*Hajj: Journey to the Divine*
Notes from Khutba by Shaykh Yaser Birjas
8/19/16
In a few days there will be some people taking a Journey to the Divine. It is a journey in which they leave everything behind, everything they have worked so hard to attain in the dunya. They are leaving it to go and embark on a journey, that is like nothing in this life. They are longing to experience a taste of the hereafter, a taste of the akhirah.
But for us who are staying behind, the journey is still going on. You never stop going to Hajj. Our ultimate goal is to visit Allah. There are 5 things that will resemble Hajj in your life. When you are going for Hajj your psychology changes. But even those not going to Hajj get into the mood of Hajj.
1. The longing to return to Allah. Those going for Hajj are hoping for an escape from the pressures, hardships, and depression of dunya and there is nothing like this journey to the divine. “And we made this house for people to keep coming back and forth.” The people who go to Makkah, they keep longing to return even if they just came back from it. This is the longing for the divine, al shawq. As we go through this plan of Allah for us, we always long to return to where we came from “To Me will be your return.” We all belong to Allah and to Him we will return. One of the things I like to do is spend some time with those who are coming to Makkah for the first time. The moment they see the Ka’bah and they see it, they start crying and they raise their hand in Du’a, and you watch and you cry. How beautiful is that moment of longing for the divine. It is also a reminder of how short life is. We just finished Ramadan and celebrating Eid al Fitr, and now it is almost time for Eid al Adha. The short period between Ramadan and Hajj is a reminder of how short life is subhan Allah. That’s what life is, it is so quick. Whether you live 40, 50, 60 years, it doesn’t matter, compared to the eternal life in Jannah, it is nothing. What is the life in dunya but a very short time. But when you attach your heart to akhirah, then you will always have that longing to return to the divine. A burning desire to meet their Lord. So in the next few days, as you see people going for Hajj, keep reminding yourself, that you are already on that path and journey to meet Allah.
2.
Preparing to meet Allah. The second thing we see those going for Hajj do is the preparation for Hajj. You have to prepare yourself. Even physically, by exercising and eating healthy, because they know it’s going to be tough there. But there is something much more important than that “The best provision you carry with you is Taqwa, piety.” Money, muscles that is the easy part. But what you need to worry about is your spiritual preparation. Prepare with taqwa and righteousness. It’s never too late, start from today, and get yourself ready physically and spiritually. What is al zaadd al taqwa, people won’t understand that until they visit the graveyard. Everyone is wrapped in the same shroud. That’s when you realize the best provision you carry with you is the lightest but the most valuable, and that is Taqwa.
3. Spiritual transformation and obedience to Allah. Knowing that we are going to be on that journey, and every single day, every moment and every single breath is getting you closer to meeting the divine. Imagine that is the case for you, what would you do? That’s when you start observing yourself more, and you start asking more. Suddenly it is easier for them to quit that habit or that attitude or sin, because they know they are closer to meeting Allah. Suddenly it is easier for them to wake up for Fajr. So you have this spiritual transformation. The Hajj is all about worshipping Allah, let your life here also be according to this concept as well. People go to Hajj because they want that escape, that getaway, they want to have that peace and tranquility. And in your life as you are on the journey to Allah, remembering Allah will provide that peace and tranquility. Allah says,“Those who believe and their hearts find peace and tranquility in the remembrance of Allah, indeed in the remembrance of Allah hearts find peace and tranquility.” So remind yourself, troubled times, depressing news, remembering Allah will give you peace and tranquility. Keep sticking to that road on the journey to Allah.
4. Emotionalize your experiences. Hajj is an extremely emotional experience. They will shed more tears in a few days than in their whole lifetime. If you truly want to shed those tears for Allah you have to prepare before you get there. It starts when you put on your Ihram, and you take off all these fancy clothes that you have by which you identify yourself, then you put these clothes just like everyone else. No one will know your economic status or your position. Then you will realize how insignificant all the material gains in dunya are. That is an emotional moment. The other emotional moment is seeing the Ka’bah for the first time. I always love that moment. As you walk toward the Ka’bah it gets very noisy inside the musallah area because of the roof and ceiling, then suddenly as you go into the open court all this noise disappears and all you can hear is the chanting and the humming of the crowd around the ka’bah. Very majestic. Unbelievable. The harmony of the crowd, big circle, it’s so beautiful, so majestic. You stand there and raise your hand and make du’a, it is very emotional. And the day of Arafat is a very emotional day as well. They know it is a short few hours that are the most precious. You start wondering “Am I going to be one of those who have been selected to be forgiven and become like a newborn?” That is what we need to keep reminding ourselves here in the dunya, we always prepare with good deeds and emotionalize our experience with Allah with our Ibadat. When you start your salat, is that the time to think about what you have to do after prayer? Or should I focus on this moment of standing before Allah, remembering that I have been given another opportunity to stand before Allah… before I am gone. That is an amazing emotional moment. Keep reminding yourself. When the trumpet is blown, people will be walking from all directions. And if you’ve never seen that sight before, I want you to see when people are walking from Arafat to Mena. Then when you see the crowd walking, rivers of people walking together, an amazing sight. This is the moment that we will remember when we are walking toward Allah in the akhirah.
5. Seeking Forgiveness from those you’ve wronged. Those who are going for Hajj, they make sure they carry no liabilities toward anyone. They want to free themselves from any wrong or injustice they every did to anyone. They go to people, call people, email people, send messages, asking them for forgiveness before they go to Hajj. We think it’s trivial, but some of these people will not come back. It’s true and it’s serious, they could die and never return. Why not do it now while we are alive? We all are on a journey to Allah. “Worship Allah, and have righteousness, and obey me (Nuh AS), He will forgive you some of your sins.” Allah will forgive a lot of your sins. Why not all? If you wronged any human being, that will have to wait until the day of Judgement. Unless you seek their forgiveness in the dunya. Make sure you are on that path of seeking forgiveness from Allah from those you wronged in this dunya, before your time comes.
- The reality is hitting us hard, Muslims are under surveillance, the media doesn’t give us a chance to breathe, there’s always something happening and you feel guilty, so people want this peace and tranquility. Where can you get it from? We’ve already tried to get it from people it doesn’t work. Where is it? There is nothing like coming back to Allah. The strongest shield is with Allah. We are on a journey to the divine, and you have the opportunity to experience every second of it in the most positive way.
May Allah make our meeting of Allah pleasant, and make our path to Him pleasing to Him ya Rab. May Allah fill our hearts with Eman and Taqwa.
Notes from Khutba by Shaykh Yaser Birjas
8/19/16
In a few days there will be some people taking a Journey to the Divine. It is a journey in which they leave everything behind, everything they have worked so hard to attain in the dunya. They are leaving it to go and embark on a journey, that is like nothing in this life. They are longing to experience a taste of the hereafter, a taste of the akhirah.
But for us who are staying behind, the journey is still going on. You never stop going to Hajj. Our ultimate goal is to visit Allah. There are 5 things that will resemble Hajj in your life. When you are going for Hajj your psychology changes. But even those not going to Hajj get into the mood of Hajj.
1. The longing to return to Allah. Those going for Hajj are hoping for an escape from the pressures, hardships, and depression of dunya and there is nothing like this journey to the divine. “And we made this house for people to keep coming back and forth.” The people who go to Makkah, they keep longing to return even if they just came back from it. This is the longing for the divine, al shawq. As we go through this plan of Allah for us, we always long to return to where we came from “To Me will be your return.” We all belong to Allah and to Him we will return. One of the things I like to do is spend some time with those who are coming to Makkah for the first time. The moment they see the Ka’bah and they see it, they start crying and they raise their hand in Du’a, and you watch and you cry. How beautiful is that moment of longing for the divine. It is also a reminder of how short life is. We just finished Ramadan and celebrating Eid al Fitr, and now it is almost time for Eid al Adha. The short period between Ramadan and Hajj is a reminder of how short life is subhan Allah. That’s what life is, it is so quick. Whether you live 40, 50, 60 years, it doesn’t matter, compared to the eternal life in Jannah, it is nothing. What is the life in dunya but a very short time. But when you attach your heart to akhirah, then you will always have that longing to return to the divine. A burning desire to meet their Lord. So in the next few days, as you see people going for Hajj, keep reminding yourself, that you are already on that path and journey to meet Allah.
2.
Preparing to meet Allah. The second thing we see those going for Hajj do is the preparation for Hajj. You have to prepare yourself. Even physically, by exercising and eating healthy, because they know it’s going to be tough there. But there is something much more important than that “The best provision you carry with you is Taqwa, piety.” Money, muscles that is the easy part. But what you need to worry about is your spiritual preparation. Prepare with taqwa and righteousness. It’s never too late, start from today, and get yourself ready physically and spiritually. What is al zaadd al taqwa, people won’t understand that until they visit the graveyard. Everyone is wrapped in the same shroud. That’s when you realize the best provision you carry with you is the lightest but the most valuable, and that is Taqwa.
3. Spiritual transformation and obedience to Allah. Knowing that we are going to be on that journey, and every single day, every moment and every single breath is getting you closer to meeting the divine. Imagine that is the case for you, what would you do? That’s when you start observing yourself more, and you start asking more. Suddenly it is easier for them to quit that habit or that attitude or sin, because they know they are closer to meeting Allah. Suddenly it is easier for them to wake up for Fajr. So you have this spiritual transformation. The Hajj is all about worshipping Allah, let your life here also be according to this concept as well. People go to Hajj because they want that escape, that getaway, they want to have that peace and tranquility. And in your life as you are on the journey to Allah, remembering Allah will provide that peace and tranquility. Allah says,“Those who believe and their hearts find peace and tranquility in the remembrance of Allah, indeed in the remembrance of Allah hearts find peace and tranquility.” So remind yourself, troubled times, depressing news, remembering Allah will give you peace and tranquility. Keep sticking to that road on the journey to Allah.
4. Emotionalize your experiences. Hajj is an extremely emotional experience. They will shed more tears in a few days than in their whole lifetime. If you truly want to shed those tears for Allah you have to prepare before you get there. It starts when you put on your Ihram, and you take off all these fancy clothes that you have by which you identify yourself, then you put these clothes just like everyone else. No one will know your economic status or your position. Then you will realize how insignificant all the material gains in dunya are. That is an emotional moment. The other emotional moment is seeing the Ka’bah for the first time. I always love that moment. As you walk toward the Ka’bah it gets very noisy inside the musallah area because of the roof and ceiling, then suddenly as you go into the open court all this noise disappears and all you can hear is the chanting and the humming of the crowd around the ka’bah. Very majestic. Unbelievable. The harmony of the crowd, big circle, it’s so beautiful, so majestic. You stand there and raise your hand and make du’a, it is very emotional. And the day of Arafat is a very emotional day as well. They know it is a short few hours that are the most precious. You start wondering “Am I going to be one of those who have been selected to be forgiven and become like a newborn?” That is what we need to keep reminding ourselves here in the dunya, we always prepare with good deeds and emotionalize our experience with Allah with our Ibadat. When you start your salat, is that the time to think about what you have to do after prayer? Or should I focus on this moment of standing before Allah, remembering that I have been given another opportunity to stand before Allah… before I am gone. That is an amazing emotional moment. Keep reminding yourself. When the trumpet is blown, people will be walking from all directions. And if you’ve never seen that sight before, I want you to see when people are walking from Arafat to Mena. Then when you see the crowd walking, rivers of people walking together, an amazing sight. This is the moment that we will remember when we are walking toward Allah in the akhirah.
5. Seeking Forgiveness from those you’ve wronged. Those who are going for Hajj, they make sure they carry no liabilities toward anyone. They want to free themselves from any wrong or injustice they every did to anyone. They go to people, call people, email people, send messages, asking them for forgiveness before they go to Hajj. We think it’s trivial, but some of these people will not come back. It’s true and it’s serious, they could die and never return. Why not do it now while we are alive? We all are on a journey to Allah. “Worship Allah, and have righteousness, and obey me (Nuh AS), He will forgive you some of your sins.” Allah will forgive a lot of your sins. Why not all? If you wronged any human being, that will have to wait until the day of Judgement. Unless you seek their forgiveness in the dunya. Make sure you are on that path of seeking forgiveness from Allah from those you wronged in this dunya, before your time comes.
- The reality is hitting us hard, Muslims are under surveillance, the media doesn’t give us a chance to breathe, there’s always something happening and you feel guilty, so people want this peace and tranquility. Where can you get it from? We’ve already tried to get it from people it doesn’t work. Where is it? There is nothing like coming back to Allah. The strongest shield is with Allah. We are on a journey to the divine, and you have the opportunity to experience every second of it in the most positive way.
May Allah make our meeting of Allah pleasant, and make our path to Him pleasing to Him ya Rab. May Allah fill our hearts with Eman and Taqwa.
No comments:
Post a Comment