Umar ibn al-Khattab tells us the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said: "Actions are only by intentions, and every person shall be credited only with which he intended. So whoever's hijra (migration) was for God and His Messenger, then his hijra was indeed for God and His Messenger. And whoever's hijra was to acquire a worldly thing, or to marry a woman, then his hijra was for that for which he made it."
According to an Arabic saying - al-niyya matiya - "an intention is a riding-beast". If we don't have this creature beneath us, taking us forward, it doesn't matter what other good works we are doing. It is perfectly possible to pray all night and fast all year, and still get no closer to God. In fact, to perform an act without intending it to be for God is to do no more than flog a dead horse.
Developing pure intention, however, is not as easy as it looks, because it can never be faked. Anyone can perform the actions required by the Shari'ah. But performing these actions one hundred per cent for the Revealer of the Shari'ah is a million times more problematic. Before starting the prayer, the fast, the Hajj(this is the season of preparation for one of the most important journey in our life) and many other things, we are in the habit of murmuring a set formula of intention, and we vaguely assume that this is enough. Whether our hearts are really and completely present, however, is a question we should be asking ourselves very seriously.
Before each deed we have to insert an intention; but before making the intention we must carry out a quick examination of it. Sufyan al-Thawri, one of the early Muslims, said: "I spend as much time learning a good intention as I spend in learning a good action." Of course, this kind of precision is not feasible all the time and for all activities. But when we intend something really important, such as praying, visiting the sick, or allocating our annual zakat, it is essential that we check our intentions, and make sure that they come from the heart as much as they do from the tongue. This can make the difference between acceptance and repudiation. Even a small, apparently insignificant act can be made immense in God's sight, and can really transform us - if we attach the right intention to it.
This is proved by the following hadith: "Anyone who intends a good deed but does not perform it, God records it as one good deed. Whereas, should he intend it and then do it, God records it as ten good deeds, up to seven hundredfold, and even more."
In this way can a pure, clear intention attract unimaginably vast amounts of divine grace and indeed reward.
It is related that thousands of years ago, during a severe famine, a man once passed by a sand dune. He looked at it, and declared: "If only this dune were food, so that I could distribute it among the people!" And after his death, he found that God rewarded him as though he had actually done this.
For some activities, having clear intention helps to be clear in one's mind exactly why the activity is valuable. It is not unusual to discover that several good intentions underlie a single act: in which case we will be rewarded for each of these. For instant, when we recite the Qur'an, we can intend three different things: firstly, to worship God; secondly, to learn about religion; and thirdly, to be of benefit to anyone who might be listening.
Properly constructed intentions help us get the most out of our religious practices. But they can also help us turn seemingly mundane and neutral activities into religious ones for which we can be regarded. Islam, as everyone knows, embraces every department of life, and regards any distinction between the "sacred" and the "secular" as dangerous and misleading.
Not only has God designed everything on this earth, He has also assigned a correct way of dealing with it. Food can be used and abused. So can a rainforest. So can knowledge. So can the five senses. Islamic ethics are all about learning and applying the proper response to everything around us. When we do something, we can confirm our conformity to natural law by making an intention; and this can turn any action into a religious one. For instance, when we eat, we can intend to gain strength for the worship of God and the leading of an upright life. When we begin work at office, we can intend to earn a living to support our families. When we cook, clean, or wash, we can intend to look after our families, and create a solid, well-managed home. There is nothing which cannot be a useful part of our strategy for salvation. There is no moment which we cannot use to take us forward.
Checking up on our intentions has still another benefit: it gives us the most effective remedy there is for indecision. For when we study our niyya, we recognise which of our intentions are of dubious value. If we can't find a credibly Islamic intention or an act, it probably isn't worth doing, and may well be a cunningly disguised vice. The niyya stands like a sentry between knowledge and action. If we equip the sentry well, every other aspect of our behaviour will be protected. Spot-checks on our intentions also help us to acquire the important virtue of sincerity (ikhlas). A Muslim with a good niyya is a sincere Muslim, for sincerity is defined in Islam as the harmonising of the inner intention and the outer act.
The ethics and significance of Hajj.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
The following is a fatwa issued by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the prominent Muslim scholar:
“There are many wisdoms behind Hajj. Among these wisdoms is the wisdom that Almighty Allah prepares man to have the perfect form of servitude to Him. There are many acts of Hajj whose significance man cannot conceive by his limited intellectual powers. However, a Muslim accepts these acts and fulfills them out of his obedience and surrender to Almighty Allah. For instance, one may ask himself the following questions: Why Tawaf (Circumambulation around Ka`bah)? Why should it be in 7 rounds, not 3 or 5? What is the significance of throwing pebbles? And why 7 pebbles in particular? Why staying at or standing on `Arafah? Why and why…?
All these endless questions may intrigue one’s mind, but the clear fact is that their answers are beyond man’s limited faculty, and only what he is required to say is: I hear and obey Your Command, O Allah! Yours is to order and mine is to obey”!
Islam lays emphasis on the very principle of equality between all people. It makes it clear that people are as equal as the comb teeth. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, declares: “O people! Your Lord is One, your father is one. You are all sons of Adam and Adam is created from dust.” In prayer, a person may wear his own traditional costumes and thus may be distinguished. In Hajj, it is totally different as all people put on two pieces of white cloth that resemble a shroud. This is the highest form of equality.
In Hajj, man enters into a state of total sanctity that prevents him from violating the life or the safety of any human being. Hajj is the sign of the universality of this Divine message. All people come from all parts of the globe celebrating the praises of the One true God, no colors, races, regional borders. All barriers are removed and all pilgrims are molten in one brotherhood that gathers their hearts and strengthens their bonds and sense of belonging to one religion.
Hajj is, above all, a revolution against all usual matters. A person who travels for Hajj may be traveling out of his country for the first time. Moreover, he experiences a life that is simple but happy. All these are among the benefits of Hajj about which we are told in the Qur’an. In the Hereafter, the benefit is greater; it is Paradise. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, says: “He who performs Hajj and avoids sin and vice in it, will return as sin free as the day his mother bore him.” In another Hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, declares: “An accepted Hajj is rewarded with nothing more than Paradise.”
Shedding more light on the ethics and significance of Hajj, Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi says in his book Mukhtasar Minhaj Al-Qasidin:
“One who intends to perform Hajj should first make Tawbah (repentance to Allah), settle his debts, prepare sufficient provision for his journey and for his family until his return, give back trusts to their rightful owners, and meet his expenses by lawful means. He is recommended to accompany righteous men to help each other in their journey. If there are a group of people going out for Hajj, they should choose one of them to be their leader during their journey so as to set their affairs in order.
The pilgrim should stick to the Islamic good manners in all aspects, ask righteous people to make Du`a' (supplication to Allah) for him, and say the authentic Prophetic supplications that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is reported to have said on his journey and making Hajj. These Prophetic supplications are dealt with in detail in the books of Fiqh, so one should refer to them for more information in this regard.
You should get yourself well-acquainted with the fact that there is no way of drawing to Allah, Most High, except by divesting oneself of desires, abstaining from pleasures, confining oneself to necessities and devoting oneself exclusively to Allah, Most High, in every moment and rest. It was for this reason that the ascetics of previous religions used to isolate themselves from the people, retiring to mountain caves and preferring solitude to the company of others, in quest of intimacy with Allah, Most High.
Hajj, therefore, is decreed by Allah to be the ascetic act of the Muslim Ummah. The pilgrim is recommended to free his minds from all businesses except the obedience of Allah, Most High. He should be simplly dressed, and disheveled, keeping away from adornment or inclining to things that excite vainglory and rivalry.
Here, we may recall the narration of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Allah, Most High, boasts before the angels about the pilgrims, saying, 'Look at My servants; they came to Me, disheveled and dusty, from every deep ravine. I make you witness that I have forgiven them.'" (Reported by ibn Khayzamah)
Allah, Most High, has honored His House, sanctified it, and made it a visiting-place.
You should, furthermore, know that every action and pillar pertinent to Hajj comprises a lesson or an admonition to people of sound mind as follows:
When the pilgrim feels himself impelled to take a lot, seeking enough provision to last him the whole journey without spoiling or going bad before he reaches his destination, let him remember that the journey to the Hereafter is much longer and that the provision for it is true piety. Apart from piety, whatever one supposes to be provision will be left behind one's death, leaving him in the lurch. Beware, therefore, from spoiling your deeds, which make up your provision for the Hereafter, by the taint of hypocrisy and showing-off.
It’s recommended for the pilgrim, on departing his homeland, to remember the assured departure of this transitory world to the Hereafter.
On putting off his normal clothes and wearing the clothes of Ihram, he should recall the shroud in which he will be wrapped for burial.
As the pilgrim utters the words of Talbiyah, he should bear in mind that this signifies a response to the summons of Allah, Most High, as it is stated in the Qur'anic verse that reads, "And proclaim the pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways." (Al-Hajj: 27)
On entering the Haram (the Sacred Precinct), he should be filled with hope of being spared the Punishment of Allah, Most High, and on beholding the Ka`bah, the pilgrim should be conscious in his heart of the majesty of the House, venerating it with such intensity that he seems to anticipate beholding the Lord of the House. He, further, should express his gratitude to Allah, Most High, for bringing him to this high degree, and for including him in the company of those who draw near to Him.
On touching the Black Stone, the pilgrim should believe that he is pledging allegiance to Allah, Most High, and vowing obedience to Him. He, also, has to make his resolve to be loyal to his oath, for the wrath of Allah is the traitor's due.
Clinging to the coverings of the Ka`bah and pressing one's breast against its wall (at the part called Al-Multazam ), the pilgrim’s intention should be to draw close in love and yearning to the House and the Lord of the House, seeking grace through the contact and hoping for immunity from the Hell-Fire. At the same time, his intention should be earnestly to seek forgiveness and to beg for mercy, just as one who has sinned against another will cling to his clothes while imploring his pardon, demonstrating that he has no refuge or recourse except to his forgiveness.
Going between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, the pilgrim should recall how he will oscillate between the two scales of the Balance at the site of Resurrection. Also, he demonstrates devotion to duty and hopes to be viewed with compassion, just like who enters the presence of a king and leaves without knowing whether the sovereign has decided to accept or to reject him. He keeps going back across the courtyard time after time, hoping to receive mercy the second time if not the first.
On standing at `Arafah, the pilgrim should - when he beholds the thronging crowds, hears the loud voices speaking in many tongues, and sees the various groups following their Imams through the ritual observances - recall the site of Resurrection, the gathering of the communities with their Prophets and leaders, each community following its Prophet, aspiring after the intercession, all wavering with equal uncertainty between rejection and acceptance.
As for casting of pebbles (Rami), the pilgrim's purpose in this should be obedience to the Divine command, to demonstrate submissiveness and servitude and readiness to comply without any obvious rational of psychological justification.
When the pilgrim's eyes behold the wall of Madinah, he should remember that this is the town which Allah, Most High, chose for His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he made it the goal of his migration, that this was his home. He should further envisage the footprints of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, as he went about the city and recall how he used to go about its streets, picturing to yourself his humility and his graceful gait.
On visiting Allah's Messenger, the pilgrim should feel in his heart his tremendous dignity and realize that he is aware of his presence, of his visit, and that he is receiving his greeting. The pilgrim, also, should imagine the noble form of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.”
All the aforementioned points serve as ethics to which every pilgrim should pay attention on embarking on this noble and lifetime journey."
Quoted, with slight modification, from Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi's Mukhtasar Minhaj Al-Qasidin, published by Dar Al-Manarah for Translation, Publishing and Distribution, Egypt, 2001.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Definition of Hajj:
Literally:The word "Hajj" means heading for an honorable person or place.Legally:Hajj means worshipping Allah by performing the Hajj rituals, which are defined as specific acts performed at a specific time and place in a specific way.
There is agreement among Juristic schools over the Hajj definition.
Rule and Evidence:
Performing Hajj is an obligation once in a lifetime upon every individual, male or female.
Evidence from the Holy Qur'an:
Allah, the Almighty, says,"Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah, - those who can afford the journey; but if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures."
Allah made Hajj an obligation to Muslims in the ninth year after Hijrah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) performed only the Farewell Hajj.
Evidence from the Prophetic Tradition:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Islam is built upon five pillars: testifying that there is no true god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing Prayer, paying the Zakah, making the pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Hajj), and fasting the month of Ramadan.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
Among these pillars the Prophet mentioned the Hajj.
The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said, " The Hajj which is accepted will receive no other reward than Paradise. "
The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said, " He who performs Hajj and neither spoke indecently not did he act wickedly would return free of sin as on the (very first) day his mother born him. "
The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said, "O people, Allah made Hajj obligatory for you; so perform Hajj. Thereupon a person said, `Messenger of Allah, (is it to be performed) every year?' He (the Holy Prophet) kept quiet, and the man repeated (these words) thrice, whereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said, `If I were to say: yes, it would become obligatory (for you to perform it every year) and you would not be able to do it."
Scholars' Unanimous Agreement:
All scholars have unanimously agreed that Hajj is obligatory and that it represents the fifth pillar of Islam. It is an obligation that should be performed as soon as possible.
The supplication(or Du'aa) of Sayyidinna Ibrahim :see the Holy Quran Surah 14:(Ibrahim) verses 35-41
And (remember) when Ibrâhim (Abraham) said: "O my Lord! Make this city (Makkah) one of peace and security, and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols. (Ibrahim 14:35)
"O my Lord! They have indeed led astray many among mankind. But whoso follows me, he verily is of me. And whoso disobeys me, - still You are indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Ibrahim 14:36)
"O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Ka'bah at Makkah); in order, O our Lord, that they may perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), so fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allâh) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks. (Ibrahim 14:37)
"O our Lord! Certainly, You know what we conceal and what we reveal. Nothing on the earth or in the heaven is hidden from Allâh. (Ibrahim 14:38)
"All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, Who has given me in old age Ismâ'il (Ishmael) and Ishâque (Isaac). Verily! My Lord is indeed the All-Hearer of invocations. (Ibrahim 14:39)
[
"O my Lord! Make me one who performs As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), and (also) from my offspring, our Lord! And accept my invocation. (Ibrahim 14:40)
"Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and (all) the believers on the Day when the reckoning will be established." (Ibrahim 14:41)Ameen.
---------------------------------
How much free photo storage do you get? Store your holiday snaps for FREE with Yahoo! Photos. Get Yahoo! Photos
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
|
