By Ibrahim Abdulmalik
Not everyone who travels to Makkah arrives; some complete the rites, but never reach the meaning.
Imam Fu’ad Adeyemi,
National Chief Imam,
Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Abuja declared this today in his Juma’ah sermon saying that
Allah has made it clear the Qur’an (Qur’an 22:37) that their meat would neither reach Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is your piety.
Imam Fu’ad noted that “Hajj is not what your body does. It is what your heart becomes.”
According to him, a man might stand in Arafah, yet his heart remain flushed with pride; while another may not go on Hajj and yet, his heart trembles with sincerity. Allah, he emphasized, looks at what is inside the man.
“Look at Mansa Musa. His Hajj was not silent. It carried impact, generosity, and dignity. It became a witness to the world.
“And from Maiduguri, hands wrote the Qur’an with devotion, preserving the words of Allah across generations. Hajj gathers such people. Different lands, different colors, one Lord.
“Then you enter Ihram. Two simple cloths. No title, no status, no difference. You begin to understand. You came into this world empty and you will return the same way,” he said.
Imam Fu’ad explained that Allah says (Qur’an 49:13):
“The most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous.”
Imam added: “Not the richest. Not the loudest. Not the most followed. The most conscious of Him.
“When you make Tawaf, you are not just walking. You are declaring that your life has one center. Not your ego. Not your tribe. Not your wealth. Only Allah.
“And as you call upon Him, you realize something quiet but powerful. He hears every voice. He sees every action. Nothing is lost with Him,” he noted.
Admonishing the congregation on the Arafah, he stated that Arafah was not a place; but a moment of truth.
“You stand and you remember your sins. The ones people know and the ones only Allah knows. You raise your hands not because you are worthy, but because you are desperate.
“That is why the best du‘a is the du‘a of Arafah. It comes from a broken heart.
“The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and reminded humanity. No race above another. No tribe above another. No color above another. Only taqwa.”
Imam lamented that after Hajj, people would return and still look down on others.
“During Hajj, you cannot harm even a small creature. You control your tongue, your anger, your desires.
“So what changes when you return?
“If your hands still oppress, if your tongue still wounds, if your heart still carries arrogance, then you visited Makkah but you did not perform Hajj.
“Hajj is meant to make you soft. To make you just. To make you aware that every human you see is a servant of the same Lord.
“The one you look down on today may be closer to Allah than you.
“And the one you think is insignificant may have a heart more sincere than yours.
“The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)said that an accepted Hajj returns a person like a newborn child. Clean. Light. Free.
“But the real question is this. Did you return clean or did you carry your old self back with you?”
Reminding the Muslims that Hajj is a mirror that shows you who you truly are, it is a call to humility to live in peace and seeing Allah in every action as the goal of Hajj is not to say I have gone but for people to say, He has changed for the better since he returned from from the Holy land.
