ESSENCE OF HAJJ IMAM and Khateeb of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Dr. Saud Ibrahim Al-Shuraim, in his Friday sermon,advised Muslims to be God-conscious and God-fearing in good and bad times and in happiness and sorrow. In his Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Sheikh Al-Sheraim stressed the importance of giving Monotheism (Tawheed) the pride of place in the Haj rites. He said Muslims are looking forward to the advent of the month of Dhul Hijja. The batches of pilgrims have started arriving at the Grand Mosque to perform Haj, the fifth pillar of Islam. They do this in obedience to God s order to Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him). The pilgrims visit the holy sites in ord er to remember Allah and glorify Him. At the same time their hearts are filled with curiosity about the purport of Haj and the lessons to be learnt from it by performing the rites and moving between the holy sites. He said that the greatest lesson to be learnt from Haj is that it stresses Monotheism (Tawheed) for which the Holy Ka abah was built. People come from all corners of the world to perform the Haj rites and worship Allah alone without associating anyone with Him, he said. Sheikh Al-Shuraim said Monotheism is the basis of man being the vicegerent of Allah on earth. Man s strong vicegerency on the earth is based on Tawheed and its collapse is due to negligence of Tawheed. The Islamic state lived with pride by virtue of strictly clinging to Monotheism and it became weak when it neglected this concept. He said that the Black Stone is the position where the circumambulation (Tawaf) around the Ka abah begins. It is not for getting blessings. By kissing the Black Stone we are following what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. While kissing the Black Stone and doing the Tawaf, a Muslim must remember that nothing or nobody can harm or benefit him except by Allah s will. The Ka abah was founded in order to erase and eradicate Shirk (polytheism) or the curse of associating others in worship with Allah. In the year 9H, Prophet Mohammed (Sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) sent Abu Bakr to announce to the people on the day of sacrifice that no idolater or anyone should circumambulate the Ka abah naked after that year. In Abraham's footsteps Meanwhile, in Madina, Sheikh Abdul Bari Awadh Al-Thubaiti, Imam and Khateeb of the Prophet s Mosque, also urged Muslims to be God-conscious. He said that the Holy Qur an speaks about the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him). O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Thy Sacred House; in order, O our Lord, that they may establish regular Prayer: so fill the hearts of some among men with love towards them, and feed them with Fruits: so that they may give thanks. (Surah Ibrahim, verse 37) God accepted Prophet Ibrahim s prayer. Crowds of worshippers circumambulate the Ka abah day and night throughout the year. The Tawaf does not stop however hot the weather may be. The Grand Mosque remains open day and night for those who come for worship here. During Haj, the pilgrim sees the cradle of revelation and follows in the footsteps of the Prophet (Sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) and remembers the past. He tries to understand the significance of Haj and the lessons he can learn from it. He sees history before him. Every grain of sand at the holy sites tells a glorious history. It speaks of a civilization that has contributed a lot to humanity. ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.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] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~