2015 08 28 Sheikh Mokhtar Maghroui

The Call to Prayer

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.

Come to Prayer. Come to Prayer. Come to success. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. There is none worthy of worship except Allah. There is none worthy of worship except Allah.

Opening Praise

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we ask His protection, we ask His forgiveness and we ask His guidance. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one is misguided. Whoever Allah misguides, no one is guided. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.

The Pillar of Hajj

And so it is, with the other pillar of Islam — the one that many, many millions of Muslims are preparing for: Hajj. That other pillar of Islam, that other liberating practice to liberate the hearts and the minds and the souls from other than Allah Azzawajal. To subdue, to learn to subdue the nafs, the base passions and the low drives inside of us.

And the attachments inside of us to other than Allah Azzawajal, the indulgence in ease and over-ease that will lead us to indulge the nafs for any ease it wants — even if it is disobedience to Allah Azzawajal, even if it is hurtful and harmful and destructive to us in the long consequences, especially when those consequences are about the hereafter.

It is mandatory, as every Muslim knows and should know, to perform Hajj when the conditions are such that the individual is able to do that.

It is the right of Allah Azzawajal of Iboodiya — the right of the Divine upon us of our Iboodiya to Him subhanahu wa ta'ala. That is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's command to us. And therefore, in accordance to the vast majority of the ulama, the performance of Hajj is farḍun ala al-thawr, laysa ala al-tarākhi — except according to the Shafi'i school — that the obligation of Hajj is an obligation of immediacy, not of deferral.

It is an immediate obligation, not a deferred obligation. Laysa ala al-tarākhi wa innamā ala al-thawr. That means as soon as the individual, man or woman, is able — financially and health-wise, and nowadays I would say administratively — is able to perform Hajj, then he or she must perform Hajj immediately.

Delaying it when the conditions are favorable for him or her to perform Hajj is a sin in accordance to the jumhur of the ulama, except as I said in the opinion of the Shafi'i school.

The Meaning of Hajj

Hajj is qasd. Hajj is when we direct ourselves — in two ways — towards something momentous and very special. In the language, Hajja means also qasada: to direct oneself, to orient oneself. In two ways: physically, our bodies towards the house of Allah Azzawajal — qasdu baytillahil haram — physically; and spiritually, with our hearts — qasdu rabbi baytillahil haram. And with our hearts we orient ourselves, with our souls we direct ourselves to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the Lord of the house subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Wa man qasada faqad wasala. As it is said, the one who directs himself, who orients himself internally, has arrived. The ultimate intent is that we arrive with our hearts to Allah Azzawajal. And that is a means — Hajj — a means as we journey to the house of Allah Azzawajal, to seek to arrive in our quroob. As we arrive physically in front of the house of Allah Azzawajal, we arrive with our hearts — in awareness, in consciousness, in knowledge — to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Two Essential Purposes of Hajj

Hajj, my dear brothers and sisters, is essentially — to summarize so many beautiful lessons — essentially for two main reasons.

Firstly: al-istifādatu min faḍlillāhi al-'aẓīm — to benefit from the immense grace of Allah.

Second: tajdīdu al-'ahdi 'inda al-bayti lillāhi subhanahu wa ta'ala — to renew our covenant at the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Two main essential purposes. One — al-istifādatu min faḍlillāh: to seek from Allah that He pours upon us of His numerous divine gifts. We go to a place — a place which He subhanahu wa ta'ala assigned for us to come to, to be ready, to receive, to be given of the floods of favors and the ni'am and the rahmah and the barakāt of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And second, that we renew our allegiance — we renew in front of His house our allegiance to Him Azzawajal. Our allegiance to tawheed subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Tawaf al-Ifadah

The ultimate tawaf in Hajj is Tawaf al-Ifadah, it is called. The ultimate tawaf in Hajj, which is a rukn — a rukn like the rukn of Arafat — is Tawaf al-Ifadah. When we finish all the rites of Hajj, we go finally for an obligatory — not only obligatory, but rukn, without which there is no Hajj — to perform tawaf. And that tawaf is called Tawaf al-Ifadah wa Tawaf al-Ziyarah.

Ifadah — afadah — in the Arabic language means to pour floods of something. Ifādahu Allāhi 'alā 'abdihi min jūdihi wa karamihi wa barakātihi wa rahmatihi wa ni'mihi subhanahu wa ta'ala wa 'aṭā'ihi wa jūdihi wa karamihi subhanahu wa ta'ala. Al-Ifadah — there, when you finish, if our qulub are there, Allah Azzawajal floods the abd with the gifts — of His rahmah, of His barakāt, of His generosity, of His forgiveness, of His rahmah.

And each one of us, given and flooded — yusābu 'alayhi hasaba istiʿdādihi wa hasaba qalbihi wa hasaba sabqihi wa hasaba irādati Allāhi subhanahu wa ta'ala bihi. Each one will be flooded in accordance to the state and the condition at that point of his heart, and in accordance to how ready he has come — or she has come — to receive. Tawaf al-Ifadah.

Al-Hajar al-Aswad: Renewing the Pledge of Tawheed

And second, we pledge allegiance — we renew our allegiance of lā ilāha illallāh, especially Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. We renew it there, especially when we face al-Hajar al-Aswad, the so-called black stone — either by kissing it and putting our heads on it if Allah gives you that favor, or touching it, or at least pointing towards it and wiping over your face.

What are you doing there at that moment? You are renewing your pledge. First of all, because Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Reported by al-Bayhaqi and others; attributed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)

In an authentic hadith it is related, he said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that stone — al-Hajar al-Aswad — is the right hand of God on earth. Metaphorically, in that spiritual sense, in that spiritual dimension. He says that al-Hajar al-Aswad is the right hand of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on earth — as a symbol.

And then when you come there and you journey there and you finally get there and you kiss — in inverted commas — the right hand of Allah Azzawajal, not in any physical sense — Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that represents the right hand of Allah Azzawajal on earth — when we do that, we are pledging our tawheed to Allah Azzawajal.

We journey from America, from India, from Asia, from Africa, from Europe, from anywhere — of the islands of the Pacific or the Indian Oceans — and you come there and you say: Ya Allah, I have believed in You and in Your Rasul. And here I come, in this moment and in this space that You afforded for me and You established for us as grace from You. And I will leave — that's the last tawaf — I will leave back home having renewed my allegiance of tawheed to You and You alone.

And what a moment and what a space. Allah, remember, Allah owns space and time. And He gives gifts in time and gifts in space as He wills, Azzawajal.

Gifts in Sacred Times and Sacred Spaces

We just, alhamdulillah, finished the fasting of the month of Ramadan. Ramadan left us, and it was a time — and that time is owned by Allah Azzawajal. And during that time Allah Azzawajal gave of His barakāt, of His rahmah, of His generosity — such that the gates of Jannah are always open and the gates of hell are always shut, and He forgives and forgives and forgives, and obedience to Allah is made so easy during that time. He assigned it in that way as a gift to His Ibad.

So He assigned some space as a gift to His Ibad — to come to that space and receive gifts. Great. And maybe even greater sometimes than some of the gifts during the month of Ramadan. In that space which He assigned subhanahu wa ta'ala, and in which the Ibad, the mu'min, feels nearer to Allah Azzawajal.

Like some of you feel, alhamdulillah, during Ramadan — so special. And you feel something in you that you don't know where it came from — that does not exist before Ramadan and outside of Ramadan. Some Ibad will be given that thing when they are in that space, in that haram of Allah Azzawajal — which He assigned as haram, as mu'azzam, when He created the heavens and the earth subhanahu wa ta'ala. And in that space the heart feels something very different, depending on the state in which that heart is, and how much it is ready to receive.

Al-Hajar al-Aswad: A Pearl from Jannah

Al-Hajar al-Aswad is yamīnullāhi 'alal-arḍ. Al-Hajar al-Aswad is also, as Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is related to have said:

(Reported by al-Tirmidhi and others)

A pearl — a precious stone from the stones of Jannah. You believe. The paradisiacal dimension — I would say, the Jannah dimension of it — has been folded from our senses and our eyes. If you know the concept of folding space-time in physics, and folding dimensions — so that they are there but you don't see them. There are eleven dimensions in space-time, three or four of which we experience and the others we do not, and yet they are there because they are folded.

Al-Hajar al-Aswad — you see a stone because you see only the earthly dimension of it. The paradisiacal dimensions are folded. And you do not see them with your naked eyes. Some hearts see them with the eyes of the heart in the paradisiacal dimension.

Now, what made them fold? What made them disappear and fold? What made the stone look dark? Many of you know the answer — the sins of humanity. As Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, the stone from Jannah was darkened because of the sins of human beings, the dhunūb of human beings. It is from Jannah. You are in front of an object from Jannah. The Jannah dimension of it is folded. Most don't see it. Some hearts know it and see it in the dimension of hearts seeing.

The Stone Will Testify on the Day of Judgment

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said about that moment when you are in front of that hajar, in front of that precious stone from Jannah — and that precious stone from Jannah was in Jannah when also Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala took the oath from all the children of Adam that He is their Lord and they all said, "Yes, our Lord." That moment — before we were created, we were still in the knowledge of Allah Azzawajal and in the genome of our father — He subhanahu wa ta'ala took a pledge from all human beings and we were made to know that He is Azzawajal, and that He is the only Lord to be loved and worshipped. Along with the knowledge that the angels and all creatures had. Every human being has that knowledge inside of him or her — that is the mithāq that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala took from every human being.

Every human being inside has that knowledge, has that potential — either we accept it or we reject it. That stone, as a creature of Allah Azzawajal, was there in Jannah and witnessed that reality.

On earth, said Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam:

(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 961; also Ibn Majah, Hadith 2944)

That that hajar from Jannah — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, on the Day of Judgment, will bring it back to its paradisiacal reality — with eyes to see with and a tongue to speak with. And it will testify in front of Allah Azzawajal on behalf of every person, every mu'min, every Muslim who managed to touch it with sincerity, giving due rights to that position and that condition. Wa man istalamahu bi-ḥaqq.

SubhanAllah — as you approach al-Hajar al-Aswad, this text makes you feel that it has eyes to see with and a tongue to speak with. And it looks into your heart, by the will of Allah Azzawajal, and knows — when you are there, are you there with sincerity and haqq, or are you there for other reasons? It takes a — these are my words — it takes a picture of your heart and it is stored as information. And then on the Day of Judgment it will say to Allah: Ya Allah, here is the evidence — I took a picture of his heart or her heart, and he was sadiq, she was sincere and true, or he was untrue, he was dishonest, he was not true.

Allahu Akbar — that moment for which every mu'min longs to be there: to pledge again allegiance to Allah Azzawajal in a space most sacred in this universe, and in a time very, very special, and to receive of the gifts of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Hajj: The Journey of a Lifetime

Hajj, my dear brothers and sisters, is the journey of a lifetime — the journey of tawheed, the journey of liberation, the journey of connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, with His Rasul sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and with those whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala favored especially and greatly.

I say this, and I ask Allah's forgiveness for me and for you — so ask forgiveness, for those who ask forgiveness. I ask Allah's forgiveness. Alhamdulillahi wa kafa, wa sallallahu 'ala 'ibadihi alladhina aṣtafa.

Hajj Mabroor

My dear brothers and sisters, this journey of Hajj is not only an external journey. This journey of Hajj is very, very special. That's why Hajj Mabroor is the ultimate reward. And Mabroor Hajj:

As Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned — the reward of Hajj Mabroor is no other, no less than Jannah. To go back where that precious stone came from. To connect with Allah Azzawajal in Jannah.

Mabroor Hajj — in which we do not commit any wrong, especially willfully. We do not hurt others. We do not demand from others. We forgive others. We are not materialistically inclined. We do not stain the space and the time with our dhunūb. We do not throw garbage — physically nor throw garbage morally and ethically — in the haram of Allah Azzawajal. We forgive. We do not demand. When we travel with the travel agencies and with the groups and so on, we should be forgiving — forgiving and forgetting our own selves and our own rights and our own this and our own that.

And many of us go to Hajj and feud and fight and argue and demand and scream and smoke cigarettes — wal-'iyādhu billāh — in the haram of Allah Azzawajal. That is not Hajj Mabroor. Hajj Mabroor is to begin here and go there without nafs — without self — forgetting me and my rights and mine and myself, and giving and giving of my qalb and of my senses and lips as well.

Standing Where the Greatest Stood

My dear brothers and sisters, there you are — in front of, actually, literally, in the space in which the Archangel Jibreel was. There is a spot next to the house of Allah Azzawajal, next to the door of the Ka'bah below — there where the texts teach us that Jibreel alayhi salam led, as Imam of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, to teach him salah. Right there, you stand — if you can — right there. And you are 100% sure — this is not 99%, let alone 0.5% or 30% sure — you are standing where Jibreel alayhi salam was. You are standing 100% in the space where Ibrahim alayhi salam stood — for sure, not approximately — in that space.

And the spiritual energy in that space, and the barakāt and the blessings in that space — in which you immerse yourself and your soul and your body, if you are sincere and ask Allah for ifadah, ifadah, ifadah. You are 100% sure in the space where Sayyid waladi Adam sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — akramu khalqillah, the most noble of the creatures of Allah — sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Muhammad, stood in that space.

And if you touch al-Hajar al-Aswad, you are touching where he touched. You are kissing where he kissed. You are in the space where the most special and most luminous and most beautiful and noble and beloved of creatures to Allah Azzawajal walked, or stood, or sat down, or laid down — of the ulama and the awliyā and the anbiyā before.

My dear brothers and sisters, every square inch in the haram — if you feel that you cannot walk except as a lost, enamored traveler, making sure that your heart is always only in the dhikr of Allah Azzawajal, until you forget yourself and you remember only Him Azzawajal — and this gift that He has for you. May Allah never deprive us from that journey. May Allah help us make that journey once and twice and thrice and more and more, to cleanse ourselves, to liberate ourselves, and to come back better human beings, cleaner human beings, nobler human beings.

Closing Du'a

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah and His angels pray for the Prophet. O you who believe, pray for him and give him your blessings.

Allahumma accept us and forgive us and have mercy on us and be pleased with us, and make the end of our affairs good and right. Allahumma make us from Your people — the people of the Quran and the people of Jannah and the people of the love of Your Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions.

Surah al-A'la (The Second Khutbah)

Salah

Allahu Akbar. Sami'Allahu liman hamidah. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'alamin, ar-Rahmanir Rahim, Maliki yawmid din. Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in. Ihdina as-sirata al-mustaqim. Sirata alladhina an'amta 'alayhim, ghayril maghdubi 'alayhim wa lad-dallin.

Allahu Akbar. Sami'Allahu liman hamidah.