The Obligation of Hajj - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah: The Obligation of Hajj

Alhamdulillah, we praise Him, we ask His help and we ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the misdeeds of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomsoever He leads astray, none can guide him.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, no partner for Him. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, and purest of heart of His creation, and His friend. Allah has sent him to the people as a bearer of good tidings and a warner.

So he conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah. And he left us on the white pilgrimage — its night is like its day, nothing escapes it except destruction. So peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and upon his family and his companions, and whoever is guided by his guidance and follows his Sunnah and calls by his call to the Day of Recompense.

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

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

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say a firm word. He will correct your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great triumph.

My beloved in Allah and in Islam, I advise you and myself to fear Allah and do good. Verily, Allah is with those who fear Him and who are doers of good. And sending blessings and salutations upon our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ.

The Month of Dhul Hijjah and the Ten Blessed Days

As you are all aware, my dear brothers and sisters, we are now roughly in the middle of the 11th month of the Hijri year. We are in Dhul Qa'dah. And not long from now we are going to be entering into the last month, Dhul Hijjah — the month of Hajj.

Not only is it the month of Hajj, it also has the ten greatest days in the year. No matter which day you pick throughout the year, these ten days are more virtuous and more blessed.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 969)

The Prophet ﷺ said that the greatest and most virtuous days in the world are the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. These ten days are similar — if not better — than the last ten nights of Ramadan. The last ten nights of Ramadan, we all know how we behave. We all know how important they are. We fill up the masajid. We are engaged in dhikr and remembrance and worship.

And the Prophet ﷺ was asked what should be done in these beloved ten days. And he said: do a lot of tasbeeh, a lot of tahleel, a lot of takbeer — meaning say the adhkar. He mentioned that we should increase our worship and our ibadah. He mentioned ﷺ of course to perform the Hajj for those who are able to do so.

Hajj: A Pillar of Islam, Not a Suggestion

Hajj happens once a year and it is obligatory upon the individual once in a lifetime. It is among the pillars of Islam as you all know.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 8; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 16)

The Prophet ﷺ said: Islam has been built upon five — the shahada to testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that the Prophet ﷺ is His messenger; to establish the prayer; to give the zakat; to fast the month of Ramadan; and to perform the pilgrimage, the Hajj, for those who are able to do so.

Now something that we have to keep in mind, my dear brothers and sisters, is that Hajj for those that are able to do so is an obligation — as much as it is an obligation for you to pray your five daily prayers. It is a pillar of Islam. It is one of the greatest and most important acts of worship that have been obligated upon you.

Hajj is not a suggestion. Hajj is not a recommendation. Hajj is not mustahab or sunnah. Hajj is an obligation. It is an obligation upon you. If you meet Allah having had the ability to do Hajj and chosen not to — having had the ability to do Hajj and having chosen to go on holidays instead, to visit back home instead, to accumulate money and invest it instead of performing the obligatory Hajj — Allah will ask you about it. You have neglected a pillar among the pillars of Islam.

Allah says in the Quran:

And it is due upon the people to perform Hajj for Allah — those that can find their way and are able to do so. Then what does Allah say? "And whoever disbelieves — then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds." Meaning Allah is not in need of His creation. Rather His creation is in need of Him.

Why mention disbelief when talking about Hajj? Because this act of obligation is so important. So important that neglecting it and leaving it off — especially after you have understood the great virtue of Hajj — is a matter of immense severity.

The Reward of Hajj: Nothing Less Than Paradise

My dear brothers and sisters, we are not talking about just gaining reward here. We're talking about Jannah. We're talking about paradise. We're talking about the one goal every single Muslim has.

The Prophet ﷺ said: whoever performs Hajj without committing any sin and obscenity — meaning you do a proper Hajj — will not come back except like the day he was born, with no sin. The Ulama, many of them argue and say that the one act of worship that has the ability to even get rid of your major sins is Hajj. It cleanses you completely.

And another narration — pay attention to this one, my dear brothers and sisters:

The Prophet ﷺ is teaching us that the reward of Hajj — what you're getting back from Hajj, what Allah is promising you if you perform the pilgrimage — has no reward except paradise. Except Jannah. Why would you then not want to go? Why would you delay such an opportunity? It is almost unfathomable for someone to not realize the importance of this ibadah. How is it that you don't even feel you're missing out — with the amount of barakah and blessings that is descending upon those chosen by Allah every single year?

And yes, they are chosen by Allah. Raise your hands and ask Allah to make you among those who have been chosen — to respond to the call made by the great Prophet Ibrahim ﷺ when Allah told him:

Proclaim to the people to come to the pilgrimage. To come and visit the house of Allah. To come and leave off their dunya and leave off their distractions and leave off everything, and spend their hard-earned money and time to make their way to Hajj.

Do you know what Hajj was like during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and the many years after that, where people had to travel by camelback? Imagine the Muslims that were traveling from Indonesia. The Muslims that were traveling from West Africa. Making their way to the Haram. Through deserts, trekking upon horseback or camelback, for months on end — just so that they could perform this act of worship. Perhaps Allah would forgive them. Perhaps they would be among those that are promised Jannah because of it. How can we delay such an act of worship?

Do Not Delay Hajj

My dear brothers and sisters, perhaps Allah did not decree Hajj for you this year — but plan for it. Ask Allah to allow you. If you can afford it, do not delay.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2867; also reported by Abu Dawud, Hadith 1732)

The Prophet ﷺ said: do not delay Hajj, for one of you does not know what will befall him. You may get sick. You may lose your money. Something may happen to you to prevent you from going to Hajj. Take the opportunity now.

Not only that, my dear brothers and sisters — I'm going to speak especially to the younger folks, 40 and under. Hajj is a young man's worship. Hajj gets extremely difficult the older you get, with the amount of walking that is needed and the amount of energy that it requires.

The idea that somehow you will finish your studies, then get married, have some children, raise them, build your businesses, have some investments, purchase a house — and then later on, when you are knocking on death's door, perhaps you will go to Hajj. This idea is not an Islamic idea. Don't delay Hajj. Do it while you still can. We have seen men and women that go to Hajj and cannot perform the tawaf — it is too difficult for them — whether because of their age, or their sickness, or whatever it may be. So keep that in mind, my dear brothers and sisters.

The Warning of Umar ibn al-Khattab

The great companion Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I almost sent men out to the far villages and cities to look around and find individuals that do not go to Hajj despite being able to afford it. And he said, I would make them pay the jizyah. What is the jizyah? The jizyah was a tax that was taken from the non-Muslim citizens in the Muslim lands. He said: if you're not going to Hajj, you had better pay the jizyah.

And he said: مَا هُمْ بِمُسْلِمِينَ — they are not Muslims. It is unfathomable for someone to hoard money, be able to afford Hajj, and hear لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ, and knows the importance and value of Hajj, yet prefers not to go.

Now let's not take Umar ibn al-Khattab out of context. He is not trying to say that they are actually not Muslims. But he is trying to highlight the severity — the severity of not going on Hajj, and how you are losing out on such a great, great, great act of worship.

For Those Who Cannot Go: The Gift of the Ten Days

Now, Ibn Rajab mentioned that it is natural that many who wish to go on Hajj will not be able to go — perhaps because of their finances, or their health, or any other reason. And Allah — to console the believer who wishes to be there, the believer who would give anything to be there on the day of Arafah, the believer who would give anything to be there making tawaf and saying لَبَّيْكَ اللَّهُمَّ لَبَّيْكَ — Allah will console them by giving them the virtues of the ten days of Dhul Hijjah.

You can't go? Well, you have the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Use that. You can't go? Fast on the day of Arafah. This is your opportunity to make use of these blessed times. So if you're among those that were not able to go, ensure that you benefit from the greatest days in the year and do as much ibadah and worship as you can.

Second Khutbah

My dear brothers and sisters, it is also important to remember that the obligations are all important, and among the most important of the five pillars is Hajj. So take the act of Hajj and the worship of Hajj seriously. And remember that no matter how expensive you may think it is, what you are gaining from it — the pleasure of Allah, Jannah, and forgiveness — is far, far greater than anything you may think is difficult or expensive.

For Those Who Have Already Performed Hajj

For those that have been blessed to go on Hajj, I want to give you this reminder. If Allah blessed you with the opportunity of going to Hajj, live the rest of your life like someone who is a true worshipper of Allah. The idea of an accepted Hajj does not mean you go back to a life of heedlessness and sin. Rather, you build upon it and you continue worshipping Allah until the day you meet Him.

Worship your Lord until the certainty comes to you — the certainty meaning death.

Hajj Is Not a Holiday

For those that are going to Hajj — Hajj is not a holiday. Too often people will associate Hajj with nice flights, beautiful hotels, comfort and luxury, air conditioning and the like. Hajj is meant to be humbling. It is a humbling experience. It is meant to be you coming to your Lord and understanding that it's not about dunya.

Those that go on Hajj: one of the most important things they have to remember is that every single bit of fatigue and tiredness and discomfort is part of the worship and part of the experience. The more disheveled and the more tired and the more fatigued you are, the greater the reward. And of course, more importantly: sabr, sabr, sabr — patience, patience, and patience.

The Prophet ﷺ mentions, by the way, one of the key components of Hajj — which most of the hujjaj find the most difficult — is that for your Hajj to be accepted and rewarded, among the conditions is that you do not go to the blessed lands and during the act of Hajj start arguing, debating, and causing problems. This the hujjaj find the most difficult. But remember — you're there as a worshipper of Allah.

The Story of Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak

There is a final point I want to share. Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak — this great man from the Salaf, this great scholar — he would go on Hajj every single year. And Allah had blessed him to be able to do so.

One day, as he was travelling to perform the Hajj with his family and companions, they passed by a young girl who was pulling a deceased bird out of a rubbish heap. Of course it is haram to eat a carcass — but she was starving. So Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak saw this and was concerned. They asked her what was wrong, and she said: me and my brother have been starving and we have nothing to eat. And for us the maytah is halal — meaning we are in such a state of necessity, so hungry and starving, that we just wait for whatever people throw away or whatever dies and we eat from it to survive.

They were orphans. He asked what happened to their father, and she said: my father was robbed and he was killed, and we have no one to take care of us.

Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak stopped his Hajj trip right there — and remember, he was someone who had already performed the obligatory Hajj. He said: every single bit of wealth we have, every single animal we brought for sacrifice or personal use, and everything else we can spare — we will leave with these children. We will make sure they are taken care of. And we will go back home. This is our Hajj this year.

And this teaches you something very important, my brothers and sisters. Personal ibadah is extremely important. But for those among us that Allah has blessed — those who have already performed their Hajj or their Umrah — to go on Umrah every single year while we know what is happening in Sudan, while we know what is happening in Palestine, while we know what is happening all over the world — young Muslim children and families hungry, starving, in need of shelter, food, medicine, and water — for us to just go and do personal ibadah, personal ibadah, personal ibadah — this is not the right way. And that is what Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak understood.

Summary and Closing Reminders

So my message to everyone here:

For those among you that haven't done Hajj — understand it is an obligation, especially for those that can afford it. Fear Allah and perform this obligation.

For those that are going — remember it is an act of worship. Humble yourself in front of your Lord and use this opportunity to gain the true reward from Allah.

For those that have already gone on Hajj — continue living a life of worship. That is the sign of an accepted Hajj. And understand that if Allah has blessed you with wealth, using it to aid your fellow believers — after having fulfilled your obligations — is more beloved and virtuous than focusing solely on your own personal ibadah.