TeachingRE Issue 4.pdf - the Second Level Support Service

Adam, to the earth. Adam and Evewere told to leave paradise anddescend to the earth, whereuponthey were commanded to establisha shrine similar to the one in heaven.The Shrine in heaven is known asAl-Bait-ul-Ma’mour, around which theangels circumambulate and worshipAllah.The site of the first holy shrineon earth was chosen to be inMecca, and Adam in cooperationwith the angel Gabriel erected it: theKa’ba. Upon the culmination of theprocess of building, the angel Gabrieltaught Adam the ceremonies of hajj.Adam and Eve were separated inthe beginning, but Allah’s mercy wasinvoked by Adam’s entreaties, soAdam and Eve were reunited at atop of a hill in the valley of ‘Arafatmeaning ‘recognition’ or ‘knowledge’.This valley, since then, has beenknown as Jabal-ur-Rahmah,themount of mercy.’Today in followingthe example of Adam, Muslimpilgrims stop in the same valley andinvoke Allah’s mercy. Adam and Evespent the whole day stopping in‘Arafat in a state of ultimate humility,devotion and gratitude and didnothing but worship their Creator.This is exactly what the Muslimpilgrims do when they stop in‘Arafat.Then Adam and Eve movedto Muzdalifah where they spent thenight in remembrance of Allah.Thenthey went to Mena and then toMecca where they performedcircumambulation. Later on theK’bah was destroyed by a storm andonly a heap remained.Prophet AbrahamThe Prophet Abraham was broughtup in an environment dominated byidolatry. Nonetheless, he firmlybelieved in the oneness and theunity of the Creator. Abraham wasmarried to Sara for many years andthey had no children. He marriedHagar who, at Abraham’s sincererequest, gave birth to a son namedIshmael. Much later Sara gave birthto a son named Isaac. By thecommand of Allah, the prophetImam lecturing a group of Muslim men during hajj’Abraham in the company of his sonIshmael and his wife Hagar set outto Mecca where he left them in suchan arid land offering the followingappeal:“O our Lord! I have made some of myoffspring to dwell in a valley withoutcultivation by Your Sacred House; inorder, o our Lord! That they mayestablish regular prayer. So fill thehearts of some among men with lovetowards them, and feed them withfruits so that they may give thanks.”(Trans. 14:37)This was an act of great faith andtrust in this Creator. This wasexpressed in parallel with Hagar’sfaith and trust in her Creator. Hagarwas left with her son in such an aridland without any provisions.Safaa and MarwaUpon the departure of the father,leaving her infant close to theheaped sign of the Holy House, thefaithful mother Hagar commencedher journey of search for water forher baby. She ran to the top of thehill known as Safaa entreating Allah’smercy on them. From the top of thehill she thought she saw a lake in thevalley. She ran there with restlesssteps and when she reached thereshe found it was only a mirage.Thenin her search for water Hagarclimbed the top of the neighbouringhill known as Marwa but she did notfind any water. Anxiety for her childdrove her back to the valley. Hagar’ssearch for water was made of sevenjourneys between Safaa and Marwa.Millions of Muslim pilgrims on anannual basis recall and revive thestory of Hagar when they performSa’I (Sa’i is one of the Hajj rituals andit consists of walking between asmall hill called Al-Safa and anothersmall hill called Al-Marwa, seventimes). What a recall and what arevival!The Well of ZamzamWhile she was consumed withworry about her infant, Hagar sawwater oozing out of a hole near herchild. Seeing the precious waterescaping into the surrounding sand,she cried “Zumi,Ya Mubaraka!”“Stopthere, O blessed water!”That becamethe well of Zamzam that turned thearid land into the inhabited land. Inthis area tribes settled and thrivedand drank from Zamzam. Muslimpilgrims also drink from this everflowing well that will never cease.Rebuilding the Ka’baWhen the prophet Ishmael grew upinto manhood, his father, prophetAbraham, returned and found thathis prayers had been answered. Buthe returned to fulfil the divinecommand of rebuilding the Houseof Allah. “Behold! When We give thesite to Abraham of the Sacred House.Associate none with Me in worshipand sanctify My House to performcircumambulation in it or stand up orbow or prostrate themselves therein inprayer.”(Tran. 22:26)Lessons drawn from HajjFirst: Legally earned provision: Islamlays great stress on the paramountimportance of the legally earnedprovision and strictly prohibits alltypes of illegal earnings. Allah said:“And eat not up your property amongyourselves for vanity.” (Tran.) Thismeaning has been reiterated by ahadith in which the prophet –P.U.H.- mentioned the case of a manwho, having journeyed far, isdishevelled and dusty and who18 TEACHING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ISSUE FOUR SEPTEMBER 2009