English PDF - Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada

Everyone is on the same level.
During the pilgrimage, brotherhood
and equality of Muslims become
particularly evident. There is no
privilege. All have to go through
the same rituals. Clad in Ihrām,
all pilgrims offer two Rak‘at of
voluntary Prayer and constantly
occupy themselves with the
remembrance of Allāh. The simple
garb signifies that the pilgrim has
responded to the call of Allāh, as
he will answer the last call when
his time to depart this life arrives.
All vanity is purged, and king
and subject, master and servant,
white and black, yellow and
brown, hasten from all directions
to the sacred house repeating the
Talbiyyah:
Here I am O Allāh; here I am.
Here I am, there is no associate
with Thee, here I am. Indeed,
all Praise and Bounty are Yours,
and Thine is the Kingdom.
There is no associate with Thee.
(Sahīh Bukhārī, Kitābul Libās,
Babut Talyidi)
After putting on Ihrām one
should frequently repeat the
Talbiyyah along with other
prayers and also should invoke
sa
blessings on the Holy Prophet .
When one reaches near Mecca
and Baitullāh becomes visible,
at that time, while reciting
the Talbīyyah and Takbīr one
should pray fervently and
with humility for his pious
objectives, as this is a special
time for acceptance of prayers
by God Almighty. (Nīlulautār,
Bab Raf’a Yadain, pg.36-37)
When one arrives at the Ka`aba, he/
she should perform seven circuits
(Tawaf) walking briskly around the
Ka`aba anti-clockwise, starting from
the Black Stone (Hajr-e-Aswad), a
stone embedded in one corner of
the building. After the circuits, two
Rak‘at of voluntary Prayer should
be offered as close as possible to
as
the place of Abraham (Muqāme-Ibrahīm).
Then there is the swift
walk seven times between the
heights called Safā and Marwah.
God Almighty says in the Holy
Qur’ān:
And take ye the station of
Abraham as a place of Prayer.
(2:126)
On the eighth of the month of Hajj
(Dhul Hijjah), the pilgrims leave
Mecca for Mina, a small town
nearby, and spend one day and
night there, offering all five daily
Prayers. Next day after Fajr Prayer
they proceed to the plain of ‘Arafāt
where they encamp. They arrive
there after mid-day, offer Zuhr and
‘Asr Prayers together and occupy
themselves with the remembrance
of Allāh till sunset.
From ‘Arafāt they proceed to
Muzdalifah where the Maghrib and
‘Isha’ Prayers are combined and
the night is spent in praising God
Almighty and in meditation.
The next morning, after Fajr Prayer
and praying at Mash‘ar al-Harām,
they travel back to Mina. At Mina,
Jamratul ‘Aqba, one of the pillars
representing Satan, is pelted seven
times, each time with Allāhu akbar
said aloud. These pillars are erected
on the site where Abraham as was
tempted by Satan against offering
Ishmael as a Sacrifice in fulfilment
of his dream. Thereafter an animal
is sacrificed. It is desirable to have
a haircut or shaving of the head
after the sacrifice, and to proceed
to Mecca to perform the circuits of
the Ka`aba again, and then return
to Mina , where seven pebbles are
thrown at each of the three pillars
(Jamratul ‘u la, Jamratul Wasta, and
Jamratul ‘Aqba), one by one, starting
with Jamratul ‘Aqba. The same may
be repeated on the 11th, 12th and
13th Dhul Hijjah. After throwing
the pebbles, if one intends to offer
sacrifice of an animal, he should go
to the slaughter house and slaughter
the animal (sheep, goat, cow or
camel). If one does not intend to
sacrifice an animal, he can take off
14 Hajj (Pilgrimage) and ‘Īdul Adhiyya