The Story of Hajj - Semir Said

Khutbah al-Ula — First Sermon

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the misdeeds of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, no one is misguided, and whomsoever He misguides, no one is guided.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.

O you who have believed, fear your Lord Who created you from one soul. And He created from it a wife. And He spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah in Whom you ask for mercy. Verily, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the righteous word. It will amend for you your deeds, and forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has certainly attained a great success.

The Story Behind the Hajj

In these coming days, many of our brothers and sisters will begin the rituals of Hajj. Now, many of us, we know the specifics with regards to Hajj. We know the fiqh of Hajj, how to perform, what to do, and when to do. We know maybe the pillars of Hajj, and what nullifies the Hajj. But the question is, how many of us know the history of Hajj? How many of us know the story behind the Hajj?

Now, the story behind the Hajj is very simple. It revolves around one family. The whole of Hajj, or the majority of the things that we do in Hajj, revolves around one family. And that is the family of the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him).

Now, the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is a very long story. It's filled with lessons, but we will start with just a portion of it, in order for us to begin with the story of Hajj.

Ibrahim and the Fire

We know the story of Ibrahim when he was a young man, and it is mentioned in the Qur'an. What happens is that the people he was sent to at that time were idol worshippers. And one day when they were not in the city, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) decided to break all the idols. And once they came back and found out it was Ibrahim who did it, they decided to throw him into the fire.

Now, some of the narrations mention that he was stripped naked (peace be upon him). And just on a side note, for us to realize who we are talking about — in another hadith, Rasulullah (peace be upon him) mentions that on the Day of Judgment, the people will be resurrected naked, barefoot, and uncircumcised. And he says the first one, the first one to be clothed on that day, is Ibrahim (peace be upon him). He was stripped naked in the dunya for the sake of Allah. And he is the first one to be clothed on the Day of Judgment. This is who we are talking about.

Now, once he was thrown into the fire, what did Ibrahim (peace be upon him) say? The hadith mentions that he said one thing:

Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best disposer of affairs. That was his du'a.

The Trial in Egypt — The Story of Hajar

Once that trial had passed, and Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had passed that trial, he decided to move with his wife Sara to what is now Palestine. And after living there for a while, there was a drought and he decided to move to Egypt with his wife Sara. And then another trial — Allah tests Ibrahim (peace be upon him) with another test.

In Egypt, there used to be a leader or a king who was very wicked and an oppressor. What he used to do was tell his soldiers that if they saw a beautiful woman, to take her and bring her to him. And so Ibrahim (peace be upon him) approaches Egypt with his wife Sara. And Sara was very well known to be very, very beautiful. So the guards saw Sara and reported back to the king, and he said to them, bring her to me.

Now, imagine, my brothers, if right in front of you, people came to take your wife or your daughter away from you, and you knew what was going to happen. A very difficult test. But what does Ibrahim (peace be upon him) do? Does he start to lose his temper, go crazy, and attack the people? No. The narration mentions that he straight away starts to make du'a and pray to Allah. Straight away, with no hesitation, he starts to pray to Allah, because he knows the only one who can save him, the only one who can protect him and protect his wife, is Allah.

But it is not just Ibrahim. It is also Sara. Once they take her and bring her to the king, she makes du'a to Allah and asks Him to protect her from him. The narration mentions that when he tried to grab her, his hand froze and became stiff. And so he asks her to make du'a to Allah to release him. Now what does Sara do? She asks Allah to release him, and Allah accepts — straight away.

This is how their relationship is with Allah. But this man, he doesn't understand. And he tries to attack her again. And again she makes a du'a. And again he pleads and asks her to ask Allah to free him and release him, and so she does. The third time, he realizes and stops. He steps back and lets her go. But before he lets her go, he gives her a gift — and that gift is a maid. And that maid is known as Hajar. And this is how Hajar enters the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).

Ibrahim Leaves Hajar and Ismail in the Desert

Now, later on, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) marries Hajar. And straight away she conceives, and she gives birth to Ismail (peace be upon him). And now Ismail (peace be upon him) comes into the story.

However, bear in mind, my brothers and sisters — many, many years, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) tried for a child. At this point in time, he was quite old. And after so many years, Allah blesses him with a child. But the test of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) does not stop there. Allah orders Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to take Hajar and the newborn child Ismail, and leave them in the desert.

Now, imagine this test, my brothers and sisters. So many years he had been waiting for a child, and Allah finally blesses him with this child. And straight away, Allah tests Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to look at and to see his devotion and sincerity. And Ibrahim (peace be upon him) accepts wholeheartedly, with no hesitation, and he decides to take his family to the desert. This is the devotion of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to Allah.

But again, it is not just Ibrahim. Once he reaches where Mecca is today, he stops, leaves his family there, turns around, and starts to leave. Hajar calls out to Ibrahim — "Did Allah order you to do this?" She calls out three times. On the third time, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) nods his head as to approve and say, "Yes, this is an order from Allah."

What does Hajar say? Listen to what Hajar says, my brothers and sisters. This shows us that it is not just devotion by Ibrahim, but it is also his wife. Hajar says, "Then go, leave — because Allah will never leave us and He will never neglect us." This is the trust and the yaqeen that Hajar has in Allah. The full, complete yaqeen and trust in Allah.

Sa'i Between Safa and Marwa — The Story of Zamzam

Then what happens? She stays with Ismail. And shortly thereafter, the water and food finish. And Ismail begins to cry because he is hungry and there is nothing to eat. Now, this situation, my brothers and sisters, is a very difficult situation for a mother — that she sees her newborn baby crying out of hunger. Does she lose her patience? No. She gets up and she takes advantage of the means. She doesn't give up.

Yes, she has yaqeen and trust in Allah. But she uses the means that she has in her power. And so she decides to go up the mountain of Safa and then down to the mountain of Marwa, and so on. And today, this is what we do in Hajj — the Sa'i, between Safa and Marwa. To commemorate this woman, and the trust and yaqeen that she had in Allah.

Seven runs she does between Safa and Marwa. And then Allah brings her the solution, and Zamzam gushes forth. And long story short, people gathered around Zamzam, and a city was built where it is now — the city of Mecca. And Zamzam is still there until today. Thousands of years later, from that time until today, millions of people are drinking from it and it never finishes. Again, it is for us to commemorate and remember the story of Hajar, and her devotion and sincerity to Allah.

Ibrahim's First Visit — The Command to Sacrifice Ismail

Now, the trials upon Ibrahim don't stop there, my brothers and sisters. Ibrahim does visit every now and then. And in the Qur'an we have four stories of when Ibrahim comes to visit Hajar and his son Ismail.

The first visit that is mentioned in the Qur'an is when he comes — imagine, there is a period of time that he had not seen his son — and he has a conversation with his son. Now, I want you especially, brothers, to pay attention to this conversation. Bear in mind, Allah says in the Qur'an:

"When he was old enough to go out with him" — meaning he was still a young child. But listen to the conversation that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) has with his son. He comes to him and says:

And it is not just "my son" in English, because he didn't say يَا ابْنِي — يَا ابْنِي in Arabic means "my son." But he said يَا بُنَيَّ — which is more roughly translated as "O my beloved son." He says, "I saw in my dream that I slaughter you. So what do you think?"

He asks his son for his opinion. Is it going to matter? Is it going to change anything? No. Because it is an order from Allah. Ismail has no say in it. But yet, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) brings it down to Ismail for them to discuss.

Now, listen to the reply of a child. Of a child, my brothers and sisters. He replies and says:

Again, he replies with the same respect and love. He didn't say يَا أَبِي, which means "my father." He said يَا أَبَتِ — again, with a bit of affection — "O my beloved father." Then he says, "Do as you are commanded." This is a young boy, my brothers and sisters. A child. He says, "Do as you are commanded." And he did not stop there. "You will find me, in shaa Allah, from those who have patience."

This is a child, my brothers and sisters. This is a child. But this is a child of someone who sacrificed himself and was thrown into fire for the sake of Allah. And someone who was left in the desert with the same trust and yaqeen in Allah. Now what do you expect from the son, if not something similar?

Now, going back to this trial on Ibrahim (peace be upon him) — imagine being ordered to slaughter your own son. It is one of the most difficult trials upon a father to see his own child die before him. Now imagine if you were the one ordered to kill your son. But does Ibrahim (peace be upon him) hesitate? No. No hesitation. No doubt.

And then, we know the rest of the story. When Allah says in the Qur'an:

"When they then surrendered to the will of Allah" — no hesitation — and he was about to slaughter his son. And some of the narrations mention that at first he placed him on his back, so as not to dishonor his son. But his son said, no, turn me around — on his face, on the floor. And then Allah sends the relief: "O Ibrahim, you have passed the test. You have passed the test." And then Allah says, "And We replaced him with a great sacrifice."

And today, what do we do in Hajj? We do what is known as the Qurbani, the Udhiya. Again, a commemoration of the story of a father and a son.

A Lesson on Respect — Ibrahim and His Father

On a side note, going back to Ibrahim when he was young — his father was not just a mushrik, but someone who used to make the idols and sell them. Even still, the conversation that he had with his father was a conversation of respect. And he used to say:

"O my beloved father, don't worship Shaytan." He used the phrase يَا أَبَتِ — "O my beloved father." His father threatened him: لَأَرْجُمَنَّكَ — "I will stone you." But what does Ibrahim say back?

"Peace be upon you. I will ask Allah to forgive you." And Allah rewards him with a son who says, يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ — "O my beloved father, do as you were commanded." He said the same thing to his father, using يَا أَبَتِ — "O my beloved father" — even though his father was a mushrik. And Allah blesses him and rewards him with a child who also becomes a prophet and uses exactly the same phrase and says, "O my beloved father."

So like they say in English, what goes around comes around. He was respectful to his father even though his father was a mushrik. And Allah blesses him and rewards him with a child who also becomes a prophet and uses exactly the same phrase.

Now we ask Allah to make us the best parents for our children, and to make our children sincere and devoted servants for Him. And we ask Allah to grant us the tawfiq and the ability to pass the tests that He puts in front of us.

قُولُوا مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Khutbah al-Thaniyah — Second Sermon

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على خير خلق الله أجمعين، نبينا محمد، وعلى آله الطيبين الطاهرين، وعلى صحابته الغر الميامين، وعلى التابعين وتابع التابعين، ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين. أما بعد.

My dear brothers and sisters, now we will jump to the final trip — the final trip mentioned in the Qur'an — that Ibrahim makes and travels to Ismail. And that is where Allah commands him to build the Ka'bah, to raise the foundations of the Ka'bah. Now he does not do that by himself, but with Ismail (peace be upon him).

Building the Ka'bah — A Father and Son Bonding

Now again, for you, my brothers — look at this, if you want to call it a father-son activity, some father-and-son bonding. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son Ismail — they obey the command of Allah and they build the House of Allah.

Now we can talk about the rewards of building a masjid — but just to highlight — he built the Ka'bah. And how many people visit the Ka'bah today? Thousands of people every day. And on Hajj, we have millions. And this is, of course, thanks to Allah first of all, but then to these two as well — Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son Ismail.

And another side point — in the hadith of Rasulullah (peace be upon him), when he ascends to the heavens in the story of Isra' wal-Mi'raj, he mentions in the hadith that he sees Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in the seventh heaven, leaning on the House of Allah in the heavens. And in another hadith, Rasulullah (peace be upon him) mentions that at the house above in the seventh heaven — known as al-Bayt al-Ma'mur — 70,000 angels come and do tawaf and visit this House of Allah every day. New 70,000 each day, from the time that it was built and created until the Day of Judgment.

It is a very honorable building. And Ibrahim (peace be upon him) — because he built the House of Allah in this dunya — Allah allowed him to rest by the House of Allah in the heavens. See the reward. What is the reward for good, except good? So Allah rewards him with the blessing of allowing him to stay by the House of Allah in the heavens.

The Lesson of One Family

Now, my brothers and sisters, this is the story of one family. The story of one simple family — a father, a wife, and a son. But what an amazing story. A story of struggle. A story of trials. But a story of full and complete trust in Allah. And thus, Allah rewards them.

Now we can mention so many trials that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) went through with his people, but it all comes down to the same — the trust that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had in Allah. So much so that Allah praises him in the Qur'an and says, for example, that Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was a nation devoted to Allah. And He says to us that in him, in Ibrahim, we have a good example — a great example. And He even tells us to follow Ibrahim (peace be upon him), because He says in the Qur'an as well that he was never, ever one of the mushrikeen.

And so much so again that Allah says in the Qur'an:

"And Allah took Ibrahim as a close friend." Allah took Ibrahim (peace be upon him) as a close friend to Him. Now if that were the only ayah, that alone would be enough — that Allah chose Ibrahim (peace be upon him) to be His friend, His close friend. What an honor. But did that come easy? Did it come easy? La wallahi. Very difficult. Very, very difficult. But Ibrahim knew the reward. And that is why Allah chose Ibrahim.

We ask Allah to make us of those who learn from what we hear, and practice what we learn.

فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ، وَاشْكُرُوهُ عَلَى نِعَمِهِ يَزِدْكُمْ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ، وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ.