But the favor He has done to the villagers had made them...

But the favor He has done to the villagers had made them feel dignified in a way to say that we are so much respected by the King that He has made a house among us and we have a link with Him. He is near us and we seek the settlement of our need from Him.

What a favor it is that God Who is free from any defect and need has been so kind as to make a house of stone and mud for Himself making Him a neighbor of the servants to imply that ‘I am with you; ask Me for everything.’ He has also appointed all mosques as His Houses making Himself available to His servants. God has not said: You have necessarily to come to the heavens to seek help from Me or you have to come to Mecca to visit Me.

I accept any corner you choose in My Name as My House and will receive you. I consider any hour in day or night you stand for prayer at home in the direction of My House as pilgrimage to My House and will answer your call and attend to your needs. Therefore, glorify Allah, the Merciful King, there is no god but He; the Lord of the universe. Hajj, A Display of Man’s Spiritual Journey The external acts of Hajj symbolize the spiritual stages of the prophets and the Imams.

Hajj is a display of the spiritual journey of the devotees and the stages of servitude. The essence of worship is the journey towards God and the external acts of Hajj, devoid of presence of the heart, are not considered as worship.

The Holy Prophet (saw) says: إِنمَا فُرِضَتِ الصّلاةُ وأُمِر بِالحَجِّ والطّوافِ وأُشْعِرتِ المَناسِكُ لإقَامَةِ ذِكْرِ اللهِ، فإِذا لم يكُنْ في قَلبِكَ لِلمذكُورِ الّذي هو المَقصُودُ والمُبتَغى عَظَمَةٌ ولا هَيبَةٌ فَما قيمَةُ ذِكْرِك؟ “The daily prayer, Hajj, circumambulation, and the other rites are aimed at remembering Allah.

But when there is no remembrance of Him in your heart, what value will your oral remembrance have?”[^3]51 The Holy Qur’an has blamed the heedless worshippers فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ “So, woe to the praying ones who are unmindful of their prayers. (107:4, 5)”-, and forbidden offering prayers while being drunk – يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ سُكَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعْلَمُوا مَا تَقُولُونَ … “O you who believe!

Do not go near prayer when you are intoxicated until you know what you say. (4:43) Genuflection and prostration are worthy if they indicate humbleness of soul and broken heart. The spiritual path too is real only when it is manifested in the form of bodily acts.

✦ ✦ ✦