Hajj – My experience

‘O Allah write down my name in the list of pilgrims who shall go to Thy "Sacred House" for Hajj, the pilgrims whose performance of Hajj is appreciated, their efforts cut off their link with the sins and atone for their wrongdoings…’ my journey to Hajj did not start in the month of Zul Hajj but started earlier in the month of Ramadhan when I started reading this supplication from Mafatih al’jinan
When I made my mind, my plan for Hajj was on its way to actualization. After committing to perform Hajj I was under colossal anxiety to organize myself mentally and spiritually to perform this worship with complete wakefulness and sincerity.
I started my preparation by searching for reading material on Hajj. Earlier I read some books written by Dr. Shariati and I was impressed by his outlook, I noticed he wrote a book called ‘Hajj’, I read this book couple of times and then I picked up a book by Ayatullah Husain al’Mazhari called ‘the secrets of Hajj’, and then I also read few small books.
Here I would like to admit sincerely that I received true inspiration and knowledge from Allamah Rasheed Turabi, to me he is a source of knowledge and inspiration. His speeches opened up doors to the unending wisdom of Quran and Ahlul-Bayt (as).  This is a humble attempt to share my experience and lessons I have learned from Hajj, this is not an attempt to explain, teach or educate anyone. The result of my contemplation is based on my confined intellect and restricted perspective, I am certain other pilgrims have better perspective of Hajj than me. During the course of Hajj it is the capacity of the worshipper which allow his intellect to contemplate on the rituals and ascend to the stage of recognizing the essence of Hajj, hence the effect of this journey varies from person to person.It is a irrefutable fact that the rituals of Hajj are not just actions without meaning; each act symbolizes the reality of life and religion. The first thing which I realized about each ritual of Hajj is that Hajj broadly demonstrates three stages, the stage of Supremacy and Absolute Authority of Allah (swt), the stage of total submission of the chosen servants of Allah and the stage of failure and disgust of the Shaitan. It is the unwavering course/sunnath (17:77) of Allah (swt) that an important message is conveyed during harsh conditions, for example the message of divine leadership/Imamat at Ghadir which was revealed during midday, I think man absorbs the message in its totality (in such conditions) plus it becomes easy to recall the message as it was associated with extreme weather of that moment. Hajj is also a message for humanity which to communicated to those who visit and endure hardships patiently and embrace the message of Hajj which leaves a deep imprint on the human conscience as a reminder for the rest of the life that we were not created without a purpose!.
Hajj is nothing but a journey which prepares us to meet Allah (swt), it is a journey where man comes home with “Eternal souvenirs”, as rightly indicated by Ayatullah Khomeni in one of his speeches. I wondered what he meant by Eternal souvenirs, the Quran says in chapter Furqaan “And the day when the unjust one shall bite his hands” [25:27], that is the day the sinners express their immense remorse with a hope of another opportunity (to go back to the world) to correct their deeds but that chance will not be given. Hajj is an enactment of that day when all will be gathered in front of Allah (swt) and those who are pious will rejoice and those who remained arrogant or ignorant will regret, but during Hajj when a believer realizes his mistakes and desire an opportunity (to go back to his world) to correct his deeds and seek forgiveness, that chance will be given! Hajj grants conscious of the Day of Judgment and the helpless circumstances of the sinful soul, in my view Hajj is a fulfillment of the last desire of humanity! Although this great scholar did not expound on “eternal souvenirs” and left it upon us to think, my confined knowledge made me conclude that the “eternal souvenirs” is nothing but constant mindfulness of seeking the pleasure of the Master. Hajj teaches us to be mindful of the purpose of our creation by showing us the path of those who sacrificed and submitted for the sake of seeking the pleasure of Allah (swt).
The Hajj started with Umrah-e-tammathu, I recall the bus journey from Medina to Mecca, enthusiasm and anxiousness was gushing inside me as we were getting closer and closer to the house of Allah (swt), wearing the Ihram made me feel scared, I was thinking that all the preparation to go to Hajj ends here, the final moment of truth has arrived, the Absolute reality is ahead of me. It is a strange fact of creation that when the spirit of man was created in the eternal past, Allah (swt) immediately made the spirit bear witness to his Divinity, “alastu birabbikum qaloo bala shahidna” [07:172] ‘Am I not your Lord, we replied Yes you are (our Lord) we bear witness’, the fact that our spiritual journey started from Allah (swt) after bearing witness to his divinity, similarly the journey of Hajj starts from the house of Allah (swt) when we perform Umrah. I recall arriving at the house of Allah (swt) at early hours of night and I was overwhelmed to find the apparent spiritual magnitude of Masjid-al’Haram, the multitude of worshippers outside the Haram left me speechless. We found space outside the Masjid-Al’Haram to perform the Fajr Prayer, after the prayers were waiting and getting ready to face The house of Tawheed, that was the most intolerable moment, the heart was throbbing, various thoughts crossed the mind, everyone was quit and busy with their own plans, the only thing I was trying to remember was to supplicate at the first sight of Kaaba. When we entered the holy mosque and saw the house of Allah (swt) I felt weak in my legs like I never felt before I forgot the supplication I prepared myself to read for months at this very moment but few seconds passed and then I started mumbling my hopes and desires to my Master, and then with the strength of others we started circumambulating. This act of worship reflected ‘an enactment of a system where all the beings display their orientation/dependence on the center of existence, the source of all causes, the Absolute power - Allah (swt)’. When we circumambulation it also symbolizes our love for Allah (swt) which dominates our psych/nafs to the extent that there is no self-realization, there is no self-centeredness or self-consciousness like an insect which flies around the light until it destroy its being in domination of the light. I knew the literal meaning of chapter Iqlaas but when we performed the ritual of circumambulation I realized that it is an enactment of the system of total dependence on Allah (swt), it means that every being (living or non-living) depends totally on Allah (swt) and it is the essence of “Allahu samad” in the Surah-e-iqlaas.
Maqaam-e Ibrahim reminded me of the builder of the house of monotheism, although I wondered why Prophet Ibrahim and his son (as) was chosen to build Kaabah (‘And when Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundations of the House 02:127’), this question came to my mind not as doubt but as an eagerness to acquire better insight. Then I thought to myself the house of monotheism has to be raised by him who had succeeded in all stages of submission, there was none like Prophet Ibrahim (as), he was tested with his life, money and children, he struggled all his life to establish principle of Tawheed, he stood alone against the forces of his time, he was exiled from place to place but he emerged as a victor in the battle between ‘Truth’ & ‘Falsehood’ and his award was become known in history as father of monotheism.
While the signs, symbols and rituals of Hajj teach us a lesson that Prophet Ibrahim’s (as) is a paradigm of submission and his award was to become divine leader/Imamath of his nation, if observed there are higher principle and degree of submission and servitude like Prophet Mohammed (saw) who is at a stage of Love and submission where Allah (swt) is saying “And soon will your Lord give you so that you shall be well pleased 93:05”, in other words Allah (swt) is seeking the pleasure of his beloved servant! But one must ask himself, in return of what? If I remember correctly this chapter was revealed in Mecca when the mission of Prophethood was in its beginning stages, Prophet has not endured as much as he would in forth coming period and Allah (swt) is seeking the pleasure/riza of his servant, one can imagine the degree of servitude and degree of sublime morality of our Prophet (saw)!
Prophet Ibrahim (as) is no doubt at the stage of ‘excellent submission’ but a stage of ‘perfect submission’ can be observedwhenwe read this verse ‘Wamina annasi man yashree nafsahu ibtighaa mardati Allahi’ [2:207], it’s a thought provoking verse where we must ask ourselves, What is the level of his submission whose Self is no more his Self but owned by Allah (swt), in other words his Self is subordinate to the will of Allah (swt), which means he never lived for himself he sacrificed his life to seek the pleasure of His Master, his life was distant from materialism! But who is he? Is he the son Abu Talib (as)? Why are we mentioning the name of him who was just a caliph in the eyes of a common Muslim? Why is he counted among the perfect and foremost servants of Allah (swt)? The followers of Ali invite others to explore the life of this eminent being who was born in the house of Tawheed! Why was the divine will to make Kabah as the birthplace of Ali? I cannot answer but I can recall a sermon of Imam Ali (as) which he delivered returning from the battle of Siffin, he says ‘if my enemy forces you to say bad about me than say it but remember do not remove me from your hearts but if you do then you will not be in the boundaries of religion because I am the only one who was born with the intuition of Islam/fithrath-e-islaam’. It is him to whom Allah (swt) made the criteria/furqaan for religion, the Muslims of the past, present and future will be judged according to the criteria. What is Ali to you, a companion, a caliph, an Imam of Pious or the embodiment of all the Prophets or the demonstrator of beauty, splendor and greatness of Allah (swt)? The sign, symbols, the irreparable crack on the wall of Kaaba is constantly inviting people to explore in history the life of this man. The history of Islam is incomplete without mentioning Ali, in other words imagine what would it be if history narrates zul ashira without Ali, night of Hijra without Ali, Battle of Badr, Uhad, Khandaq, Khaiybar, Hunain without Ali, Sulh-e-hudaiybiya without Ali, Surah Tawbah without Ali, freeing Kabah from idols without Ali and finally Ghadir without Ali? Imagine! Would there anything be left in Islam without Ali?? Hence the most eminent Prophet (saw) said ‘One strike of Ali in Khandaq is greater then the worship of both the worlds/ ibadat-e-thaqlaiyn’’, the world may blame us of exaggeration/ghulu but our answer to them is similar to the reply of  Sadiq-e-Aale-Mohammed (as),  a man came to 6th Imam questioning this saying, the Imam replied that ‘one strike of Ali is greater than worship of everyone in this world and the next which also includes my worship and the worship of all the Imams before and after (me)’.
We must understand that from the mosque of Mecca to the mosque of Kufah the journey of this man is at perfection of submission and servitude. The Quran has established the qualifier of Divine leadership, Allah (swt) laid down the rule that divine leadership will be granted among prophet Ibrahim’s descendents but not to those who are unjust [02:124]. Ali (as) is from progeny of Ibrahim and he is the divine leader/Imam because prophet (saw) said ‘O Allah, turn the truth where Ali turns’, in other words he is the criteria of truth, others are judged whether they are on truth or on falsehood by this criteria. (Here at his point I thought it is appropriate to switch for a moment to another subject and share my thoughts), the attributes of a divine leader (Imam Ali (as)) does not encompass any action which are contrary to the fundamental & root principle of Islam, in other words the action of the divine leader cannot go against the Islamic values. For example, I strongly disagree with those who claim that Imam Ali (as) pledge allegiance to anyone in any form latent or apparent except to his brother Prophet Mohammed (saw). In the path of truth Ali (as) would neither support nor ‘seek subordination’ of falsehood. His sermons in Nahj al’balagah stands witness that he rejected the support of Abu Sufiyan (la) who came for his support, and his sermon in mosque of Kufa bears witness that he refused to pledge allegiance to those who tried to seek it by any means, he protested in actions while he was dragged with a rope, he protested while his inheritance was usurped. He who pledge allegiance to truth and supported the truth all his life will not pledge allegiance to falsehood for sake of his life. Those who still claim otherwise, then I must say that they leave no difference between Imam Ali (as) and people like Talah and Zubayr who pledge allegiance to truth then later pledge allegiance to falsehood; the claimers have to carry this burden of accusation in the hereafter.
There is divine authority/tamkiin at the stage of Imamath, there is no Self/Nafs, there is only the Will of Allah (swt), Ali (as) is not just the brother of The Prophet (saw) but he is the embodiment of all the Prophets, Hadith-e-tashbih is the witness. While performing circumambulation I was thinking of the chosen servants of Allah (swt), I was thinking of the event when idols were removed, Allah (swt) ordained the Beloved Prophet Mohammed (saw) to remove the idols Himself or let someone from Him to remove it, like the deliverance of the ninth chapter Tawbah, Quran says ‘la tukallafu illa nafsak’ [04:84] don’t trouble anyone except your own Nafs, and the Chief of Prophets decided to chose his own Nafs, the perfect paradigm of a Muslim, to ascend on his shoulders to bring the idols down, actually Prophet (saw) is articulating the distinction of Ali (as). Alhamdolillah, I felt like I understood the authority of the verse ‘Inna deen AAinda Allahi al-islam’ [3:19] in which Holy Prophet (saw) is boldly and ‘uncompromisingly’ announcing the words of Allah (swt) to the world that there is no religion except the religion of Islam, the announcement was incomplete until Prophet (saw) manifested him who practiced Islam/submission completely, hence Prophet (saw) called out Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) at every occasion. Imam Ali (as) is the chief of the believers, leader of the pious and perfect role-model. The message was ‘Knowing Ali (as), Loving Ali (as) and following Ali (as) because it is the essence of submission to Allah (swt). It is certain that Hajj minus Ali (as) is nothing but escapade of hardships without meaning.
1/25/2006 –
The next stage of Umrah is sae’, this ritual demonstrates the true essence of the verse “la hawl bila quwwata illa billah”, which means there is no power/authority other than Allah (swt). Again there is a question why Allah (swt) chose Lady Hajirah (as) for this test, It is a very thought provoking stage, Lady Hajirah’s (as) position is against all likelihoods and against all the dogmatism of the society. To begin with she is a woman, she is black and then she is a slave. When someone tries to understand Islam and tries to comprehend Hajj they might wonder that whatever the social status of a pilgrim is, a king, a ruler, a statesman, a millionaire/billionaire, a scientist, a servant or a nobody they all have to imitate a black slave woman! What is the message of Allah (swt)? The message (as I understood) is that individuality/shakhsiyat does not mean anything to Allah (swt), it is the depth of submission to the will of the Master. How did Hajirah (as) succeeded in becoming another paradigm of total submission? When she was ordered to leave her place to settle in a valley which offered nothingness for life and everything for a painful death, she accepted the command of Allah (swt) and arrived in this valley. At this stage the inspiring scholar Dr. Shariati jolted the reader’s conscience, he says ‘Water is necessary for existence, the baby needs milk, a man needs friends, a woman needs supporters and a mother needs help. This is true, yet love can replace all of those needs!‘’ I always find these words inspiring. That is exactly what Allah (swt) wanted, total reliance, total dependence on the Master. She knew nothing what is in store for her for each passing moments but she believed in the essence of the verse “la hawl bila quwwata illa billah”, there is no power greater than Allah (swt), there is no power of hunger, there is no power of need of self-protection, there is no power of love towards her sibling, these powers are diminished to nothing in front of the power of Allah (swt). To every living being the most important thing is to protect its own Self, but the love of Allah (swt) transcends over the fundamental necessities and the natural disposition of man.
1/26/2006 –
Lady Hajirah (as) had no doubt on her Creator or on His decision not only she relied but she also demonstrated the concept of ‘total’ dependence on Allah (swt). When her son cried in thirst she did not just sit at one place and relied on Allah (swt), instead she ran between two mountains in search of water. In other words she showed us the reliance followed by struggle. This is the lesson we must take home, we must struggle and rely totally on Allah (swt). What is the result of such act? The result will be the water of ZamZam in other words the pleasure of Allah (swt). This water is not any water, it is not just miracle water, it is the water of the result of total reliance and total struggle in the path of Allah (swt).
The trails & tribulations of the mother of Ismail (as) reminded me of another women of Islam the mother of Mosa (as) when she was commanded by Allah (swt) ”And We revealed to Musa's mothers, saying: Give him suck, then when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear nor grieve; surely We will bring him back to you and make him one of the messengers” [28:07], it was the love and fear for her son, although she grieved by the separation but she relied on Allah (swt), she was following the footsteps of Hajirah (as). Allah’s (swt) promise was established like the city of Mecca flourished and Hajirah (as) and her son were saved, here Mosa (as) was returned to his mother and he became a messenger, they rejoiced on the promise of Allah (swt) which was fulfilled. It is Allah (swt) who gives eminence to those who succeeds in trails. Yet there is another pious Lady of Islam, her name was not mentioned in Quran but her patience, piety and reliance on Allah (swt) surpassed over all the other ladies. It is very unfortunate that Muslims are totally oblivious about her, but that it is how Allah (swt) distinguishes a true believer. Where is that family which has ascended to the loftiest position of servitude, who are those servants which comes to our mind when we do Sae’ and recall the story of Lady Hajirah (as)?
Who is that Lady who grieved for the thirst of her newborn but no water was availed unlike the sweat water of ZamZam flowing under the feet of Ismail (as) which eventually quenched his thirst? Who is that lady whose newborn was not returned to her unlike Mosa (as) who was returned to his mother? Who was that Lady to whom Allah (swt) tested and granted eminence over many others? Who was that Lady who patently witnessed her child in his own pool of blood, unlike mother of Mosa (as) whose patience was strengthen by Allah (swt), ‘(she) would have almost disclosed it had We not strengthened her heart’ [28:10], it is our duty to let our mind search for a perfect paradigm during our march between the mountains of safah & marwah, imitating Lady Hajirah (as).
1/27/2006 – There is only one Lady at this lofty stage of perfect submission seeking only the pleasure of Allah (swt), its Umm-e-Rabab (sa) the wife of our Master Imam Husain (as), she is demonstrating such steadfastness and piety in the frame of a common human being where mother of Moosa, mother of Ismail are under the shadow of divine strength, she is alone! Her son is thirsty like Ismail and Mosa, she too struggled for her son, but her son was sacrificed in the path of Allah (swt), our master Imam Husain (as) was walking forward and backward towards the tent just like Lady Hajirah (as). The sae’ reminded me of my oppressed Imam (as) and the most eminent son of Imam, Ali Asgher (as).
After taqsiir Umra-e-tamattuh was over we changed into normal clothes during this respite we rested and waited.  During these few days we visited to Masjid al’Haram and performed tawaaf for family members and supplicated. During this time I got some more time to think and remind my self about what I learned in last few months, to my surprise I couldn’t remember anything, my thoughts were very intuitive. Staring at Kaaba I was wondering how would be the day when our 12th Imam appears near Kabah. Then suddenly I remembered the excerpts of the poetry of Farazdaq who said poetry in praise our 4th Imam (when the Imam was performing Hajj) in response to a malign comment by the accursed Abul Malik ibn Marwaan when he asked who is he? Farazdaq said ‘This is he whose ability the valley (of Mecca) recognizes (as do) the sanctuary and the area outside the sanctuary. This is the son of the best of God's servants. This is the pure pious man, the pure eminent man. When he comes to touch the corner of the wall of the Ka'ba, it almost grasps the palm of his hand. He tales care to be modest and he is protected from his terror. None of mankind has within their souls such primacy as he does nor such grace as he does. Whoever knows God, knows his friend (wali). Religion is from the House of this man. When Quraysh saw him, their spokesmen told of the outstanding qualities of this man which indicate (his) nobility'.  I started thinking of our 12th Imam (atf), I remembered my mother told me when I was young that our Imam meets his follower during Hajj, like anyone else I was also searching my Master. One day I remember I got a chance to read (in English) the supplication of Nudbah (Due-e-Nudbah) in front of Kaaba, it is a great method of expressing our allegiance, love and commitment to our living Imam (atf) and his ancestors. The best act of worship I think was listening to Majlis of Imam Husain (as) which kept me focused during the following days.
                Hajj-e-tamattuh was the ultimate objective of this trip. My experience in Hajj opened my eyes towards the essence of Islam. The fact that the pilgrims have to leave the vicinity of Mecca (the house of Allah) to start the pilgrimage is a clear indication of the stage of birth of a human being where the spirit leaves the divine realm and enters the materialistic realm, after testifying to the divinity of Allah (swt) in the primordial past (7:172) we are now ordained to step in the arena of trials. We will be carrying ourselves within a materialistic frame made of bones and flesh which will be imprisoned in the boundaries of time and matter. Our trial starts the moment we are sent into this realm, the transformation from the spiritual world to the materialistic world is experienced when we move away from Mecca to Arafat. It is the land where Adam and his wife were first sent from heaven. This is the land which represents a materialistic, selfish, painful world where man experience freedom. This was better understood when we got off the bus and started pacing towards the tent, I noticed that everyone was invading the tent for a comfortable place. When we all entered the tent some grabbed the place near the air conditioner thinking of the hot day, some chose a spot away from the a/c thinking the cold night, some grabbed the spot next to the door thinking of safety (in case of fire). This is who we are, when we are sent to this world our priority is self preservation, but our journey has just started, we have to ascend from self preservation to self sacrifice before approaching Allah (swt).
Those who are mindful deliberate in the land of Arafat, they ask themselves who created man? Who gave hunger and provided food? Who gave thirst and provided water? Who gave intellect and provided knowledge and so and so forth…. and in pursuit of self realization man slowly transcends to the point where he realizes that it is absolute mercy of the Creator who created us from nothingness, kun fayakoon 36:82, arranged our upbringing, safeguarded us from going astray, guided us to the right path, how merciful is our Master who surrounded us in his infinite mercy although our ignorance failed to realize, man looks at his past and does what he is suppose to do (if he has decency and civility) - he look back at his life full of mistakes due to ignorance and he tries uproot the problem by seeking knowledge. This is exactly what we must do at Arafat, we must gain knowledge followed by realization and then followed by seeking forgiveness.
The land of Arafah is the stage of knowledge, knowing oneself, knowing our shortcomings and seeking forgiveness. This is first stage of the purpose of our creation, our duty to gain knowledge. The supplication of our Master Imam Husain (as) is nothing but self-realization, seeking forgiveness and desiring more knowledge. I decided to read the English translation of this supplication rather reading Arabic in transliteration while Moulana Milani and Moulana Jalali were reading this Du’a with utmost sincerity. Thanks to the Hajis of Iran who gave these books few days earlier. The Du’a of Arafah finished and Moulana Jalali recited the Majlis in Arabic, although my mind cannot decipher anything he was saying but the Love of our master Husain (as) ignited the power of imagination and burnt the heart and the tears did not stop. This was my second experience listening to an Arabic Majlis.
Then we move to another land called masher/muzdalifah, this is a very interesting place, although I did not get a chance to spend the whole night at this place (as ordained) rather the night was spent sleeping in the bus which was moving inch by inch to Mashar :-), I must confess one thing that I contemplated about the acts of worship and the holy places after Hajj was over, unfortunately I couldn’t compose myself spiritually as much as I wanted in the midst of extreme physical activities of performing the Hajj rituals. I spent few early hours at a small mountain with my Hajj comrades collecting pebbles. My inquisitive mind was thinking why we have to collect pebbles only from Mashar. This is the stage of consciousness, discernment and cognizance/Maarifath and acquiring it is incumbent on every individual, but does knowledge lead us to understanding or not? If our knowledge has attested that there is a Creator who is the only source of all Creation and the source of establishment of a balanced system in the greater universe /aalam-e-akbar, then we must further exercise our intellect using the acquired knowledge to gain consciousness/maarifath.
It is the saying of the Prophet (saw) ‘awwalu deen maarifathu’, the essence of religion is to gain consciousness (of truth). In other words to acquire the tendency and capacity to differentiate between chaste and unchaste, true and false, right and wrong, friend and foe. It does not stop here! It also means to know what is the right path, who is on the right path, who is not on the right path, who should we follow, Who should we not follow, who should we praise and who should we denounce? This is Maarifath and it is the essence of religion and based on the degree of Maarifath a man ascends or descends.
Mashar represents the stage in the life of a believer where he should exercise his intellect and use his knowledge as tool to gain maarifath, however I wondered for sometime why should we collect pebbles from mashar which represents the stage of Maarifath? Then I realized, where there is good there is evil, the straight path is not just monopolized by the pious rather it is shared by the Shaitan ‘I will certainly lie in wait for them in Thy straight path’ [7:16]. In other words the place where we have gained the discernment of truth/Maarifath al’haqq should also be the place where we must identify the enemies of truth. 
The acquired knowledge from experience of life, from intuition and from the discoveries of existing phenomena of universe leads a decorous man to search the means to guide him to his Creator, ‘And We made them Imams who guided (people) by Our command’[21:73] the guide represents the Creator they are the demonstrator of the beauty, glory and strength of Allah (swt), Quran says ‘Surely those who swear allegiance to you do but swear allegiance to Allah 48:10’, so the understanding of the Creator branches out from the understanding of His representatives. Hence Masher is a stage where we must discriminate between the party of Allah (swt) and the party of the evil Shaitan, we must eliminate the ideology of the party of evil Shaitan and pay allegiance to the party of Allah (saw), but first we must approach, understand and conquer the biggest enemy of man which is his rebellious Self/Nafs, when that is done we must march towards the enemies of truth ignorance and stubbornness, after circumventing these enemies the last and the final enemy must be carefully dealt. The enemy has disguised himself in a sanctimonious garb and identification is difficult, hence Allah (swt) granted the criteria to identify the enemy, the criteria is nothing but discharging the praise of Ali (as) and denouncing his enemies and the enemy comes out openly.
1/30/2006
The next stage is Mina - the only outcome of true knowledge and understanding, the only outcome of our lifelong efforts in search of truth, the stage of ascension and sublimity, final stage of the purpose of our creation. The final stage of trials in this world. The stage of LOVE, Quran says “those who believe are stronger in love for Allah” [2:165].
Love based on the pillars of knowledge and discernment as oppose to Love based on ignorance and materialism. The stage of Mina demonstrates the difference between eternal love and material love. The essence of true love based on Self/Nafs annihilation, in other words based on the concept of ‘Sacrifice’. What an excellent criteria? No one in this world can find a better criterion than this; it can be employed in every day life to judge someone’s degree of Love!
My journey from Muzdalifah to Mina was the most physically challenged, I remember sitting on top of a bus exhausted and crunched up in a small place, watching the traffic gridlock, breathing carbon monoxide, I thought to myself ‘what a difficult stage?’ then I thought to myself this is the stage of Mina, a stage of ‘Love on trial’, the lesson I learned sitting on top of the bus, under the beaming sun and slowly closing to Mina is that it is not easy to reach the destination of Love, but once you reach it you have found the eternal gift,. The gift of love enables a man to endure all the hardships. Allah (swt) made the criteria of religion as Love and because man can dare to present the argument on the Day of Judgment that Love is only possible if I can see or sense Allah (swt), so to leave the unbelievers with no choice Allah (swt) created The Article of love. The article of Love is the enormous beauty and symmetry in universe, seamless beauty and contiguity of every object is a sign of his absolute knowledge, authority, strength and absolute source of sustenance in the universe. Those who observes the article of Love effectuates the Love of Allah (swt) and the result of true Love is the expression of Love through piety. But man remains ignorant by failing to observe the universal beauty due to confined knowledge and means of observation. Although the technological advancement of man has revealed the beauty of creation which can lead to recognizing the creator but Love cannot be established because man has a confined self, his vision, knowledge and power of deliberation is confined, hence is expression of Love is confined. Allah (swt) created a decisive means to Love Him, Allah (swt) created his representative who will demonstrate his glory, beauty and security, who can be sensed yet who’s self will not confined, who will be the foremost and perfect creation, Imam Mohammed Baqir (as) said ‘awwalama khalaqal llahu noori’, the premordial creation was the luminous noor (of the Prophet saw). Hence the testimony of Love of Allah (swt) is through “unconditional” obedience to The Prophet (saw), the Quran says “Qul in kuntum tuhibboona Allaha faittabiAAoonee 3:31” Say (O Prophet): If you love Allah, then follow me’. In other words complete obedience to The Prophet (saw) is an affect of Love towards Allah (swt) and it is the essentials of religion. Hence Imam Sadiq (as) emphasized ‘halit deen illal hubb?’ is there a religion without Love? The Love of Prophet (saw) is translated by Qura’n in this verse ‘la as-alukum AAalayhi ajran illa almawaddata fee alqurba’[42:23] I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives, ‘love & obedience to the Family (as) of Prophet (saw)’ and placed this love above everything, Qur’an  posed this question to establish the priorities for man “Say (O Prophet): If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates and your kinsfolk and property which you have acquired, and the slackness of trade which you fear and dwellings which you like, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His command: and Allah does not guide the transgressing people” [09:24]. The love of Allah (swt) accompanied by the Love of Prophet (saw) and The love of Ahle-Bayt [42:23], should supersede every aspect of our Life by sacrificing whenever, whatever or whoever comes between us and their Love. The distinction of a believer who Loves truth is that he does not Love Falsehood at the same time, rather he ‘detests’ falsehood and he expresses his love and hate.Mina is a land of battle between good and evil, Mina is a land of expression of Love and hatred, approval and rejection, extolling and denouncing through the means of physical actions! This is the final lesson and only objective behind the stay in Mina for three days.
 When we arrived in Mina on the first day we have to hit the small Jamarath and sacrifice the animal and shave the head. I understood the essence of these rituals by its sequential performance. This is a clear exposition of denouncing the enemy of truth, the enemy of Allah (swt) and Prophet (saw) which we have identified in the earlier stage, now we are declaring that we are clear of this evil, we are testifying that we do not support or ignore this evil, hitting it with the pebbles is invoking the curse/Laan of Allah (swt) on the enemies of truth, no matter who they are, no matter how well the history has adorned them with fabrication and no matter what the majority thinks of them. They could be kings and rulers like Nimrod, Pharaoh, Muawiyah, Yazid and like of them or they could disguise behind the curtains of fabricated history as the rightly guided caliphs like Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman or they could be related to the chosen servants of Allah (swt) like the wife of Noah, the wife of Lut [66:10], The wife of Holy Prophet (saw) (who opposed him) or the wife of Imam Hasan (as) (who poisoned him). No matter who they were or what their individuality/Shakhsiyat is, it doesn’t matter, the course of Allah (swt) will not change (17:77), if Allah (swt) considered them accursed in past as he did with wife of Nuh and the wife of Lut, than they are still be accursed to this day, it is our obligation to identify and denounce the enemies of Allah (swt) to seek the pleasure of Allah (swt). Our Hajj is incomplete until and unless we hit the Jamarath with this intent. We are clearing our position, we are clearing ourselves off of the impurities and corruption, which is the first step in approaching the purity of Love.
The next step after expressing our abhorrence of evil is to express our true love for The Creator by sacrificing an animal which symbolizes our surrendering of all that is important to us and all that is imbedded in our instincts for self preservation. In other words we reverse the concept of life and demonstrate that Love for Allah (swt) can subdue every fundamental necessities of man. The last ritual on the first day at Mina is to cut our hair or nails, I found it as a very interesting concept of Hajj, why hair or nail? Hair and nails represents transgressions which we have committed in our lives and like hair and nails our transgressions keep on growing. Cutting hair or nail after reaching the stage of Love means that our repentance is accepted and our sins are wiped out and we are cleansed.  Hence cutting hair or nail is a demonstration of Shafa’ath after the stage of denouncing the evil and declaring our Love and commitment for truth.
The rituals in Mina were performed in the midst of millions of people so rapidly that I found it difficult to deliberate at the moment, but the message behind the obligatory act of spending three nights in Mina was so thought provoking that I am certain most of us must have contemplated and asked ourselves the question ‘What happened on this land that we must recall and enact?’
2/1/2006 –
Mina is a land where Prophet Ibrahim (as) stood in his final trial of Prophethood, each moment of that trial is a great lesson to humanity. This ritual is given so much significance because human nature was put to the ultimate test. But what is the ultimate sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (as)? He is old while his son is young and strong, his son is the light of his eyes, staff of his hand, a protector, s supporter, a sympathizer, a caretaker, his everything. The final trial begins and Prophet Ibrahim (as) starts dreaming that he is slaughtering his son in the path of Allah (swt). The order was to slaughter Ismail (as), his son! These are the stages that a Prophet ascends in order become a divine leader/Imam.  It must have been a heart rending stage for a father to tell his son the command of the Master.  But the enduring son was already prepared to be slaughtered. Quran has records this incident, when Prophet Ibrahim (as) shut his eyes and ran the knife across the neck of his son, every dream of this old man was shattered, his only precious possession he prayed and hoped nearly a century for was under the knife, he did not care for his own desires, he annihilated his self to seek the pleasure of His Master. He ascended to the level of Imamat, to him his son is struggling on the ground rubbing his heals breathing his last, but when he removed the blindfold to his surprise the Merciful Lord saved his son, when he saw, what he saw made him extremely pleased. He saw his son standing aside and a ram is slaughtered instead. Allah (swt) accepted the spirit of sacrifice of Ibrahim and Ismail (as) but Allah (swt) chose a different time, a different place and a different Prophet for this grand sacrifice by saying ‘Wafadaynahu bi thibhin AAatheem’ [37:107]. The time for grand sacrifice was distinct, the place for the grand sacrifice was inimitable and the individual was the most distinguishing, excellent and eminent of all the Prophets. The objectives of this grand sacrifice is beyond the capacity of anyone’s comprehension, but all I know is that the dagger swiped on the neck while this sublime servant of Allah (swt) was performing his last obeisance/Sajda. Every aspect of ‘unconditional submission’ was at its absoluteness, the servant was the embodiment of all the attributes of his Master representing all the pious servants among angels, mankind and Jinn. The Perfect lies in obeisance at the threshold of the Absolute saying ‘Rizan be qaza-e-tasleemun bey amre’, this was the grand sacrifice!
The event of grand sacrifices demonstrates the hidden purpose of creation; it seemed as if the whole universe came into existence to observe absolute submission symbolized by a perfect obeisance of the perfect being! Who is that perfect being? He is the one whose luminous noor was created in the primordial past/Azl, about whom Allah (swt) states ‘Laulak lama khalaktu aflaak’ but for thee I would not have created the universe [Hadees-e-Qudsi]. Yet another latent purpose of the grand sacrifice was to seek the abundance good/Qaiyr-e-kaseer as ordained in the chapter Kauser ‘Therefore worship your Lord and sacrifice’ 108:02, in return Allah (swt) has granted ‘We have bestowed Kausar to you’ At his point confessing my ignorance I like seek help from the exegesis of chapter Kausar by Allamah Rasheed Turabi. He expounds that the term kausar means ‘It had to be an Abundance/al-Kausar to proceed to the Day of Judgement and get stationed at the Celestial Pool/Hauz-e-Kausar to distribute the goblet of the heavenly drink’, in  other words kausar is the  authority of salvation/shafa’ath, the ‘abundance-good’ is the authority to bear witness over the nation/ummah and over other Prophets and their nations, the Quran says ‘We bring from every people a witness and bring you as a witness against these’ [04:41], this principle can be construed only through Qur’an, Allah (swt) says ‘And those whom they call upon besides Him have no authority for intercession, but he who bears witness of the truth and they know (him)’ [43:86], which means that those people from the nation who can apprehend those who will bear witness to the nation, their call of intersession will be answered by these individuals because they have the authority of intersession!
The chapter Kausar continues expounding the essence abundance-good, ‘Therefore pray to your Lord and sacrifice’ [108:2], the abundance good will be bestowed when you perform obeisance/Sajda at the pinnacle of worship and sacrifice your entirety of life at the doorstep of the Almighty Lord,  Surely your enemy is the one who shall be without progeny [108:3], again Allah (swt) is emphasizing the significance of denouncing the enemy of truth, chapter Kausar unveils the divine schema to fight the evil and leave the evil enemy without posterity or without future. I think the meaning of abtar is not just progeny but also future which encompasses the hereafter. Hence the divine scheme is to destroy the progeny/future of the enemies of truth in this world and hereafter and the weapons to destroy the enemy is obeisance/Sajda and sacrifice and in return the bestowal from the merciful Lord is the abundance good.
2/03/2006
Hence “Sacrifice is necessary for salvation”, Allah (swt) the All-knowing granted them the authority to intercede for salvation because He is pleased with these servants, ‘On that day shall no intercession avail except of him whom the Beneficent Allah allows and whose word He is pleased with’ [20:109], there is no doubt that Allah (swt) is pleased with them, how can he be not when He is seeking the pleasure of his servant ‘And soon will your Lord give you so that you shall be well pleased’ [95:05]. Prophet Mohammed (saw) is the purpose of creation, only his eminence being can bear witness over all other Prophets, messengers and saints, he is the torch of Islam and all the blessing and salutations are for him and his family, the act of sending salutations over our eminent Prophet (saw) is performed by all creation as well as the Creator himself, all respect, eminence and greatness is to his countenance. He is the reason of our creation and he will be reason for our salvation. The Eminent Prophet (saw) actualizes the ordinance of chapter kausar by assigning this task to his grandsons. There is no need for me to express the eminence of Imam Hasan (as) and Imam Husain (as), this statement will suffice all the praise, ‘they are the personification of Holy Prophet (saw), their speech, their action, their latent, their apparent, their Nafs, their soul, their blood, their bones and their flesh is of Holy Prophet (saw), they are the piece of the same luminous noor which was created first and foremost’. The sacrifice was divided by time and circumstance into latent and apparent sacrifice, and Holy Prophet (saw) chose Imam Hasan (as) for latent sacrifice and Imam Husain (as) for apparent sacrifice. The factor of time and circumstance was influenced by the enemies of truth whose demonic design was to roots out the plant of monotheism after it was sowed, watered and protected by Holy prophet (saw) for twenty three years. History is settled regarding their evident attempts to annihilate the truth were always futile due to which the enemies disguised themselves as Muslims and camouflaged their unbelief under cloak of apparent holiness.
The hypocrites became apparent to the world during battle of Uhad in the very early Hijri, hypocrites in Medina started damaging Islam from inside like termites during the battles followed by Uhad but time and circumstance to give sacrifice and save Islam till eternity was not right. The signs of rebellion towards Prophet (saw) was obvious when the hypocrite openly denied Prophet’s proposal in treaty of Hudaiybiah but time and circumstances were not right, the hypocrites denied Prophet’s choice in Ghadeer and refused to accept the divine leader but time and circumstances were not right, the hypocrites usurped the rights of the Holy daughter of the Prophet and Imam Ali (as) but time and circumstances were not right, the hypocrites murdered the daughter of the Prophet (saw) but time and circumstances were not right, hypocrites became engaged in changing principles of Islam to accommodate their regime but time and circumstances were not right, the hypocrites made the enemies of the Prophet (saw) a strong foothold but time and circumstances were not right, the hypocrites murdered the divine leader Ali (as) in the mosque but time and circumstances were not right, the hypocrites poisoned Prophet’s elder grandson Imam Hasan (as) but at the death bed He said to his brother that time and circumstances are not right. It seemed that the standard bearers of Islam starting from Adam (as) to Imam Hasan (as) waited for the final resistance against an enemy who was considered as righteous men in the eyes of the world. The divine scheme was to draw the enemy to a land where there will be a clear line of division between truth and falsehood, clear division between the armies of hypocrites and army of monotheism, the history cannot get confused as it did with the personalities of past. The time has come where if a Muslim did not support the party of Allah (swt) and chose to remain neutral he is considered as a supporter of the party of Shaitan.
2/18/2006
The time of seeking abundance-good/Kausar by defending the religion of Islam from corruption finally appeared. The victory over the enemy is not achieved by killing the enemy rather by burning the enemy in the flame of revolution ignited in the hearts of mankind shaken by their conscience! The Prophet of Allah (saw) in personification of Husain (as) (I emphasize the reverse statement here) became prepared for one final battle against falsehood, the commander of Allah’s army on earth became ready to use every weapon he has to win this battle without any divine help, although the Absolute Creator can send divine help and destroy the enemy like the armies of Pharaoh, but Chief of Prophet (saw) is at the stage of final trial, the question is what can he sacrifice for the sake of Allah (swt) and for the sake of Islam on behalf of all the Prophets? The Imam of mankind and Jinn laden his weapons and prepared his caravan and set for his last journey, the sacrifice of Imam Husain (as) began when he embarked on this journey and forsaken his home, his city where his grandfather, mother and brother were buried, where all the memories of his life were embedded. This was the second phenomenal journey from Prophet’s house, the first one was when prophet (saw) forsaken Mecca leaving all his memories behind, and now the Prophet of Allah (saw) in personification of Husain (as) is leaving Medina. The son of safa and marwa, the son of Kaaba and Mina arrived in the holy city of Mecca to perform Hajj but sacrificed his Hajj to maintain its sanctity and remind the believers of the sanctify of Prophet (saw) and His Ahlul Bayt (as)! After that day whoever goes to Hajj without knowing the sanctity of Imam Husain (as) is equal to those who decided to continue perform Hajj and ignored Imam’s call. The dreadful plains of Karbala was the chosen place for this grand sacrifice and the source of sustenance to Islam, Imam Husain (as) with divine knowledge of forthcoming events disembarks on this land, he is not worried and trembling with fear like the prophets of the past , he is calm and resolute in his decision. Days passed and moments of sacrifice drew near and Imam is seen walking at night towards a nether and sitting at a place and saying ‘O grandfather I am here to fulfill my promise…’, the promise is to execute the order of Allah (swt) to seek Kausar through performing obeisance. It is the greatness of Ahlul Bayt (as) that they fearlessly, patiently and steadfastly became a part of the grand sacrifice of Holy Prophet (saw). The members of the Prophet’s house (as) eagerly made plans to be a part of this sacrifice. The Imam of the Pious never desired anything for himself is found praying for a son, Imam Ali (as) wanted representation on the day of sacrifice, his representative has to be his personification in every dimension especially in the matter of resolute support to Imam Husain (as), and Allah (swt) granted Abul Fazl Abbas (as). The daughter of Prophet (sa) wanted her representative in the grand sacrifice so she prepared her daughter Zaiynab (sa) to uphold the most significant responsibility of propagating the grand sacrifice. Imam Hasan (as) wanted his representation in Karbala so he wrote in his bequest that Qasim ibn Hasan (as) should be given the permission to participate. Those who were not in Karbala arranged their offerings as weapons for the army of Prophet (saw) to fight against the evil. Imam Husain (as) also made his arrangements, since he is fighting this battle and offering the sacrifice as personification the Prophet (saw), so he brought his favorite son, his handsome son, he who looked and sounded like Prophet (saw), He brought Ali Akbar (as).  The army of Allah (swt) on one side made up of seventy two member representing the message of truth brought by Adam, Noah, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Mohammed (saw) is ready and so is the army of Yazid (la) consisting of the majority (thirty thousand or more) representing the falsehood, the dogma of Nimrod, Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, the unbelievers of Mecca and hypocrites of Medina. They represent the materialistic armies of oppression that ignored their Creator and held to the path of Shaitan. The grand sacrifice will teach the humanity to take a stand and protest against the tyrant regimes and rebellious minds, it will teach a lesson to those who pay heed that not to tolerate oppression and always refrain from the diplomacies of the world, the sacrifice in Mina and Karbala will tremble the soul of man and when the conscience of a man tremble it becomes more powerful then the power of any repressing regime.
2/22/2006
But how patient Imam Husain (as) must be to execute such momentous ordinance? No one in the eternal past or in the infinite future can withstand such sacrifice. From a perspective of a human being, what is most beloved to man, is it his family, his own Self, his relatives, his sisters and brothers, his sense of belonging, his family pride? The abundance-good demands a grand sacrifice and Imam Husain (as) is set to ascend to seek Qaiyr-eKaseer/kausar. The actualization of the promise made in Mina took place in Karbala, The Ibrahim of Karbala said to the Ismail of Karbala ‘taqqadum waladi…’, move forward son (and sacrifice on behalf of me).Neither Imam Husain (as) is shaking or trembling nor Ali Akbar (as) is, the son is calmly and patiently addressing his father ‘father it doesn’t matter if I fall on death or death falls on me as long as I am on truth’. Prophet Yaqub (as) lost his eye sight crying for his son yet his son was returned to him, but Imam Husain (as) is offering his sacrifice to his grandfather in the path of Allah (swt) by pulling the spear out from the chest of his son, yet he is patient and resolute. Imam Husain (as) allowed the representative of his elder brother Imam Hasan (as) to proceed and offer his sacrifice although Imam Husain (as) was saddened by his departure, Qasim ibn Hasan (as) was like his son and also an image of his elder brother. The sacrifice of Imam Hasan (as) was offered to the Chief of the army of Allah. Imam (as) gathered the body of Qasim ibn Hasan (as) which was disintegrated by the hooves of the enemy horses. The sacrifice of Imam Ali (as) was offered by his representative who had the attributes and strength of a strong warrior, whose last desire before the sacrifice was to let his wrath loose against the evil and demonstrate his will but Imam Husain (as) was aware of the horizon of his strength which can change the result of this much awaited event, hence he ordered Al-Abbas (as) to rest his sword and anger. The sacrifice of this precious and dependable member of the family was offered without any resistance and Imam Ali (as) presented this gift at the threshold of the throne of Allah (swt). The representative of the daughter of Prophet (sa) Lady Zaiynab (sa) whose title is Umm al-masa’ib – the mother of adversities prepared her sons and warned them to stand firm at the moment of sacrifice, Aun and Mohammed (as) sacrificed their lives in the path of Allah (saw) as an offering on behalf of Lady Zaiynab (sa). From the dawn until afternoon Imam Husain (as) offered sacrifices of his companions, his relatives, his sons, nephews and brothers, he was occupied carrying the bodies to the tent.
2/18/2006
Now the Chief of Prophet (saw) in the embodiment of Imam Husain (as) stands alone on the land of Karbala ready to offer the ultimate sacrifice. From the time the universe came into existence it was waiting for this moment, the angels, Jinns and all the other creations were waiting, the bygone Prophets, messengers, Imams are waiting. The signs of Day of Judgment may have appeared. The time of the ultimate obeisance has come where there is nothing between a servant and his Master, there is no children, no nephews, no brothers, no desire of Self preservation, no fear of life, hunger, thirst, there is no pain, no worldly gain. There is nothing a man could own, not even his own Nafs, what is left is only the physical existence to be annihilate. Imam Husain (as) gave his last speech and reminded them of their evil stance as oppose to his position, reminded them of whom they support and protect and whom He support and protect, so that there shouldn’t remain any argument of the Day of Judgment.
Imam Husain (as) bid farewell to his family and handed the standard of Islam to His sister and walked out of the tent and left their fate on Allah (swt), this is the stage of absolute reliance on Allah (swt) transcending from the stage of reliance of Hajirah (as) in the valley of Mecca to the plains of Kerbala. The Imam (as) also wanted to demonstrate his physical strength at a moment his spiritual strength was at its excellence so that no one must assume that he was weak, Imam (as) was extremely injured but the sword was raised with anger and wrath of Allah (swt) was discharged on the enemies to the degree that the enemies started fleeing. Imam (as) was conscious of his promise, and a voice was heard in battlefield of Kerbala, ‘Ya ayyatuha annafsu almutma-inna, IrjiAAee ila rabbiki radiyatan mardiyya’[89:27],  O soul that art at rest! Return to your Lord, well-pleased (with him), well-pleasing (Him). Allah (swt) is well pleased by the representative of Prophet (saw), the Self/Nafs was tested and proven as Calm Self because it did not alter or trembled or doubted the will of Allah (swt), Imam (as) was so resolute and patient on that day that narrators of the event admitted that as the moment of Imam’s martyrdom drew near his face was glowing with luminous noor and he was extremely patient. Imam sheaths his sword and the enemy cowardly began attacking the representative of their Prophet (saw), the grandson of their Prophet (saw) from every side. The Imam of Universe, the best of the best creation came in this world as a mercy to the world, whose flesh and blood was the flesh and blood of Prophet(saw), but embodiment of mercy was made to journey from Medina for six months that ended in the land with extreme conditions, he was refrained from water and food for three days and was made to see his friends, brothers, sons brutally murdered, who had to carry bodies of his dear and loved ones for whole day under the beaming son, now the most beloved of Allah (swt) is departing from this world for good but with a sacrifice which marks the rebirth of true Islam. Imam goes in obeisance/Sajda. There was one Sajda of the eternal past when the first intellect /Aql-e-awwal performed which sought the good pleasure of the Master who then created this universe for his sake, now his representative bows in Sajda and submits to his Master saying ‘rizan be qazaehee wa tasleeman le amreh!’ ‘I have no friends, I have no supporters, I have no brothers, I have no sons, I have no nephews and now I am annihilated as well’, the time must have frozen, all the creation which praise Allah (swt) constantly must have stopped and watched, the Angels must have stopped their worship and the Prophets and Messengers gathered to see their representative at the peak of submission, the father, the mother, the brother must have come to gathered to see their family member of the Kisa fulfilling his promise. The companions, the brothers, the sons and nephews who gave their lives earlier during day were watching their Leader, their Master in Sajda the stage of seeking abundance-good/Qair-e-kasiir. The last words of Imam (as) was ‘O Lord I have fulfilled my promise now you fulfill your promise’. The sacrifice of the son of Ibrahim (as) in Mina was replaced by a grand-sacrifice which eventually took place in Kerbala and the son of Mohammed (saw) was struggling in his pool of blood and the enemy was beheading him! The grand sacrifice/thibhin AAatheem was offered to Allah (swt) by Prophet Mohammed (saw).
2/23/2006 The journey to Mecca for Hajj has taken me to an everlasting journey of realization to Kerbala, the stay of three nights in Mina is ordained so that our thoughts must ascend from Prophet Ibrahim (as) in Mina to Prophet Mohammed (saw) in Kerbala, we must identify and strive to attain the essence of our religion which is nothing but Love and obedience of the Chosen servants. If these two essential pillars of religion are not established as means to approach Allah (swt) then our tawheed, our prayers, our fasts, our Hajj and our Zakat are nothing.
                 
The provisions to approach Allah (swt) is now attained, we must move ahead to the last stage of Hajj, we must go back to the house of Allah (swt) where we initially started our journey (of Life). The beginning/a’aod was from Allah and the end./ma’ad is to Allah ‘Inna allathee farada AAalayka alqur-ana laradduka ila maAAad’ [28:85], Most surely He Who has made the Quran binding on you will bring you back to Ma’ad. We have to enact the ‘Return’ by turning back to the house of Allah (swt). Now we circumambulate around the house seven time and perform the sa’e again as we did in the beginning but the difference is we are at the stage of reckoning, we have to show our Master what we got from our journey, how we used our freedom, how we made our choices and how we have submitted to the will of Allah (swt). This is an enactment of the Day of Judgment where we will cry out in regret due to our transgression and our shortcomings, in our prayers, in our fasts, in our charity, in our Hajj, in our resoluteness, in our morals, in our sacrifices and the list goes on and on, no person in the universe will be able to claim that I lived a life of a pious and died as a pious and my deeds will suffice the pleasure of Allah (swt).
There were millions of Muslims in Hajj at the stage of Ma’ad crying and pleading directly to Allah (swt) because they don’t believe in intersession or they misunderstood the verse 02:255, but there are those who took guidance and assistance from the possessors of divine wisdom/hikmah, there were few worshippers who realized their shortcomings and brought forward certain names as means to approach, these were the same names with which Adam (as) gained pre-eminence over worshipping angels. Our imperfect worship, our hopes of forgiveness and salvation is presented along with these beautiful names as the intersession, these names belongs to those who were promised abundance-good/Qaiyr-e-kaseer (The Kausar) the authority to intercede for those who struggled for their discernment/Maarifath, who struggled to seek their Love and closeness and those who displayed obedience to them and those who support them. The course of mercifulness/raheemiyat allows those who struggled in path of truth to seek such beautiful and useful intersession.  
                I recall those last moments in front of Kaaba my friends were seeking the mercy of Allah (swt) through the intersession of Sahib-e-Kausar, I believe that was the best moment of my life just staring at Kaaba and ‘contemplating’ (as planned by Br. Musa), we decided to read Hadith-e-Kisa, to me that was the culmination point of our life long struggle, does it not boils down to whether Allah (swt) is pleased with us or not? This is the final stage of our journey whether we have returned with the best provisions or not, the love and obedience to the Ahlul Kisa. The recitation of Kisa has blessed us with infinite mercy of Allah (swt), the Prophet (saw) and his Ahlul Bayt (as), the end (of the event of Kisa) testifies ‘All happily said: Verily, by the Lord of Kaba! we and our followers are the winners and the blessed, in this world and the next’. I hope our love and commitment to the chosen servants of Allah (swt) is unshakeable and I hope that Prophet (saw) and his Ahlul Bayt (as) accept us as their loyal servants.
I am very thankful to Allah (swt) who turned towards me with mercy and granted the gift of Love of Mohammed (saw) and his Ahlul Bayt (as) in my heart. Salaams and Salutation be upon Prophet (saw) and his progeny (as), I bear witness to Allah (swt) that I would have helped my Imam (as) in Kerbala. I pray to Allah (swt) to help me fulfill my promise if appearance of the Imam of the time is destined in my life. All Praise and thanks to Allah (swt) for giving me an opportunity to perform Hajj not just for the sake of cleansing my sins but for the profound lessons I have learned. My comrades who accompanied me from here and those who I met during this journey includes Br. Musa, Br. Mehdi, Br. Loey Al-Abaas, Br. Peyman, Br. Ali Al-Naseer, Br. Hasan Al-Qafaji and others. I appreciate their accommodative nature and tolerant behavior. I pray to Allah (swt) to raise us to lofty stages in this world and in the hereafter and fulfill all of our supplications and accept our Hajj.