The Reality of Ḥajj

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ

(Qur’ān 02:216)

“Wa Asá’An Takrahū Shay’āan Wa Huwa Khayrun Lakum ۖ WaAsá ’AnTuĥibbū Shay’āan Wa Huwa Sharrun Lakum”

“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you.” Ṣadaqa Llāhu l-‘Aẓīm.

Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla says, you may love and desire certain things, but if they happen, they are not good for you, but evil. What you perceive as good may be evil for you, not good at all. And what you perceive as evil may be good for you. Mankind does not know the wisdom of Allāh ﷻ or the things He ﷻ has decreed. He must submit, because there is nothing you can do. A person must strive and work. But success comes from Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla.

If it is Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla’s will, then that good affair will happen. But it may be evil, not good. You may not be able to do it, and you may be saddened. Yet, there is no goodness in it, but evil. It will be something that does not benefit you. Therefore, what is best is to submit to Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla. Submission to Allāh ﷻ is necessary. In Islām, for Muslims, especially those in ṭarīqah, submission is crucial. Submission is of course, as we said, you must work and do everything you can.

After that, you will entrust it to Allāh ﷻ, saying, “Whatever Allāh ﷻ wills will happen. May He ﷻ grant what is best, may He ﷻ keep evil away. And may what is good be fulfilled, in shā’a Llāh.” You must make that du’ā’. Everything happens through du’ā’. Whatever you’re going to do, start it with Basmala and du’ā’.

And of course, the most important are the acts of worship. Prayer, fasting, and ḥajj; all what’s commanded by Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla. Now is the time of ḥajj. Ḥajj is approaching. If a person wants to go on ḥajj, and Allāh ﷻ wills it, it’s possible. But under normal circumstances, going on ḥajj this year is difficult, very difficult. Therefore, ḥajj is also an order from Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla. It is farḍ for those who have the wealth and health to perform it.

Of course, ḥajj is a difficult act of worship. Perhaps the most difficult of all acts of worship is ḥajj. People think ḥajj is easy, that it’s something that can be easily done. But compared to fasting, prayer, and zakāt – I think zakāt is more difficult for people. Because people don’t like giving zakāt. That might be harder. But compared to fasting and prayer, ḥajj is quite a difficult act of worship. It has always been like that, not just now.

In the past, people would go on foot, by camel, by horse, by sea. At that time, there were no machines, no cars, no airplanes. They would go like that. It would be a journey lasting months. And as if that weren’t enough, there were also those who ambushed ḥajjīs on the way. They would kill the ḥajjīs, take their money, take their lives. That’s another matter.

Now they say everything is easy, everything is comfortable, but there’s still hardship. Even if you travel in the most luxurious way, it only applies to a certain point. Then they say, “We paid thousands of dollars. We paid so much. How can we leave us here? There’s still a two-hour walk to get there. We paid so much money.” You paid, but the situation is clear. You have no other choice. There’s nowhere else to go.

You have to endure hardship. Sometimes it’s little, sometimes it’s a lot. Certainly, there are hardships in ḥajj. Those who go on ḥajj see it as a test from Allāh ﷻ, a grant from Allāh ﷻ to earn more reward and thawāb. If you complete your ḥajj without uttering bad words or doing anything wrong, you will have performed as much worship in that one ḥajj as you have in your entire life. You will probably even earn more reward and thawāb than that.

As we said, there are hardships when going on ḥajj. If you just sit and pray in your room, thinking “I’m in ḥajj. I am in Makkah Mukarramah,” then you’ve lost a lot. One prayer in front of the Kaa’ba Mu’azzamah is like a hundred thousand prayers; perhaps a hundred thousand prayers are worth more than you could ever perform in your life. You gain that reward in one prayer. The same applies to Madīnah Munawwarah; it’s thousands of times more virtuous than the prayers you normally perform.

Therefore, it’s important to pay attention to this. You’re not going there to relax, you’re not going on vacation. You may stay in a five-star hotel. The Kaa’ba is right there, just two steps away. Others who go normally sometimes take an hour or an hour and a half. Then, you can come for Fajr, perform the prayer. Then, come back at Dhuhr and stay there until ‘Isha prayer. Perform all your worships there.

Don’t be lazy and think, “I’ll stay in the hotel and be comfortable.” Don’t think so. Ḥajj, as we said, is arduous. No matter how luxurious it is, a person will inevitably endure hardship, even if little. Therefore, Allāh ﷻ will give them abundant reward and thawāb. He will give everyone their reward and thawāb.

That’s why, as we said, ḥajj is important. In the past, there weren’t any obstacles. Now there are obstacles; you can’t enter. The obstacles in the past were actually worse. The old obstacles could even cost you your life. The current obstacles don’t affect you. This year your name didn’t come up, you await it next year. The next year, it still hasn’t come up. Next year, five years, ten years.

This year many brothers are going to ḥajj after fifteen years. Someone mentioned recently that there are some who have been waiting for eighteen years. Their names haven’t been drawn for ḥajj yet. Allāh ﷻ grants it to whoever is destined for it. Those whose names haven’t been drawn, Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla certainly grants them the reward of ḥajj every year, in shā’a Llāh. May Allāh ﷻ grant us all the reward and thawāb.

Ḥajj is only farḍ once. There’s no necessity for a second time. It’s not farḍ. Many people go to Umrah before going to ḥajj. We tell them not to do that; save up the money for ḥajj first. Then, if it becomes possible, you can go to ḥajj. If you didn’t have the opportunity, then set aside the money of ḥajj. If you collect more, use them for Umrah. It’s fine then. Otherwise, beware not to do that! Don’t give your ḥajj money for Umrah and then miss it if you get the opportunity for ḥajj.

May Allāh ﷻ grant it to those who want to go, in shā’a Llāh. Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq. Al-Fatiha.

Al-Fatiha.

•⁠ ⁠Mawlana Sheikh Muhammad Adil ar-Rabbaniق

10 May 2026/ 23 Dhul Qa’dah 1447

Lefke, Cyprus

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