Hajj & the Forgotten Lessons on Tawheed and Millat Ibrahim

Abu Talhah

"...And when they had both submitted..."

Another 'Eid has passed us by and the Muslim nation remains in an abhorrent state: celebrating 'Eid whilst our sister 'Aafia Siddiqui begins her 86 year sentence, adorned in new clothing as bombs shake Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Palestine, Chechnya, and throughout what was once understood as Dar us-Salam – the Abode of Peace. Surely, an awakened nation would not turn a blind eye or deaf ear to these circumstances but our nation is in a state of slumber. 'Eid itself has become commercialized and the ummah desensitized, an occasion to over consume and slumber in apathy as Christmas in the morally degraded West props up the very corporatist institutions that keep Westerners enslaved to corporate logos as contemporary idols, those who, beguiled by the life of this world, have made play and passing delights their religion! (Quran 7:51)

Indeed, the lessons and essence of 'Eid have been forgotten and the story behind it parroted on minbars without the slightest attention towards the true meaning of the amazing incident we seek to commemorate on the day. Had these acts of worship been mere empty rituals, would Islam have reached the doors of Europe? By Allah, it would have remained in Dar al Arqaam. Had the sacrifice of Ibrahim been a simple fairly tale, that man, that millat, that ummah would not be blessed and commemorated by each and every Muslim, each and every time he prays still today. Had Ibrahim not passed the tests given to him by Allah surely humiliation would have been his way. Today we fail in the basic of tests and wonder why we remain humiliated, running away from the rituals of the religion of dignity, sophistication and compatibility with the rational mind, we choose rather to imitate our oppressors, believing barbarism and hedonistic self pursuit will lead us to success, chasing after this life without realizing that if you focus on the world you lose it and the Hereafter.

The lessons from Hajj are also indeed grand. They are lessons of Tawheed, properly understood, as a matter of fact Hajj itself is an expression of Tawheed at its finest. It is a lesson on the reality and meaning of submission (al-istislaam) and the Millaah of Ibrahim. Amongst them; 

• directing of ones sincere intention solely for God at the beginning of this ritual.

• the centrality and tawaf (circumambulating) around the Ka'aba symbolizing the oneness of God.
• The unity and harmony between the body, heart, and mind which all become one and united in prayer and worship.

• Equality of all men regardless of their class, status, or race in Hajj as they are all dressed in the same simple sheets. For they all have one origin, and one end.

• Liberating oneself from all the psychological idols, from the self.

• remembering the story of Ibrahim and 'Ismael whom are a fine example of submission to Allaah

• And of course, connecting their struggles, to the ultimate struggle of our Beloved Muhammad who returned Tawheed to its proper place at the forefront of the world by emulating his predecessors and submitting to the dictates of his Lord

Allah did not send this deen and its Prophets to crush the stone idols that subjugated man. Nor was it sent to conquer only mans intellectual plane and remain a philosophical dictum. Its very nature entailed action, sent to crush the idols which exist internally, within the self. Hajj in all its facets does just that by reminding man that they are essentially from the same origin, all of whom have made a covenant (mithaq) with the One God. Making tawaf with your brethen and brother in humanity destroys any grain of pride, arrogance, or racism as you are all clothed in simple white sheets. Has any religion, ideology, or philosophy united mankind so profoundly? Islam does not attempt to make equal and unite man through rhetoric or lofty speech but through practical acts - amongst them - the Hajj. The ruler, the servant, the strong and the weak all exclaiming their subservience Labbayk Allaahuma Labbayk to the one true King of Kings! An exclamation which shakes the thrones of the false-gods from east to west.

This is true liberation, the freedom that western idealists only dream of. Brotherhood and unity of the Muslims was countered with nationalism through the division of the Muslim world under the Sykes-Picot agreement into nation-states and the embedding of national sentiment through the long ideological onslaught against the Muslim nation. The primordial, absolute, and divine bond cast into the hearts of the Muslims by Allah was an example of unity which the so called universal values of Western Democracy and the French revolutionary slogan "brotherhood" could not match or even fathom. Delegitimizing these artificial and destructive borders is an essential step towards ending this long nightmare. And the only way to end that is to embody the principles and absorb their meaning manifesting as action and work in that way.

The meaning and essence of submission to Allaah is beautifully expressed in the story of Ibrahim and the young 'Ismael may Allaah be pleased with them. Allah says, So We gave him good tidings of a forbearing boy…

And after the trial came,

And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him, he said: "O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you (offer you in sacrifice to Allah), so look what you think!" He said: "O my father! Do that which you are commanded, Insha' Allah (if Allah will), you shall find me of As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.)." And when they had both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead,

Reflect upon this story my brothers and sisters and contemplate on its many meanings. These few lines will not do justice to any of them. Allaah ta'laa describes their response as "And when they had both submitted". This is the reality of submission to Allaah, in all dimensions and aspects of life, submission in ease and in times of hardship. "And who turns away from the path of Ibrahim except he who has fooled himself?!" The callers to secularism amongst the "Muslims" have fooled themselves and their followers. Our Islam is not one that we leave at the doors of the Masajid but rather it is one which dominates even if the disbelievers were to hate and despise it. The story is a decisive refutation of those foolish "Modernist" who wish to remove from Islam all that which entails hardship, and is disliked by the plotting enemies of Islam.

'Eid reminds the wise that Ibrahim and his Millah are a pristine externalization of Tawheed as action. This is inculcated in the Furqaan as Allaah says Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim (Abraham) and those with him, when they said to their people: "Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever, until you believe in Allah Alone," except the saying of Ibrahim (Abraham) to his father: "Verily, I will ask for forgiveness (from Allah) for you, but I have no power to do anything for you before Allah." Our Lord! In You (Alone) we put our trust, and to You (Alone) we turn in repentance, and to You (Alone) is (our) final Return.

It entails that we stand in the face of injustice and tyranny while openly declaring our disavowal from it. To speak the truth despite the trials that will follow. How is it, that in a world dominated by false-gods, we remain silent? Mobilizing and criticizing the state of affairs today amongst the Muslims is obligatory upon the youth, eloquent speeches wont do. Islam is a religion of liberation, not a religion of stagnation and where is this better expressed then in the words of Ibrahim?

'Eid when truly understood is a day of glory and 'izzah for the Muslims. For the false-gods, secularist, modernist, defeatist and the rest of Allah’s wretched creations it is a day to mourn and surely not a day to celebrate. And when we all submit to these very simple understandings we will have our share of this world and the next. As the month of Hajj is set to pass us by, let us remember the struggle of Ibrahim and ‘Ismael and Muhammad throughout the year and embody their message in our daily affairs.