Hajj is to head towards the Sacred House of Allah to draw nearer to Allah The Almighty by doing specific deeds there and in its vicinity. These deeds connect the historical reality with its ancient origins as they revive great principles in the souls of the pilgrims and remind them of the history of this Sacred Place, its historic events and the origin of this divine act of worship.

These deeds also establish a horizontal connection, for all pilgrims gather from many countries, with different languages and distinct colors at the same time unified by the call of Tawheed (monotheism): "Labbayka Allahumma labbayk; Labbayka la Shareeka laka labbayk. Inna Al-Hamda wan-ni‘mata laka wal-mulk; laa Shareeka Lak (O Allah, I hasten to You. You have no partner. I hasten to You. All praise and grace belong to You and sovereignty too; You have no partner)." They have one Lord, one Prophet and one Qiblah (direction of prayer).

From the obligation of Hajj, we learn many great lessons. The most important of these are those educational lessons related to the family that we need so much, especially when the enemies of this nation have united upon destroying the family, which is the educational unit that preserves our religion, identity, life and Hereafter. This is why, in the following lines, I will try to present to the reader some of the great lessons related to the family that are learned from the journey of Hajj.

The Family Being Established

Allah The Almighty charged His righteous slave and noble Messenger Ibraaheem with building the foundation of Tawheed. He ordered him and his wife Haajar to move from the fertile lands of Mesopotamia to an uncultivated valley to build the Sacred House of Allah. Ibraaheem also involved his family in this great noble work. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And [mention] when Ibraaheem (Abraham) was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ismaa‘eel (Ishmael), [saying], "Our Lord, Accept [this] from us. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing."} [Quran 2:127] This was the family of Ibraaheem . Do we follow its model by establishing the foundations of Tawheed on the land of Allah following the path of Ibraaheem ?

A Family Obedient to its Lord and Content

When Allah The Almighty ordered Ibraaheem to emigrate, he complied, obeyed and surrendered to the will of his Patron, and he continued to obey when Allah The Exalted commanded him to leave his wife and child in this barren valley which had neither plants, water nor any other of the most important elements of life. He left them as a trust with Allah, whose trusts are never lost. He left his beloved wife Haajar and the apple of his eye, his son Ismaa‘eel who was still an infant needing care and the presence of his educating and compassionate father, while they had nothing but a sack of dates and a skin of water, to return to his first domicile. What about the condition of Haajar, the wife he abandoned? She also complied with the order of her Lord with patience and satisfaction, seeking the reward from Allah after she had made sure from her husband that this was the will of Allah when she asked him, "Did Allah order you to do this?" Ibraaheem replied, "Yes." She said, "Then, He will never forsake us."

Thereupon, the master of this noble, generous and patient family supplicated to his munificent Lord with this supplication with which the believer may alleviate his pain and sorrows. He recited the following supplication to his Lord (what means): {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 from the fruits that they might be grateful.} [Quran 14:37]

That is the state of the believing Muslim family which is patient and obedient to its Lord without objection, hesitation or delay. Where does the contemporary Muslim family stand compared to the level of the family of Ibraaheem ? Do we train ourselves, our wives, sons and daughters at this noble level of obedience to the Almighty patron and complying with His orders in all our affairs?

To be continued …