Imam al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) was reported to have said...

Imam al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) was reported to have said: “The performer of Hajj and the performer of ‘Umra are God’s guests; if they ask Him, He bestows, if they call Him, He replies, if they intercede with Him, Allah accepts their intercession, and if they remain silent, He begins (to bestow upon) them (his blessings) …”. (ibid, vol. 4, p.

255.In another hadith, he (PBUH) said: “When people are settled in Mina, a herald calls on behalf of Allah that if you sought My satisfaction, I am satisfied.” (ibid, vol. 4, p. 262) According to hadiths, the Hajj is considered one of the important pillars of Islam, (‘Asqalani, Ibn Hajar, Fath al-bari, vol. 3, p. 285-286; al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-‘Amili, Wasa’il al-Shi’a, vol. 1, p. 13-20, 26-28) one of the best deeds and the most precious act in Islam. (cf: al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 2, p.

141; Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 4, p. 252-264) The Commander of Faithful, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH) counted Hajj as the jihad of poor people. (Nahj al-Balagha, Maxim 136) In his will, he said that the slightest advantage of Hajj is deliverance from sins. (cf: al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 2, p. 209; al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 7, p. 51-52) Either not performing or postponing Hajj is dispraised in hadiths and said to have unfortunate consequences in this world and the hereafter.

(cf: Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 47; al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, vol. 2, p. 153-154) Hajj is very important based on hadiths if people left it or could not financially afford it, the Islamic governor is obliged to send some people to Hajj or assist them financially to perform it from the public treasury (Bayt al-mal). (cf: al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, p. 259-260; al-Hurr al-‘Amili, Wasa’il al-Shi’a, vol. 11, p. 23-24) There are three types of Hajj. These are: 1.

Hajj Tamattu’: Ḥajj al-Tamattuʿ is one of the three types of Hajj in Islam which is obligatory for a person whose distance from Mecca is over 16 Farsakhs or 48 miles. A person who wants to perform hajj al-tamattu’ has to perform umra al-tamattu’ first. Hajj al-tamattu’ is called so because the forbidden actions during the period of ihram are permitted and can be enjoyed in the interval between ‘Umra al-tamattu’ and the Hajj. It is pertinent to mention that Hajj al-Tamattu’ consists of 13 actions.

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