Good Deed: #222 Train yourself – Read Surah Hajj – The Pilgrimage
SURA 22. Hajj, or The Pilgrimage
1. O mankind! fear your Lord! for the convulsion of the Hour [of Judgment] will be a thing terrible!
2. The Day ye shall see it, every mother giving suck shall forget her suckling- babe, and every pregnant female shall drop her load [unformed]: thou shalt see mankind as in a drunken riot, yet not drunk: but dreadful will be the Wrath of Allah.
3. And yet among men there are such as dispute about Allah, without knowledge, and follow every evil one obstinate in rebellion!
4. About the [Evil One] it is decreed that whoever turns to him for friendship, him will he lead astray, and he will guide him to the Penalty of the Fire.
5. O mankind! if ye have a doubt about the Resurrection, [consider] that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, in order that We may manifest [our power] to you; and We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term, then do We bring you out as babes, then [foster you] that ye may reach your age of full strength; and some of you are called to die, and some are sent back to the feeblest old age, so that they know nothing after having known [much], and [further], thou seest the earth barren and lifeless, but when We pour down rain on it, it is stirred [to life], it swells, and it puts forth every kind of beautiful growth [in pairs].
6. This is so, because Allah is the Reality: it is He Who gives life to the dead, and it is He Who has power over all things.
Action Plan
1. If we read surat Al-Hajj from the very beginning, we will find that it tackles the issue of the Day of Judgment. From the first Ayah, focus is made on the Day of Judgment and resurrection. The Ayahs then move to Jihad (fighting in the cause of Allah (SWT)), and then worship and servitude to Allah (SWT), as all creatures in sky and on earth prostrate themselves to Allah (SWT). However, what is the relationship between all of these issues? How are they related to pilgrimage?
When a Muslim performs this major form of worship or when he lives with his soul with pilgrims and imagines to be one of them, he understands well Allah’s (SWT) intention from this surah. Pilgrimage is a worship that plays a vital role in setting up the strong bases of the nation. It is as if the surah is telling the readers to perform Hajj in a right way, just as Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) did, in order to train themselves and thus become used to living according to social and moral principles. Such principles basically guide the nation as a whole including both individuals and social groups.
2. In its subject matter and its general ambiance, the sūrah appears closer to the Qur’ānic sūrahs revealed in Makkah. Issues like God’s oneness, the warning to be watchful for the Last Hour, evidence for the inevitable resurrection of all mankind, the fallacy of pagan beliefs based on associating partners with God, the scenes of the Day of Judgement, and drawing attention to universal signs pointing to God’s existence and power, are all very prominent in the sūrah. Yet equally prominent are the many issues normally addressed in sūrahs revealed in Madīnah. Apart from giving permission to the Muslim community to fight for God’s cause, the sūrah addresses freedom of worship, the promises of God’s support to those who fight to repel aggression, and the order to fight for God’s cause.
source: Quranic Reflections and in the shade of the quran