Lessons from Hajj: Anticipating the deliverance of relief

Lessons from Hajj: Anticipating the Deliverance of Relief

Hujjaj start flying out from Mecca and Medina and coming back home. We are now pondering and reflecting on the legacy of that journey. A lot of people come and they bring a lot of stories with them for you.

But what is the lesson that you and I should be learning from that experience, whether you went to hajj or otherwise? What is one of the most important lessons of hajj anyway? Every time hajj comes, it's a reminder for all of us. Most of us when hajj arrives, we start anticipating the possibility of me being there. Like I want to be there.

I would love to make tawaf. I don't want to pray Eid here in the masjid. I want to pray there. I would love to be on that day, on that season, to be on Arafah, when I raise my hand and ask Allah for forgiveness and rahmah and mercy. We all anticipate that. But then for many people, they don't. We don't go there. We stay behind. So what is it for us?

When we look at the season of hajj and the ibadah of hajj, what are these lessons that we learn? There are so many. Today, I chose one for you. I want to share with you because it's very important, particularly for the people who went to hajj this year. This unique ibadah that we learn during hajj. We learn, of course, throughout our lives. There is no doubt about it. But hajj is a constant reminder of this particular ibadah.

What is Intidhār al-Faraj?

This ibadah is called intidhār al-faraj — انتظار الفرج — which means anticipation, or anticipating the deliverance of relief from Allah. Why is that? Because Allah promised you that He will test you. And He made it very clear in the Quran:

We shall try you and test you with many things — diminishing of wealth and health and fear and anxiety and this and that. And He says: give the good news and the glad tidings for those who persevere in patience.

What does it mean exactly to persevere in patience anyway? How can I make sure that I learn this from hajj? And where do I learn that from hajj?

Hajj and the Experience of Hardship Before Relief

This anticipation of the deliverance of relief was seen this year particularly, because many of our brothers and sisters have been blessed — alhamdulillah — to be selected this year to go for hajj. In the process, after they received the beautiful announcement of going there, they had to go through a lot of hardships and difficulties.

And I don't know if you heard the stories, but many of them were stranded at the airport here locally, before they were even able to find the reservation that would take them to Mecca or Medina. And many people, by the time they got there, found out that the reservation at the hotel was a little messed up, and they had to wait for hours and hours before they could resolve their situation. Buses to take them from one place to another were also very hard on them. If you look at their journey, subhanAllah, a lot of them had to exercise the utmost level of patience. But why? Because they believed that relief would be delivered.

That relief that Allah promised will be delivered. He says:

With every hardship, relief will come. And He repeated it again — with every hardship, relief will come. He promised that relief is going to come, and we have seen that in our lives. After sickness comes — alhamdulillah — for many, health comes back. After hardships come ease in our lives. When you lose your job, alhamdulillah, you pick it up somewhere else. When somebody travels far away from us, alhamdulillah, we anticipate their return back safely. We go to sleep and alhamdulillah we wake up. We go through some hardships and difficulties and it never stays that way — because Allah promised He is going to deliver that relief for us.

Our ibadah, our act of worship during that time, is to be in anticipation for the moment when that relief is going to be delivered. So it's not a matter of if — it is a matter of when Allah will deliver that relief to you and I.

The Story of Ibrahim and the Lesson of Udhiyah

My dear brothers and sisters, we have also seen that in hajj from the time of Ibrahim, alayhis salaam. Ibrahim alayhis salaam was tested as Allah explained — like we have tested Ibrahim the most manifest test. To expose him. No matter how dedicated he was, no matter how devoted he was, Allah tested him in the most precious thing to him. This is the ultimate test for Ibrahim alayhis salaam.

And when was that? When he had finished building the Ka'bah. And he is not anticipating reward — instead, he gets another test. Because: your son that you love the most, you need to sacrifice this child. And Ibrahim gladly, with the patience that Allah had given him, and his son Ismail says:

My dear father, just do it. That is from Allah. Do it. You will find me among those who are patient. I will be patient. And when they both submitted themselves — as Allah says — and Ibrahim was about to sacrifice him, Allah said to Ibrahim alayhis salaam: Enough. Enough, Ibrahim. Relief is coming.

And as the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam mentioned, Allah delivered to him a ram in place of Ismail alayhis salaam. A sunnah and a tradition that we follow throughout our lives until the Day of Judgment. What is that sunnah you are doing when you do the udhiyah and the qurbani? It is the celebration of the deliverance of relief that Allah promised. Allah promised that He would deliver that relief to Ibrahim alayhis salaam, and it did come in this form. A sacrifice that you do for the sake of Allah — you benefit from it, and you also relieve the poor and the needy with it.

Arafah: The Anticipation of Relief in This World and the Next

There is so much we could learn from the ibadah of hajj. People stay all day on Arafah, standing and walking and sitting down, hopefully doing the best thing they should — just making dua and seeking forgiveness from Allah. What for? They are anticipating right now the reward from Allah — in the dunya, before the akhira — to feel that relief. Their eyes crying and shedding tears and feeling just relieved from that pressure and that stress.

Alhamdulillah — I don't know how many of you have been there. But those sights of people crying, subhanAllah — different ages, men, women, children. And the interesting thing is they all come from different backgrounds and different cultures. But those tears of sorrow and grief, tears sometimes of joy and mercy, unify them all. They all speak the same language in that moment. And even if you don't understand what they are speaking, you understand from what you are seeing that in that moment, they are all unified and anticipating that moment of relief from Allah in the dunya — that Allah will accept this hajj from them. And we all anticipate that Allah will accept from us on the Day of Judgment.

The Hadith on Asking Allah and Anticipating Relief

My dear brothers and sisters, one of the greatest ibadah that we learn from hajj is anticipating the deliverance of khair and relief. It was reported on the authority of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud in Sunan al-Tirmidhi — although some scholars deemed it to be weak — that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3571)

Keep asking Allah from the bounty that He bestows upon you. Never stop asking Allah for more from that which is good — whatever that is: health, extend that my Lord; safety, ya Rabb, make it more and better; my work, my family, whatever that is. Keep asking Allah for the mercy and the rahma and the blessings. Because Allah, the Almighty, He loves to be asked. He wants to see these hands going up and asking Him. And then he says: wa afdalul ibadati intidharul faraj — because one of the best acts of worship that you do is intidhār al-faraj — anticipating the deliverance of relief from Allah.

My dear brothers and sisters, can you even imagine that moment? When you are making that dua and going through difficulties and hardships, and you know that Allah will change your affairs to a better situation — maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next year even. Allah knows. But if you have trust in Allah and you make that year-long — or however long — waiting and anticipating, because you have trust in Allah, all that pain you go through will be rewarded.

As the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam mentioned in the hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2999)

Strange are the affairs of the believer — all that they go through is khair, good for them. If they are blessed with prosperity, they are grateful, and that is good. And when they are afflicted with a calamity, they show patience, and that is also good for the believer. And he said: this is only for the true believer. Only a true believer can handle this.

Allah is Near — The Promise of Surah al-Baqarah

My dear brothers and sisters, one of the lessons of hajj once again is to anticipate that relief from Allah, which He promised. And Allah said it clearly in Surah al-Baqarah, within the context of fasting right before speaking about hajj:

And if My servants ask about Me — I am near. He is making the answer so simple and so clear. No complication here. It is a simple answer: if they ask about Me, I am near. Then let them respond to Me. I am asking them to call upon Me. Ud'ūnī astajib lakum — you call Me and I will deliver. I will answer you.

Our scholars say — Ibn al-Jawzi, rahimahullah, says — that when Allah mentioned that this acceptance or deliverance comes on time, that time is only decided by Allah for you. Your job is to anticipate it and to wait for it. It doesn't matter how long it takes, jama'ah, because it is happening. How do you know it is happening? Because the examples of the Quran and the stories of the anbiya are so many.

Look at Ibrahim alayhis salaam — what he had to go through. Look at Yunus alayhis salaam in the belly of the whale. And look at Ayyub — the many years and decades of trials and he remained steadfast and patient.

The Story of Yusuf: The Most Vivid Lesson in Anticipation

And one of my favorite stories that teaches us that principle, subhanAllah, is the story of Yusuf alayhis salaam. That story in itself is full of gems of ibadah that we learn from every aspect of it. One of those moments that is so dear to my heart in the life of Yusuf alayhis salaam — when he was in prison unjustly, unfairly. Why? Because he was handsome. That was his crime. He was in jail for a crime he never committed.

But then like any other human being — if you're not there for a legitimate reason — you anticipate that somehow justice will be served. Somehow somebody is going to talk about it and recognize the mistake and the error and the fault they've done and get you out of it. And then he meets these two young people. They come to him and say: we are seeing dreams — could you please help us with the interpretation? Because we find you to be a good person. You are different. Could you help us with that?

So he said sure — but before he did that, he invited them to Allah, invited them to believe in Allah. And once that was done, then he told them about their dreams. He told one of them: you are going to die. And the other: you are going to be released and you are going to be serving the king. Do me a favor, please — when you leave, could you please talk to him about me?

SubhanAllah — you might say: wait a second, he is a prophet. How could he trust people and not Allah? It is not that he was not trusting Allah — he was using what Allah put at his disposal. A means, an assistant, somebody who could help him with that deliverance. He thought: this could be the man. So he said to him: when you go out, could you please mention my story to the king?

But what happened? The man forgot. Like we all do. During our hardships, we are always on the prayer rug. Our tasbih doesn't fall off our hands. Our dua day and night — we even memorize the 99 names of Allah, subhanAllah. But the moment we are relieved, unfortunately a lot of us forget. And this man forgot.

Now here is the thing — Yusuf alayhis salaam spent years more in that jail. Many years. But every time I think about that particular part of the story, it puts me in a moment of grief and sorrow. Because at least for the first — Allah knows how many weeks, months, if not years — every time Yusuf alayhis salaam heard the sound of the keys, or the door opened, what would come to his mind? He is coming. He is coming. Every time he heard footsteps from outside: he is coming.

Can you imagine as human beings the anticipation of that relief? The hope that it is going to come, that it is going to turn into something positive. But that is in someone who is completely human. Imagine if you put that same feeling and same anticipation with Allah.

My dear brothers and sisters, intidhār al-faraj — anticipating the deliverance of relief from Allah — is a great ibadah. We need it perhaps every breath of our lives. Because life is a test. It is not a secret. And we go from one test to the next. So we better have some tool, some instrument by which we can go through these hardships. Nothing can get you through it other than trusting in Allah, knowing that He will deliver that relief soon, insha'Allah.

Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, salallahu wasalam wa baraka nabiyyina Muhammadin wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam wa tasliman kathira.

Three Pillars for Cultivating Intidhār al-Faraj

My dear brothers and sisters, so many people go hungry and then alhamdulillah they find a meal to eat. So many get thirsty and find a cold drink at the end of their day. So many people get sick and then they recover. They get tired and get some rest. They have sleepless nights and then alhamdulillah they go and take some rest. So after every hardship, Allah will deliver. Your job and my job is to wait for that, in anticipation of Allah's mercy.

How can you do this? You have to have strong iman in Allah. There are three things we need to focus on:

1. Ihsān al-Dhann Billah — Having Good Assumption About Allah

The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2877)

Don't you dare die — don't you ever come to that moment of death — having any doubts about Allah. That is what the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is telling us. You have good assumption about Allah.

2. Tawakkul — Trust and Reliance on Allah

If you have good assumption of Allah, then let go. Deliver it to Him. Leave it in His hands — He will take care of it for you.

3. Acceptance of Allah's Qadar

Because I want relief today — Allah may push it to next month. Maybe next year. Maybe five years from today. Only Allah knows. Why? Because He has hikmah and wisdom in His actions. We may not understand. So you have to accept whatever the outcome of your dua and your anticipation. Know for sure that it is still coming.

Do we get moments of weakness? Absolutely. Even the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and the Sahaba, as they were going through the hardships of battle — they were shaken severely — and they said:

When is the victory of Allah that He promised coming? They were not really doubting it — but they were asking Allah to bring it closer. So yes, sometimes we get really frustrated. But as long as we still have that good assumption about Allah, trust in Allah and reliance on Him, and acceptance of Allah's qadar — then we do our best and let go of everything into the hands of Allah.

Make sure you don't leave this place without looking into what you are going through and starting to develop that sense of satisfaction and trust that Allah will deliver. That anticipation is part of your ibadah. Anticipating that relief becomes part of your ibadah and your good deeds.

Du'a

Al-Fatihah