Life-Changing Journeys: Hajj and The Pursuit of Islamic Knowledge

The Journey That Changes You

Do you remember the first time you drove a car? The first time you are behind the wheel, you probably weren't very good at it, and it probably wasn't a very fancy car, but fundamentally something changed that day. You are in charge of the wheel, you're in charge of the car, there's no one helping you. And although you're not aware at the time, but life is never going to be the same again. The responsibilities that come after that — suddenly you're bringing groceries to home, you're taking your friends and family on rides, there's also opportunity, you could be with who you want, you could be where you want.

There's no going back to life before driving, that's a phase that's gone. This is who you are now. There are moments in our lives where everything changes.

Hajj as a Life-Changing Journey

Especially in our deen, of those changes was hajj. The journey of hajj is particularly moving — it's deeply, deeply moving to a person, personally moving. Especially before all these modern amenities, hajj meant saving for years and traveling for months with people that are just as dedicated as you. People that did not spend half their life saving for no reason. People that sacrificed to be where they are. People that are so dedicated — and on top of that with an alim to boot. You're not traveling alone, you're traveling with an alim who can teach you how to do hajj. You are going on this incredible journey.

Hajj is a culmination of all the different types of ibadah. It has the physical aspect like salah, it has the monetary aspect like zakat, it has the restraint in ihram like fasting. Hajj even comes from the word hujjat — your hajj is a proof of your iman.

Life after hajj is not the same. There is no concept or thinking of going back to the way I was before. And similar to that also is traveling to study. Having come to study, having taken out the time and the sacrifice to learn deen fundamentally changes who you are. And there is no idea of going back to life as it was. Again, you might not know it at the time. You might not be aware as you're going through those motions. But you can never go back to the life when you weren't a student of knowledge. You will forever be branded as a person who studied, as a person who's dedicated time and effort to ilm, as a person who spent time with ulama.

There is no going back. For now and forever, a person who has dedicated their time to deen will be a deeni person. That life is a brand new life, and it's a better life, and it's a life for Allah.

Advice from Surah al-Baqarah for the Hujjaj — and for Us

I wanted to take some of these advices that Allah gives to the hujjaj. Welcoming back these hujjaj — mashaAllah — it's such an amazing feeling to feel the nur coming from them, to feel the qubuliyya, to feel all of the love that Allah has brought down upon them. Some of that advice, we can make it relevant to us as well.

This passage starts in Surah al-Baqarah, ayah 197. Allah starts:

Allah starts saying, "Hajj takes place in certain known months." The reason why Allah starts with this is because umrah was mentioned. And umrah of course doesn't have a specific time period — umrah can be done whenever. And so when we're talking about hajj now, hajj is specific.

فَمَن فَرَضَ فِيهِنَّ الْحَجَّ فَلَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ — "And whoever is taking on the dedication, you're making the intention to be a haji this year." If you've made that intention, then Allah — even the way He says it — He doesn't say, "Don't be a bad person." He just says: لَا رَفَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ. There's no sins, there's no indecency, there's no arguments. That's not what hajj is about. Those things don't exist in hajj.

And then Allah continues: وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُ — "Whatever good that you do, Allah is aware of it, Allah knows it." He doesn't mention the bad, because of course there is no bad — we just said that. In hajj there's no bad. And when you're dedicating yourself to deen, when you're dedicating yourself to Allah, there's no evil involved.

وَتَزَوَّدُوا — "Take Your Provisions"

The next part of the ayah, Allah says: وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ — "And take your supplies, because the best of supplies is taqwa."

Now this is one of those places in the Qur'an where the mufassireen take an ayah and dissect it and bring layers of meanings. Multiple places in the Qur'an you'll find that the ayat will have multiple meanings. The meanings are not contradictory — they complement one another. So this is one of those places where this one ayah has a few explanations.

First Explanation: True Tawakkul Requires Effort

The first explanation — there is a narration that some people when they would go for hajj, when they would make this dedication, this journey, they would say: "We have tawakkul, we trust Allah, and so we don't need to take any supplies with us. My tawakkul is on Allah, I will just go and Allah will provide for me." And then they would go for hajj, and when they would get there, they wouldn't have anything to provide for themselves, and they would end up begging.

And so the mufassireen explained that Allah in this ayah is saying: take your supplies with you. Understand that tawakkul doesn't mean that you don't make any effort. Tawakkul requires effort. Going forward without making any preparations is not what Allah is asking of you. So make the preparations.

وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ — "Because the best of preparations is that which protects you." And so taqwa is translated here from the word wiqaya as a protection. Prepare for yourself, because the best of preparations is that which protects you from dishonor, protects you from having to beg.

So what does that have to do with us? Knowing that we've gone on this effort to learn deen, to study ilm — know that there is going to come a time when the fitnas of Shaitan will come. Know that Allah has set you in a place — and you know, even in the beginning of the ayah, why did Allah mention there's not going to be any arguments, there's not going to be any fighting, there's not going to be any indecency? Because you're traveling with people you don't know. And you're traveling for extensive periods of time. There are going to be problems. But Allah wants you to know that when you're going into those problems, you have to protect yourself. And you have to prepare yourself for that protection.

Knowing that you're going into an environment that's not going to be conducive for your deen, knowing that you're going into a place that's going to actively try to harm you — Allah is telling you: prepare yourself for that. Make preparations.

How do you prepare yourself? When the wife of Ibrahim alaihissalam, when she understood — this is the decision of Allah that I be left in Makkah alone with my child, my infant, and no father, no brother, no one to help. She understood that. That didn't mean that she gave up. She made efforts. She tried again and again. She went up one mountain, she went up another mountain — again, and again, and again. She didn't stop. She worked for it. She did what she could.

And so for us, knowing there are situations that are going to arise in our life, we have to make those preparations — in terms of what you take along with you when you're going into the dunya, whether that's your dedication to tilawat, whether it's your connection with your ulama, whatever that is. Prepare yourself before you go. Don't wait for the problem to come and then try to figure out what to do.

Second Explanation: Collect as Much Taqwa as You Can

The next explanation of this ayah is probably what we were all thinking in the beginning. Allah says: prepare your supplies because the best of supplies is taqwa. The best of supplies truly is to be righteous, to be pious, to fear Allah and to have that quality, and to inculcate that quality as your preparation.

Now this in relation to the hujjaj would mean: when you go for hajj, get as much as you can. Get as much taqwa as you can. Do as much ibadat as you can. Dedicate yourself to what you're doing and collect as much taqwa as you can.

And the same applies for us. When we're in this environment, when we have this opportunity — collect as much taqwa as you can. You need it. When the attacks of Shaitan come, it's not just going to be a one-off thing and you're done. If you tell Shaitan no and you overcome the fitna one time, Shaitan is not going to give up and say, "Well, it didn't work."

Ibrahim alaihissalam goes to slaughter his son. Shaitan comes to him. He pelts Shaitan, gets rid of him. Shaitan comes again. Shaitan comes again. And when we pelt in hajj, we do it again and again. And then the next day you do it again and again and again. And the next day you do it again and again and again. Shaitan is not going to let up. Taqwa requires you to say no repeatedly, constantly. You always have to fight. You always have to push. It's not going to be a one-time event where you manage to say no to Shaitan. The test goes on.

Third Explanation: Provisions Earned Through Taqwa

The third explanation of this ayah — وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ — is that the best of provision is that which is acquired through taqwa. Meaning the provisions that you collect, you do so in the way that Allah wants you to collect them. The provisions that you take are of halal rizq. The provisions that you take are taken through halal manners and means.

And so again, we reflect — how does this apply to me as a person who is going through this journey, this life-changing journey, and wants to move on? The taqwa is something that a person has to work on consistently, and really the expectation is from Allah.

In the ayah, Allah tells Ibrahim alaihissalam:

Ibrahim alaihissalam is told to make a du'a, to make an adhan, to make an announcement, to call the people to hajj. There's no one there. And yet Allah says people will be coming from the most remote, empty valleys where even echoes can be heard — مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍ — the furthest valleys. People will be coming, because Allah doesn't want you to do what you're capable of. Allah wants you to do what He wants you to do, what He expects of you. And so that's taqwa — doing things the way Allah wants them to be done.

Allah concludes the ayah saying: وَاتَّقُونِ يَا أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ — "Fear Me, O People of Heart."

The Next Ayah: Seeking the Fadl of Allah

Based on shortage of time, I won't go into the full tafsir of the ayah. But just to mention a few points, making this relevant to us. In this ayah, Allah is saying that there's no harm upon you that you seek the fadl of Allah — saying it's permissible to earn money while you're in your hajj. The fadl is from Allah. That's something to keep in mind. Allah is the real muhsin. As much as we try to earn our money ourselves, we have to keep in mind the fadl comes from Allah.

فَإِذَا أَفَضْتُم مِّنْ عَرَفَاتٍ — "When you're done with what you're doing, when you've left Arafah" — hajj is all about Arafah. When you're done with Arafah, basically you've done the main part of hajj, and you've done the main part of what you came for, what your maqsud was. The fadl was beyond your maqsad. The fadl was beyond what your niyyah was. It's something extra.

But when you're done with the main portion — فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِندَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ — when you're going back, when you're leaving Arafah going to Muzdalifah, then the dhikr of Allah is what you take with you. When you're leaving, when you're moving on to the next portion, the next stage of your life — فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ عِندَ الْمَشْعَرِ الْحَرَامِ.

وَاذْكُرُوهُ كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ — "And remember Him the way He taught you." Your ilm guides your amal. You're not just doing dhikr. كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ — the way Allah guided you. Again, it goes back to the idea of doing things the way Allah wants them to be done. Although in our hearts it feels like the progress might not be happening, or might not be the way we want it to be — it is كَمَا هَدَاكُمْ, the way Allah has taught you.

Be With the People — Without Arrogance

Allah is talking to the Quraish here. The Quraish would stay in the haram and wouldn't go out to Arafat. They would say, "We're the caretakers, it's not appropriate for us to leave." That bit of arrogance — we're going to stay here, we're not going to make the effort of going out. And so Allah says: ثُمَّ أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ — "When you go out, be with the people. Don't be arrogant about it."

You're not special just because you did something Allah granted you the tawfiq to do. You're not special, you're not different. Be with the people. أَفِيضُوا مِنْ حَيْثُ أَفَاضَ النَّاسُ — go where everyone else is going. The Prophet ﷺ, being the Prophet of Allah, didn't act above anyone else.

He was a person just like everyone else.

And then Allah says — although that work of being with the people is going to lead to fitnahs. Being with the people and spending time with people and doing khidmat with people naturally will lead to different types of fitnahs. وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ — then ask forgiveness. But do this. Be with the people. Whatever fitnahs might end up coming from that, you can ask Allah for forgiveness. إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ — He is very forgiving.

Remember Allah More Than You Remember Your Parents

We'll end off here, inshallah. Allah says here: "When you're totally done with all of your actions, and you're really done — فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَاسِكَكُمْ — you've done all the acts of your worship — فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ آبَاءَكُمْ — remember Allah the way you used to remember your fathers."

The direct tafsir of this would be that before Islam, the Quraish and the different tribes used to have eulogies and praise and poems about their fathers and their lineage. But the mufassireen explain this beautifully for us. When a person is young, their parents take care of everything. Everything's taken care of. And as you get older, you kind of start thinking about those times when my parents used to take care of everything. I didn't have to worry about where my next meal is coming from. I didn't have to worry about travel plans.

When you move on to the next stage of life, you're going to feel that. When you leave a madrasa — whether now or later, eventually — you will feel a time, and I tell you from my own experience: what I think of about my madrasa, I think of my asatizah. My asatizah used to take care of everything. I never had to worry about who's going to lead the Jumu'ah khutbah. I never had to worry about whether my spirituality was okay. I always had my parents to go back to, my spiritual parents to go back to. They're always there, and that dedication to them is always comfortable.

When you leave, then you feel like they're not there anymore. And you feel like, now I'm by myself and I have to figure things out on my own. Allah reminds us:

"Remember Allah like you would remember your parents — actually, more." Because the one who was taking care of you the entire time was always Allah. That same Allah who can take care of you in a good environment can take care of you when you're out of that good environment as well. The real dedication is to Allah. He is muhsin haqiqi, He is mu'aththir haqiqi — everything goes back to Allah.

May Allah give us the tawfiq to understand and to practice. Ameen.

Congratulations to the Tanweer Graduates

These young men — and on the sisters' side, young women — roughly 75 of them, inshallah, are graduating next week at the graduation for our Tanweer one-year flagship program. These young men and women, alhamdulillah, have dedicated a year of their life. The last 11 months, 6 days a week, up to 10–11 hours a day, studying the deen of Allah. And this is nothing short of a miracle.

In a time and age where getting young students to come to the masjid, spend 10–15 minutes in a halaqa, in a talk, in a khatira, may be very difficult — in such a time, these young men and women have dedicated a whole year of their life. Studying the foundations of the deen, strengthening their fiqh, their Qur'an, their hadith, their seerah, their aqeedah, all for the sake of Allah. Taking a year off — after they've graduated high school, a gap year in their undergrad, a gap year after completing their undergrad — to study the deen of Allah. And this is nothing short of a miracle.

For all of us here at the Darussalam community — our family, whether you're family, friend, neighbor, musalli, in any way, shape, or form — if you're a part of this community, this is a huge accomplishment, not only for the students and their families, may Allah reward them, but for all of us, right here in our backyard.

Many times we're here in the masjid and may not be aware of what goes on in the seminary. We have classrooms, we see students, there's a gym, we have a rough idea. But the accomplishments and all that takes place, sometimes we're unaware of. So this is a great accomplishment for the whole Darussalam community, the whole family. May Allah make it on our scale of good deeds on the Day of Judgment as well.

I would like to invite everyone, the whole community, to attend their graduation next week, Saturday, where roughly 75 young men and women will be graduating after Dhuhr Salah on Saturday. Before Dhuhr Salah, we have 35 young boys and girls who have completed the memorization of the Qur'an cover to cover. That will be before Dhuhr on Saturday and Sunday. The Alimiyyah and Qira'ah programs' students graduating from the ceremony — may Allah reward all of them.

And for all of us — it would really be a deficiency or a deprivation on our part if we could not take part in these programs. For our sons and daughters, our grandsons, granddaughters, our nieces and nephews to take a year out of their life to study the deen of Allah, to dedicate themselves for the sake of Allah — would be an accomplishment for us and for our akhirah, our deen, our dunya, and every aspect — a means of success. So I invite again the whole community to please join us next weekend for the graduations. Mubarak to the students, their families, and the whole community.

Announcements

Please pass the sadaqa boxes from left to right. There are kiosks in the lobby as well.

The Khatm al-Bukhari and commencement of the Takmil al-Alimiyya program for both the brothers and the sisters, with our esteemed guest of honor Sheikh Hashim Ahmad, will take place on Sunday, June 14th, after Zuhr Salah.

The Tahfidh graduation for boys and girls will be celebrating the 2026 graduating Huffadh of Qur'an. This will be on Saturday, June 13th at 11am. Our keynote speaker is Mufti Zeeshan Ahmad, resident scholar from Masjid Uthman. The final recitation ceremony will be by Qari Muhammad Hamid, one of our instructors here.

The Tadris girls' eighth grade and high school graduation on Saturday, June 13th, will be taking place at 8:30am.

The sisters' open house is tonight at 6pm. You can come and learn about the different offerings for the girls' programs starting from 13 years of age.

There are a host of summer programs at Darussalam, and we invite you to attend them. There is something for every age of the family — courses for boys and girls, young adults and elders, kids and youth. Registration is open at majidds.org/summer. Applications are also being accepted for our Tanweer program for brothers and sisters.

Our weekly programs are continuing as well. Every Monday night, there is a podcast-style conversation with Mufti Azeem, along with a co-host, after Maghrib Salah. We have our deep dive into Tafsir on Tuesday with Mufti Minhaj. And on Thursday nights, there's our Urdu program covering Imam al-Tirmidhi's Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya with Ma'na al-Basit.

Our weekly Saturday Fajr program will also be continuing tomorrow morning, covering the lives of the Sahabah. We are now covering the lives of the female Sahabiyyat.

The sisters' part-time programs are offered online — a variety of different classes in Urdu and English, taught by female scholars. Please register at majidds.org/seminary/sisters-part-time.

Du'a Requests

One of the Darussalam students' father and grandmother are both sick. Please make du'a for their shifa.

Ahmad Muhyiddin Nashwan, 13 years old, has a surgery today. Please make du'a for his successful surgery and speedy recovery.

Sheikh Shinaz Asghar is sick. Please make du'a for her shifa as well, and du'a for the entire ummah.