The Good, the Bad and the Forgotten Soul of Hajj

Alhamdulilah, Allah gave me the chance to visit the Holy Land, performing the most sacred acts and learning the most beautiful lessons. Coming back from the Holy Land was like waking up from a beautiful dream. While on one hand I felt reluctant to come back and on the other hand I was more excited to put all the things I had learned into practice and start a new chapter of my life.

The Good

The sight of Ka’ba is unquestionably very appealing. You will see pilgrims from all around the world who have turned the Haram into their living place; you would see people sleeping, laughing, eating and even kids playing which makes it even more delightful.
You get to see brotherhood and unity regardless of worldly status or race, which many of us Muslims take for granted. Muslims from all over the globe come to achieve the same goal i.e. to please Allah.
Since you are away from you daily life, you get the time to contemplate on your life, how it has been and how you want it to be and what you need to do in order to get the life you imagine. It is a serene experience where you are worry-free of all you daily duties and you can go deep into your thoughts and improve your relation with Allah.
You get to see huge amounts of charity be it in the form of water, juices, food and even umbrellas which are very much needed. You also meet some good people along the way and they really restore your faith in humanity.

The Bad

Hajj itself is a very elevating experience but the behavior of some pilgrims will certainly leave you wondering, are they really here for Hajj?
The amount of litter of the streets makes you question of much we have strayed from basic human ethics given to us by Islam. Even though the Prophet (PBUH) said “And take care of the earth for verily she is your mother.” (Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir 5\65 ) Especially during the days of Hajj at Arafat and Muzdalifah, you will see unimaginable amount of garbage on the street which will make you question; Do these people even have a heart? You see bottles, half-eaten food, plastic bags and all kinds of stuff even though huge dustbins are available almost every 100 meters or so and there are massive board signs highlighting “Do not litter!”

You will see people swearing during Hajj itself. Of course most people don’t but I wouldn’t be lying if I say that you will hear at least 4-6 people swearing every day while there are several people who would be screaming on top of their voices, arguing on the smallest of things and a few even resort to physical violence. People travel all the way to wash away their sins yet they would commit huge sins through many wrongdoings.

Hujjaj pushing other people to be done with the Tawaf as soon as possible. This is the most horrible and the act that you experience the most during your stay in Makkah. People would push, shove and even elbow fellow Hujjaj. I even saw a few old people walking with sticks who were pushing and fell to the ground, and sadly, most people would rather continue their tawaf than help them. You see people pushing the old, weak, women and the worst part is that they feel no remorse, instead they consider it a right to push others around saying I am too tired, I have to get it done quickly. I remember, one of my roommates got his shirt ripped off as people were trying to get ahead of him. You would think that people would follow our beloved Prophet (PBUH) during Hajj but you see the complete opposite. Even though the Prophet (PBUH) clearly stated “A Muslim in the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue and hands” (Sahih Al-Bukhari Book#2, Hadith#9)

Discipline is seldom found. It’s more like you feel as if the Muslims enjoy breaking the laws even in the Holy Land. Even though we have been commanded by the Prophet (PBUH) “It is necessary upon a Muslim to listen to and obey the ruler, as long as one is not ordered to commit a sin.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari 2796) I have seen Muslims taking pictures in places where it was strictly forbidden, being completely disobedient to the police officers in the Ka’ba and nobody showing discipline when necessary as in case of washroom and drinking ZamZam.

All that I have seen in the Muslims has absolutely terrified me. People would much rather come and be done with the rituals of Hajj as soon as possible than take this opportunity to learn something new, increase their patience, show their love for humanity and increase their faith in Allah. Alas, by giving unconceivable emphasis to the rituals only, we have forgotten the True Soul of Hajj.

The Forgotten Soul of Hajj

Often humility and unity are considered to be the lessons of Hajj, but they are only a small part of all that one can learn on this divine experience.
To start, one must keep in mind that Hajj is not only a spiritual journey; it is a journey that will test you to the limit; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
According to many Hadith’s, the sign of an accepted Hajj is that you change your life for the better after you have performed Hajj. The question I had all along was that what is in the rituals of Hajj that might help me rectify the poor traits of my character.
After a few days of my Hajj, as I was recalling my experience of Hajj, I started reliving all of it piece by piece. I remember seeing people angry in many different situations, people being selfish, people having almost no discipline and patience especially when you have to stand in long queues to make ‘Wudu’ for your prayers, people pushing others during ‘Tawaf’ and so on. You get to see people coming from some of the most advanced of “first world” countries, the people who carry labels like ‘educated’ and ‘disciplined’ due to their association with some countries, and you would think these people would be better but you see them indulged in the same horrendous actions while many people from less educated and poorer countries would be much more helpful, forgiving, patient etc. This really taught me that anyone can be good in good surroundings and good situations but true goodness is when you are good to others even in the worst of situations. If you are being good so that others may also be good to you, you are indulging in quid pro quo and that is not how I would personally define goodness. You need to give without expecting a reward. From all that I have seen, if people can practice this one trait, I believe there would be no fights, no selfish behavior and a lot more discipline because you are doing all of this not to get people to be good to you , you are doing this for the sake of Allah.
One mistake people make is focusing too much on others while this is your chance to focus on yourself. Once you are exhausted, in every possible way, be it physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, all your choices and action are intuitive and reveal your true self. It is as if someone putting a mirror in front of you that shows who you really are as opposed to who you thought you were. You need to ask yourself how selfish, wise, angry, helpful, forgiving, patient etc. you really were?
It is in the times of extreme adversity that our personality peels away and our true character is revealed. Only when you know yourself can you change yourself and I think that is what Hajj is really about, knowing your true self in every single aspect so that you know what you need to do in order to change yourself for the better.
I may be wrong and there might be a lot more to it but this is just how I have perceived this journey. Allah knows best.

I’ll end with this,
“The more you know of God, the humbler you become
The more you know of yourself, you can never be proud.”