Virtues of Hajj
(Mûhåmmåð Årslåñ Îlyäs, Karachi,Pakistan)
Hajj is the fifth pillar of
Islam and it has to be performed by every Muslim once in his lifetime. It has
got many virtues; the followings are some of these virtues:
Performing Hajj is one of the best deeds that pleases Allah .This is known from
the sayings of Rasoolullah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم when his companions asked him
about the absolute best deed in the eyes of Allah.
He replied saying "Belief in Allah and His Messenger." Then he was asked: "What
else?" He said, "Striving and struggling for the sake of Allah." Then he was
asked: "What else?" He said, "Performing Hajj, which is free from vice ---
accepted and complete." (Bukhari and Muslim).
He who performs Hajj properly all his past sins will be forgiven and he will be
considered as a sinless newborn.
Rasoolullah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said, "Whoever performs Hajj and does not commit
any obscenity and wrongdoing, he, or she, will come out as the day he, or she,
was born - pure and sinless." [Agreed upon, Bukhari and Muslim]
The reward of an accepted Hajj is paradise:
Rasoolullah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said, "A Mabroor Hajj - complete and accepted -
has no reward for it but Jannah." (Bukhari and Muslim)
Those who perform Hajj are the guests of Allah and they are under his care.
Rasoolullah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said, "Those who are performing Hajj or Umrah are
the guests of Allah. If they ask Him something He answers them and if they ask
Him forgiveness He forgives them."
He who leaves for Hajj is in the state of a pilgrim till he/she returns home,
and therefore remains a guest of Allah all along his Hajj journey.
Rasoolullah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said, "When you meet anyone who has performed
Hajj, greet him, shake hands with him, and beseech him to pray for the
forgiveness of your sins before he reaches his home, because he is in the state
that decision of forgiveness has been taken for him." (Musnad Ahmed)