the hujjah, what is the Arabic word? Dhuyuf? Dhuyufur Rahman. Dhuyufur Rahman. Not Dhuyuful Dhuyuful Hukam Saudia. You are not the guest of Saudi Arabia. We are the guest of Ar-Rahman. So if you are complaining, you are complaining against Ar-Rahman. Don't complain. Do not complain. Whatever happens, Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. This is not about Saudi government. I am not here sitting praising Saudi government. I am saying that is not your problem.