Alluding to the status of Hajj in Islam and some rituals of it in his sermon of Aug. 18, 2017, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid termed ‘Hajj’ a summary and symbol of all aspects of Islam.
Khateeb and Friday Imam of Sunnis in Zahedan, Iran began his speech by the recitation of the Noble verse of the Qur’an: «إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِلْعَالَمِينَ» and said: “The divine precept of Islam is one of the important pillars of Islam. These blest days are the days of Hajj and Muslims from different corners of the world travel to Haramain Sharifain for Hajj.”
“Hajj has been being performed by people since the era of the prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, as a great worship. It was performed by the prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, too and he expressed the rites of Hajj in Hajjat-ul-Wida’,” he added more.
The rector of Darululoom Zahedan said: “Hajj is a worship that should be performed by money and body. It has some particular features which cannot be found in other worships. The devout servants of the Almighty show their love to Allah during Hajj.”
Pointing out to some corners of the Hajj rites, he called it an example of the “judgment day gathering” and said: “The Ihram cloth is an example of winding sheet. Saying ‘Labbayk’ is like saying ‘Shahadah’ before death. The pilgrim dresses in like a dead person who goes to meet his Lord.”
“Hajj is not tourism; rather it is a great worship. The pilgrims should confide on the Almighty about his job, life and family and focus only on worshipping Allah. They should avoid from useless talks aiming to get self-purification. The two holy sites are the places of reformation, purification and repentance,” Shaikh Abdol-Hamid underlined.
He added more: “When pilgrims see Ka’bah, they should imagine how the Almighty is great with a great status. They should be thankful to the Almighty as He bestowed them the blessing of visiting that holy site.”
Explaining the rites of Hajj, Mawlana Abdol-Hamid alluded to the importance of staying at Arafat and said: “Presence of people in Arafat ground is an amazing scene; pilgrims from different languages, colors, ethnics and nationalities gather in one place and pray to Allah.”
“Arafat desert is a place where all prophets and close slaves of the Almighty gathered and worshipped Him wholeheartedly. In that place all are the guests of Allah and He is the host,” he further said.
The eminent Islamic scholar pointed: “When we stand before the holy grave of the prophet PBUH as pilgrims, we feel shy that the prophet and his companions did everything for Islam and we have not done anything.”
He alluded to different rites of Hajj and said: “Hajj is a summary of Islam. Apart from making Du’a and praying, harwala (jogging), sa’y (walking) and ramy (stoning Satan) tell us that we should be ready to confront our enemies and show them power. As well as, we should obey Allah and reject those who call us towards sins.”
Concluding his points, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid advises pilgrims to take advantage of Hajj to pray to Allah for the problems of Muslims and avoid from wasting time in markets and shopping.
In the last part of his sermon, Khateeb of Sunnis urged on necessary medical tests before marriage to control diseases such as thalassemia and other genetic disorders of children.