Surah Hajj

Surah Hajj is the twenty-second chapter of the Qur'an. It is not certain as to if this surah is Meccan of Medinan, but most seem to say it is a Meccan surah. This surah addresses the spiritual aspect of the person, covering faith, belief in the oneness of Allah, the Day of Judgment, the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah, and boundaries upon Muslims of engaging in physical combat.

Surah Hajj opens with a powerful reminder of the "violent convulsion of the Last Hour", the moment in which every person on earth is called to account for the actions of this life. In the second verse Allah swt expresses the shock that we will face at the arrival of the Hour by saying that the nursing mother will forget her child and mankind will be hastening about as if they are intoxicated. The methaphor used of the mother abandoning her child is powerful as no mother is able to abandon her child in any amount of danger. Her natural inclination is always to protect her child, but on that day a mother does not know her children and child does not know their parents. Each being on earth is left to stand alone before Allah. While the terror will be felt by those who disobeyed, the righteous will be not feel the same despair and fear. But Allah makes it clear from these verses, that righteous or not, the Hour will be of shock. We will be caught off-guard. Therefore every action of every moment should be spent in the way of seeking Allah's pleasure. We never know which action will be our last.

Surah Hajj takes its name from the 27 verse of this chapter. It is named after the Fifth Pillar of Islam, one of the most moving experiences that a Muslim will go through in their entire life time. Verse 27 calls all of humanity to complete the Hajj, as it is required on every Muslim at least once in their life. It is the journey to Allah's Sacred House. Hajj shows the universality of our beautiful religion. We are one Ummah, one community, regardless of all of our diversity and any of our difference. Allah swt talks about the beauty of Hajj and witnessing Muslims coming together in masses from all different backgrounds, unifying under the umbrella of belief in Allah alone and Prophet Muhammad as His final Prophet. Each pilgrim is following in the footsteps of our beloved Prophet Ibrahim (May Allah be pleased with him).

In this surah Allah swt connects the Hajj with the Qiyamah. He reminds the Muslims that the garments of Hajj is very similar to the garment for the deceased person, also similar to those that new born babies are wrapped. Allah connects Hajj to the beginning of life and the end. Hajj serves as a reminder of Allah's call to us as well as His advice for us to seek forgiveness, as death can come at any moment. As the pilgrims stand at the mount of Arafah, everyone is gathered together at one time, pleading to Allah to forgive them. And as they circle the Ka'bah they announce their response to the call of Allah. Both of these are at times when the option is available to us, we answer Allah's call and seek His forgiveness by our own will. On the Day of Judgment, we will answer His call regardless of our desire to do so or not, and the opportunity to ask His forgiveness will be behind us.

Allah swt uses the majority of the verses of this chapter to emphasize the truth and importance of the Qiyama. Allah swt explains in a powerful and humbling explanation in the fifth verse of the surah that the life of this world is nothing more than a test. Allah swt gives a detailed description of the creation of each human being and our dependency on Allah before we are conscious of our existence or anything in the world around us. He takes us through the process of coming into being and reminds us that after the birth it is only a matter of time before we die. How can one not then understand the capability of Allah to cause something to die and bring it back to life, when He is the One capable of creating it and taking life the first time? The miracle of life is so phenomenal, Allah knows that it in itself may be difficult for us to comprehend. So He provides another more comprendable analogy. He compares the lifeless earth to that of earth after He has provided rain. We witness this year after year when the seasons change and the trees shed their leaves, then He brings them back to life again after a season of rain and warmth. We see it in summers of drought when the grass becomes brown and crisp and then He brings it back to life. It is a clear sign of Allah's ability to bring back to life that which He wills.

Verse 11 talks about those people who are not serious about worshipping Allah swt. These are those people who want good without trial. They worship Allah when He is providing for them what they want. But when He withholds something, even if for their own benefit though they do not know, they abandon their worship. They think they are strong in their faith and that Allah is in error for not giving to them what they are seeking, but Allah says they are the ones who are in loss of this world and the next world. This is the action of a person who thinks they know more than The Creator. Allah humbles such people in verse 73 and 74. He swt challenges us by saying that if we were to all come together for the single purpose of creating a tiny fly, a fly of which has the simplest DNA of Allah's creations, we would not succeed. Those who worship Allah when things are good and leave their worship in times of trial, they think they know more than Allah. They think they know what ‘should have been'. Allah is making the point that He knows the complexities of the world and all of our minds together could not replicate one of His most basic creations.

Surah Hajj takes us through one of the greatest acts of Ibadah, the Hajj. On the opposite front, He reminds us of one of the most abhorred acts a Muslim can commit and that is that act of unjustly engaging in physical aggression against others. In these verses Allah declares permissibility only in defense and in protecting people from oppression. He swt invalidates any other reason for Muslims to engage in war. It is never acceptable to use Islam to initiate war. Today this is very much misinterpreted. The Jihad of the Muslims does not ever involve the taking of innocent life, nor does it allow any room for acts of terrorism. A cornerstone of Muslim belief is fighting injustice and any person who engages in hostile actions for other than to two mentioned reasons, has caused a great injustice themselves. Verse 40 continues to discuss the Muslim duty to stand against oppression. It is necessary to stand up and advocate for the weak, be the voice for the voiceless.

Throughout Surah Hajj, Allah reminds us of the rewards of those who follow His path and the punishments of those who chose to go astray. May Allah grant us the opportunity to visit His Sacred House, to be people of righteousness, justice and peace and May He grant us Jannatul Firdous.