ITS EXCELLENCES AND ITS MERIT
The Excellent Merit of the Pilgrimage
God, Great and Glorious is He, said:
‘And proclaim among men the Pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every deep ravine.’ [al-Ḥajj, 22:27]
(Wa-adhdhin fī-lnāsi bi-lḥajji ya’tūka rijālan wa-’alā kulli ḍāmirin ya’tīna min kulli fajjin ‘amīq.)
Qatāda said that when God, Great and Glorious is He, commanded Abraham, on him be peace – and our Prophet and every chosen servant – to proclaim the Pilgrimage among men, he declared: ‘O people! God, Great and Glorious is He, has built a House, so make Pilgrimage to it!’
The Exalted One said:
‘That they may witness things beneficial to them.’ [al-Ḥajj, 22:28]
(Li-yashhadū manāfi’a lahum.)
When some referred this to trading at the season of Pilgrimage and reward in the Hereafter, one of the elders said: ‘By the Lord of the Ka’ba, may they be forgiven!’
The words of God, Great and Glorious is He, in which Satan is made to say:
‘I shall surely sit in ambush for them on Your straight path’ [al-A’rāf, 7:16]
(La-aq’udanna lahum ṣirāṭakumu-lmustaqīm.)
have been interpreted as meaning that Satan lurks on the road to Makka to keep people from getting there.
The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘He who makes Pilgrimage to the House – avoiding indecent and immoral behaviour – emerges from his sins like a newborn babe.’
2 The Prophet, on him be peace, also said: ‘Satan never appears smaller, more abject, more abased and more furious than on the day of ‘Arafāt.’
3 This is simply because he sees mercy descending and sees God, Glorified is He, overlooking serious sins; for it is said that the only expiation for certain sins is standing at ‘Arafāt. (Ja’far ibn Muhammad attributes this saying to God’s Messenger, on him be peace.)
4
One of those saintly people endowed with spiritual insight mentioned that Iblīs, on him be the curse of God, appeared to him at ‘Arafāt in human form. He was thin, jaundiced, tearful and stooping. When asked the reason for his weeping, he said: ‘The fact that the Pilgrims have set out towards God alone and not for doing business – I say, they have God alone as their destination. I fear they will not be thwarted, and that makes me unhappy.’ He was then asked the cause of his thinness and he said: ‘The neighing of the horses in the way of God, Great and Glorious is He. It would please me better if they were in my service.’ The reason for his jaundiced complexion? ‘The way they all assist each other in obedience. It would suit me better if they would help each other to disobey.’ And what gave him that stoop? ‘When a creature prays: “Grant me, I beseech You, a good conclusion,” then I say: “Woe is me!” When he takes delight in his good work I am afraid he may have achieved sagacity.’
The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘If someone sets out from his home as a Pilgrim or Visitant
(mu’tamir) and then dies, he is granted the reward of a Pilgrim or Visitant till the Day of Resurrection. Anyone who dies in either of the Sanctuaries (Makka or Madina) is not subject to review or reckoning, but is told to enter Paradise.’
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And: ‘A blessed Pilgrimage is better than this world and all it contains. For a blessed Pilgrimage there is no reward but Paradise.’
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Also: ‘Pilgrims and Visitants are the emissaries and visitors of God, Great and Glorious is He; if they petition Him He gives what they ask, if they seek His forgiveness he forgives them, if they call on Him He answers, and if they seek intercession it is granted.’
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According to a Tradition handed down by the family of the
Prophet, on them be peace: ‘No-one sins more grievously than he who stands at ‘Arafāt and supposes that God, Exalted is He, has not forgiven him.’
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According to Ibn ‘Abbās, may God be pleased with him and his father, the Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘One hundred and twenty mercies descend upon this House each day: sixty for the circumambulants, forty for those performing Prayers and twenty for those who just look at it.’
9
Another Tradition says: ‘Make frequent circuits of the House, for this will be among the glories of your records on the Day of Resurrection, and the most fortunate action credited to you.’
10
Circumambulation is therefore commendable on its own account, not only as part of the Pilgrimage or Visitation. Tradition tells us: ‘To circuit seven times, barefoot or bareheaded, is as meritorious as freeing a slave, while he who circumambulates seven times in the rain is forgiven all his previous sins.’
11
It is said that when God, Great and Glorious is He, forgives a sin for one servant at the place-of-standing (the plain of ‘Arafāt), He forgives it for everyone there who is guilty of it. One of the elders said that when the Day of ‘Arafāt coincides with the Day of Congregation (i.e. falls on a Friday), all those present at ‘Arafāt are forgiven and it is the most excellent day in the world.
It was on such a day that God’s Messenger, on him be peace, made his Farewell Pilgrimage.
12 While he was standing there he received the revelation from God, Great and Glorious is He:
‘Today I have perfected your religion for you, and completed My grace upon you, and approved Islam as your religion.’ [al-Mā’idah, 5:3]
The People of the Book said: ‘If this revelation had come down to us, we would have made it a festival day.’ Said ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him: ‘I am witness to the fact that it was on a double festival day that this revelation came down to God’s Messenger as he was standing at ‘Arafāt: the Day of ‘Arafāt and the Day of Congregation.’
The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘O God, forgive the Pilgrim
and those for whom the Pilgrim seeks forgiveness!’
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It is related that ‘Alī ibn Muwaffaq made several Pilgrimages on behalf of God’s Messenger, on him be peace. He said: ‘I then saw God’s Messenger, on him be peace, in a dream, and he asked me: “Ibn Muwaffaq, did you make Pilgrimage on my behalf?” When I said yes, he said: “And you cried ‘Labbayk’ (‘Doubly at Your service, Lord!’) on my behalf?” I confirmed this and he said: “Then I shall reward you for it on the Day of Resurrection. I shall take you by the hand at the waiting place and lead you into Paradise, while all creatures are in dread of the reckoning.”’
According to Mujāhid and other scholars, when the Pilgrims reach Makka they are met by the angels, who salute those riding camels, shake hands with those riding donkeys, and embrace those walking on foot. Al-Ḥasan says that anyone who dies just after Ramaḍān, just after a holy campaign or just after a Pilgrimage, dies a martyr. ‘Umar said: ‘The Pilgrim is forgiven, as are those for whom he seeks forgiveness in the months of Dhul Ḥijja, Muḥarram and Ṣafar, and twenty days of First Rabī’.’
It was the customary practice of the elders to see the warriors off on campaign and to greet the returning Pilgrims, kissing them between the eyes and asking for their Prayers; they did this promptly, before they had time to become sullied with sins.
‘Alī ibn Muwaffaq is reported as saying: ‘I made Pilgrimage one year and when the Night of ‘Arāfat arrived I slept at Minā, in the Mosque of al-Khayf. There I dreamt that I saw two angels descending from heaven, clad in garments of green. One of them called out to his companion: “O servant of God!” and the other responded with “At your service, O servant of God!” The first then asked: “Do you know how many came on Pilgrimage this year to the House of God, Great and Glorious is He?” “No.” “Six hundred thousand made the Pilgrimage to the House of our Lord. Do you know how many of them were accepted?” “No.” “Only six souls.” The two angels then rose into the air and disappeared from my view. At this point I awoke in dismay, feeling deep anxiety and concern. I said to myself: “If only six souls had their Pilgrimages accepted, where am I placed?” I then joined the stampede from ‘Arafāt, stopping at Muzdalifa. I began to ponder how great was the multitude and how few would find acceptance, till sleep overtook me and I saw the two figures descending as before. They hailed each other, then one said: “Do you know what our Lord, Great and Glorious is He, has decreed tonight?” “No.” “To each of the six he has given a hundred thousand.” I awoke this time with a feeling of indescribable joy.’
He is further reported as saying, may God be pleased with him: ‘I went on Pilgrimage one year, and after completing all the rites I thought about those whose Pilgrimages would not be accepted. Then I said: “O God, I donate my Pilgrimage and give the merit of it to someone whose Pilgrimage has not been accepted.” I then dreamt of the Lord of might, Glorious is His majesty, Who said to me: “‘Alī, you would be more generous than I, though it is I Who have created generosity and the generous! I, Who am the most Bounteous of the bountiful, the most Munificent of the munificent, more Worthy of bounty and generosity than the entire universe, I have bestowed all whose Pilgrimages I have not accepted upon those who have won My acceptance.”’
Excellence of the Ka’ba and of Makka the Ennobled
The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘God has promised this House that it will be visited every year by six hundred thousand Pilgrims. If they fall short of this number, God, Great and Glorious is He, makes it up from among the angels. The Ka’ba will be raised up at the Resurrection as if in a bridal procession; all who have made Pilgrimage to it will go around it, hanging on to its coverings, till it enters Paradise and they enter with it.’
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According to Tradition: ‘The Black Stone is a ruby of Paradise. It will be raised on the Day of Resurrection with a pair of eyes and a tongue with which to speak, testifying for all who have touched it with truth and sincerity.’
15 The Prophet, on him be peace, used to kiss it often.
16 It is related that he, on him be peace, also prostrated himself upon it. If he rode on a camel, while circuiting around it, he touched it with a crooked staff and then kissed the end of the staff.
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‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, kissed it, then said: ‘I know you are a stone that neither harms nor helps, and had I not seen God’s Messenger, on him be peace, kiss you, I would not have kissed you.’ Then he wept, sobbing loudly. On turning round he saw ‘Alī, may God ennoble his countenance and be pleased with him, and said: ‘Here tears are shed and Prayers are answered, father of al-Ḥasan!’ But ‘Alī, may God be pleased with him, replied: ‘Oh yes, Commander of the Believers, it does indeed harm and help!’ ‘How so?’ ‘When God, Exalted is He, took the Convenant from the descendants of Adam, He committed it to writing and embedded the document in this stone; it will therefore bear witness for the believer as to his fulfilment, and against the unbeliever as to his repudiation.’
This, they say, is the significance of the words people utter when touching the Black Stone:
‘O God, I declare my belief in You, my acceptance of Your document and my fulfilment of Your covenant.’
(Allāhumma īmānan bika wa-taṣdīqan bi-kitābika wa-wafā’an bi-’ahdika.)
Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī is reported as saying: ‘One day of Fasting in Makka is worth a hundred thousand days, one penny in Alms is worth a thousand pounds, and any other good deed is likewise worth a hundred thousand times its value elsewhere.’ It is said that to circumambulate seven times is equal to one Visitation, and that three Visitations are equal to one Pilgrimage. According to authentic Tradition: ‘A Visitation in Ramaḍān is like performing a Pilgrimage with me’
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The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘I shall be the first for whom the earth will split open, then I shall go to the cemetery called al-Baqī’ (in Madina) and its occupants will be gathered up with me, then I shall go to the people of Makka and I shall be resurrected between the two Sanctuaries.’
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According to another Tradition: ‘When Adam, on him be peace, had performed all the rites of Pilgrimage he was met by the angels, who said: “Blessed be your Pilgrimage, Adam. We made Pilgrimage to this House two thousand years before you did.”’
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We have it from an early source that God, Great and Glorious is He, surveys the people of the earth every night; the first at whom He looks are the people of the Sanctuary (Makka), and of these He looks first at the people of the Sacred Mosque: those He sees circuiting He forgives, those He sees at Prayer He forgives, and those He sees standing facing the Ka’ba He forgives.
One of the saints, may God be pleased with them, saw a vision and said: ‘I saw all the frontier regions prostrating toward ‘Abbādān and I saw ‘Abbādan prostrating towards Jidda.’ It is said that the sun never sets on a day, nor rises after a night, when a saintly or holy person has not made the circuit of the House, and that when this ceases to be so there will be cause for the Ka’ba to be removed from the earth without trace. This will happen when nobody has come on Pilgrimage for seven years. The Quran will then be removed from the written books, leaving the pages blank with not one letter showing. Then the Quran will be erased from all hearts, not one word of it remembered. People will then revert to the poems, songs and fables of the time of Ignorance. Then will emerge the Antichrist and Jesus, on him be peace, will come down to kill him. The Hour of Resurrection will be at that moment as it were a pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth.
According to Tradition: ‘Make frequent circumambulation of this House, before it is taken up; for twice it has been laid waste and the third time it will be taken away. ‘
21 It is related on the authority of ‘Alī, may God be pleased with him, that the Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘God, Exalted is He, says: “If I wished to destroy the world I would begin by destroying My House, then I would destroy the whole world in its wake.”’
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The Merit and Demerit of Residing in Makka,
may God, Exalted is He, protect her.
Cautiously apprehensive scholars find fault with permanent residence in Makka on three grounds:
One, fear of boredom and over-familiarity with the House, for this may tend to douse the ardour of reverence in the heart.
That was why ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, used to beat the people who had completed their Pilgrimage, crying: ‘Yemenis, back to Yemen! Syrians, back to Syria! ‘Irāqis, back to ‘Irāq!’ For the same reason ‘Umar, may God be pleased with him, was careful to prevent people from excessive circumambulation, saying: ‘I am afraid people will get too familiar with this House.’
Two, nostalgia stimulates a yearning to return. God, Exalted is He, has made the House a concourse secure for mankind, i.e. a place where they should congregate, returning to it time and again and never ceasing to aspire to it.
Someone said: ‘That you should be in another town, with your heart yearning for Makka, attached to this House, is better for you than being there, bored with long residence and hankering after another town.’ As one of the elders said: ‘Many a man in Khurāsān is closer to this House than those circuiting around it!’ It is even said that God, Exalted is He, has servants so close to Him, Great and Glorious is He, that the Ka’ba revolves around them.
Three, fear of committing errors and sins there. That is a grave peril, likely to excite the anger of God, Great and Glorious is He, on account of the nobility of the place.
Wuhayb ibn al-Ward, the Makkan, is reported as saying: ‘One night as I was praying by the Black Stone, I heard a conversation between the Ka’ba and its coverings, in which it said: “To God I complain, and then to you, Gabriel, of what the circumambulants fling around me – the thoughts they give vent to, their vanities and their prattling. Unless they desist I shall surely give myself a mighty shake, sending every stone I am built with back to the hills from which they were hewn!”’ Ibn Mas’ūd, may God be pleased with him, said: ‘In no city but Makka is a man chastised for his mere intention, before he has acted on it.’ Then he recited the words of the Exalted One:
‘Whoever purposes to violate it wrongfully, We shall make him taste a painful doom.’ [al-Ḥajj, 22:25]
[Wa-man yurid fīhi bi-ilḥādin bi-ẓulmin nudhiqhu min ‘adhābin alīm.)
That is to say, punishment is entailed by the mere purpose.
It is said that evil deeds are compounded in Makka, as are good deeds. Ibn ‘Abbās, may God be pleased with him, used to say: ‘Monopolistic hoarding in Makka constitutes violation of the Sanctuary.’ Some say the same of lying. Said Ibn ‘Abbās: ‘To sin seventy times at al-Rakīya would be preferable to me than to commit a single sin in Makka.’
* Such fear has even led certain residents of Makka to make a practice of leaving the confines of the Sanctuary whenever they need to answer the call of nature. Someone stayed there a whole month without ever reclining on the ground. As a deterrent to long residence, certain scholars have expressed disapproval of renting houses in Makka.
Let it not be supposed that the demerit of residence is at odds with the merit of the place itself. The reason behind the former is human frailty and inability to treat the place with due respect. When we declare it preferable to forsake residing there, we refer to residence associated with inadequacy and boredom. As for its being preferable to residence in all propriety – how utterly absurd! Of course, for when God’s Messenger, on him be peace, came back to Makka he approached the Ka’ba and said: ‘You are the best spot on God’s earth, Great and Glorious is He; most dear to me of all the cities of God, Exalted is He. If I had not had to leave you, I would never have left you.’
23 Of course, for it is an act of worship just to look upon the House, and good deeds performed there are compounded, as we have mentioned.
The Superiority of Madina the Radiant over Other Towns
After Makka itself, there is no place superior to Madina, the City of God’s Messenger, on him be peace. Deeds performed there are also compounded. Said the Prophet, on him be peace: ‘One Prayer in this Mosque of mine is better than a thousand Prayers in any other Mosque, except the Sacred Mosque.’
24 Likewise every good
action in Madina is worth a thousand. After the City of the Prophet comes the Holy Land of Jerusalem, where one Prayer is equal to five hundred elsewhere, with the exception of the Sacred Mosque. Again, the same is true of other deeds. Ibn ‘Abbās relates that the Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘One Prayer in the Mosque of Madina is worth ten thousand Prayers, one Prayer in al-Aqṣā Mosque is worth a thousand, and one Prayer in the Sacred Mosque is worth a hundred thousand.’
25
The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘If anyone endures the rigours and austerity [of Madina], I shall be an intercessor for him on the Day of Resurrection.’
26 Also: ‘If someone is able to die in Madina, let him die there, for no-one will die there without my being an intercessor for him on the Day of Resurrection.’
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Aside from these three places, all other districts are on an equal footing, with the exception of the frontier regions, where it is extremely meritorious to take up station. The Prophet, on him be peace, said: ‘Only these three Mosques deserve a special journey: the Sacred Mosque, my Mosque and the Mosque of al-Aqṣā.’
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God’s Messenger, on him be peace, also said: ‘All countries are the countries of God, Exalted is He, so take up residence in any place where you find good company, and give praise to God, Exalted is He.’
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