Hajj is not just a physical journey; rather it is a journey of the inner soul in search of purification and God’s nearness. This is a five-day spiritual journey, an obligation for all Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking it. Hajj is a time for reflection and repentance and offers a unique opportunity for communal worship and personal introspection.  The rituals of hajj take place at the city of Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, and bring believers closer to God and to their heritage.
When you enter Masjid-al-Haraam, your first glimpse of the Ka’bah will make you overwhelmed with emotions. It is simply an indescribable feeling. Your heart feels like opening for the first time. If you can touch the Ka’bah with your own hands, you will get a shock throughout your body and feel a divine sacredness, almost as if a spiritual connection has been established between you and your Lord, calming your heart and mind. This spiritual contentment is a blessing that attracts so many pilgrims every year. The deeper spiritual experience encompasses the ethos of Hajj itself.
Like death, the act of performing Hajj is a soul-defining moment in a person’s life. It establishes a spiritual connection between man and his Creator. Once it happens, there remains no limit as to how high the soul can rise. When one enters the divine sanctuary of the Ka’bah, he experiences a sense of security; after all, this is the House of God, as the Qur’an says, “In it there are clear signs and whoever enters therein is safe.” (3:97) This feeling of safety and security extend to the soul as we pray to God and seek refuge in Him in order to maintain piety. This can be seen in the supplication that is recommended to be recited during Hajj. The atmosphere is phenomenal; there is a real desire for worship, and you feel a spiritual buzz in the air. You lose track of time and forget the day and the month, as if these were not relevant there. Instead, you remain engrossed in worship and prayer. You will completely forget about your family life, worries, and responsibilities. This is why it has been said in the Qur’an that “The Holy House is blessed and a guide to the nations." (3:96)
The attraction of this shrine is so great that you would like to spend as much time as possible looking at the Ka'bah, for this act itself is a form of worship.  This is precisely the reason why the pilgrims perform tawwaf around the Ka’bah; it is a personal act of worship between you and your Creator. This is truly one of God’s greatest miracles. As you pass the golden door of the Ka'bah, tears flow from your eyes. As you raise your hands, remember how fortunate and blessed you are to stand on this sacred ground. It dawned on you the magnitude of God’s infinite mercy and glory. If a beggar knocks at the door of a rich man, it is not a big task for him to open the door and give the beggar something like food or money. But, the greatness of God is that He has invited you; He has caused you to come to His door, and furthermore, He has showered you with divine blessings for your efforts.
The rituals of the hajj are very beautifully designed. Each part plays a specific role towards attaining the ultimate goal of spiritual enlightenment.
In Mecca, you are commanded by God to leave His pure and holy house, go on a journey to purify yourself, and only return when you have been purified. So, you have to travel to Arafat, a blessed desert land. It is here that we are showered with forgiveness by our Creator after we have sought it. And then we head towards a place called Muzdalifa. Here, under the open sky, we reflect on the vices and impurities in our souls and pick up stones that symbolise our acts of disobedience. As we follow the sequence, we declare that we have rejected our inner demons. We travel to Mina and free our souls from the burden of our sins by throwing stones at the Jamarats (the place of stoning the devil).
Then, for consolidation, we affirm our submission to God by performing Qurbani (sacrificing a livestock animal) and Halaq (shaving the entire head). Only then are we invited to return to the House of God to perform the remaining rituals of tawaf, sa’ee, and salat. When you complete your last obligatory act, you will realise that I have just completed my very first Hajj. I was overwhelmed by a sense of contentment that I cannot adequately put into words—a feeling of gratitude towards God and excitement that could not be controlled. “So when you have made your devotion, remember Allah as you remembered your fathers, rather with a more vivid memory.” (2:200)
The Hajj can be a life-changing experience and a spiritual awakening, but we should maintain our covenant with God when we have returned to our normal lives and societies. Of course, you cannot keep the same momentum. Inevitably, life can slowly erode our connection and perspective with God; this is probably the most difficult challenge a Hajji (pilgrim) faces—not during the Hajj itself, but upon returning home. Although all the rituals have been performed, their inner meaning is still relevant.
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The writer is a Senior Sub-Editor at the Daily Sun