5 Pillars Made Plain
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Pillar 5: Introduction to Hajj (Pilgrimage)
“Born again”- this is how people who have completed the pillar of Hajj (pilgrimage) describe their experience. Throughout this journey, Muslims encounter hardships solely to seek the bounty and pleasure of God. Surrounded by a sea of people from all walks of life, Muslims find themselves united in worship and purpose, their voices calling to God in unison. Sh. Abdullah Oduro explains the universality of Islam through its fifth and final pillar.
Episode Timestamps:
0:00 - Welcome
0:15 - “Please make Dua for me” - prayer requests for the Hajj pilgrims
1:01 - A display of unity in ritual and prayer at the Ka’bah
2:17 - Hajj is a life-changing experience
2:41 - Travel to witness the signs of Allah
3:15 - Hajj is a spiritual journey to Allah
3:29 - Malcolm X’s hajj experience and the universality of Islam
4:47 - The etiquette of Hajj
5:36 - Hajj is obligatory upon those who are able to do so
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. The Qur'an, Sunnah, and Hadith Asalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all. I'm Abdullah Oduro and welcome. A young woman walks in the mosque and she sees a group of sisters standing around one particular sister. She walks up to that group wondering what's going on and she notices that these women have pieces of paper with requests on them, with du'as, prayers. And they're handing it to this sister and they're saying, okay, please make this du'a for me. This is for my relative, this is for my friend, this is for me. And the sister that walked in the mosque is wondering why are they doing this? You see, this sister was a convert and she didn't know why they were handing her these prayers. They were thinking, she was thinking, is this a righteous sister to that level? Why is this sister so special? Come to find out that this sister was going to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. And that's when it really hit her. You see, she remembers one time that her husband was telling her when he converted to Islam how he was dumbfounded when he walked into the apartment of one of his friends and it was a TV screen and on the TV screen was the Kaaba, the house of Allah that is symbolized to be the house of Allah. And he was amazed by the people just circumambulating around him. The unity, when they would stop to pray and all go into the bowing position, all in unison, all in synchronization, all saying ameen, which is like amen, all saying this at the same time, the uniformity and how all of this is in one direction to the same God. It was amazing to him. This is what he told her. When she saw that, she immediately remembered what her husband told her. A couple of weeks later, that sister that received all those requests that went to the pilgrimage came back to the mosque and the sister that walked in the mosque saw how elated all the sisters were
when seeing this pilgrim come back from Mecca and how they all lined up to talk to her. And she remembered at that time when she embraced Islam and how everyone was lining up to hug her and to congratulate her. The pilgrimage, Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam is something that is so amazing, extraordinary, and it is a life-changing experience for the Muslim. And especially for someone that has just converted to Islam or someone that is a renewed Muslim trying to practice their faith, this, without a doubt, is a life-changing experience. You know, many times we find people that tell you, you know, you gotta go to the Grand Canyon, you know, you gotta go to certain places around the world. You have to go to Japan or go to certain places to visit these certain sites and learn history and see what has taken place throughout the world. And no doubt about it, in the Quran, it reminds us to go around the world and see, in particular, to see what's happened to certain nations. But there's no problem with going and taking a journey around the world to see the beautiful ayat and signs of Allah. But let's remember that Hajj is a travel unlike any other. It is a spiritual journey. It's a journey to visit Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's a journey that broadens your scope. And this broadening of one's scope was exactly what Malcolm X said, may Allah have mercy on his soul, an individual that fought against dehumanization and prejudice and stereotypes and racism against non-whites, particularly African Americans, when he said, "'Never have I experienced such sincere hospitality "'and true brotherhood as displayed "'by people of all races and colors "'in this ancient holy land, "'the home of Abraham, Muhammad,
"'and all of the other prophets of the holy scriptures. "'In the past week, I have been utterly speechless "'and spellbound by the graciousness displayed around me "'by people of all colors.'" He also said, "'In the past 11 days, "'I have eaten from the same plate, "'drunk from the same glass, "'slept on the same rug while praying to the same God, "'with peoples whose eyes are the bluest of blue, "'whose hair is the blondest of blonde, "'and whose skin is the whitest of white.'" That statement by Malcolm X shows the importance of the universality of Islam, being that when he made the pilgrimage, he saw how there were different colors and different types of people, but all worshiping the same God, practicing the same reenactments of the prophets. Even within practicing this pillar of Hajj, there are certain adab, or certain forms of etiquette here. We see in chapter number two, verse number 197, where Allah says, "'The Hajj, the pilgrimage, are well-known months. "'It's within well-known months. "'So whoever decides to perform the Hajj "'or make it obligatory upon themselves by performing it, "'there is no sexual relations, "'nor any disobedience, "'nor any arguing or disputing during Hajj. "'And whoever does it, "'Allah is well aware of what you do. "'Whatever good you do, Allah is well aware of it. "'So take your provisions, "'for verily the best provision is that of piety. "'So fear me, O people of understanding.'" So understanding that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la the Exalted, within performing this pillar, there are certain etiquettes that we will talk about, inshallah. Allah says in chapter number three, verse number 97, and for Allah, upon the people is to make the pilgrimage to the house, whoever is able to do so. But whoever disbelieves, indeed, Allah is free from any need of the world's. So in understanding that Allah has obliged this upon us, and being that Hajj is something
that if you're able to do so, we understand the mercy of Allah when performing or trying your level best to perform that pillar of Islam. And if one that disbelieves, Allah is free from any need of anyone or anything to show you that going to make Hajj, going to this pilgrimage, traveling thousands of miles, is better for you and your soul of your existence on this earth, thus fulfilling that purpose.
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