Season of Hajj

Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'. Islamically, however, it refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allah in the time of the Prophet lbrahim [Abraham] and he was the one who was entrusted by Allah to build the Kaba - the House of Allah - along with his son Ismail [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allah described the Kaba and its building as follows:

"And remember when We showed Ibrahim the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]: Associate not anything [in worship with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in prayer etc.]."

[Surah Al-Hajj 22:26]

After building the Kaba, Prophet Ibrahim would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every year, and after his death, this practice was continued by his son. However, gradually with the passage of time, both the form and the goal of the Hajj rites were changed. As idolatry spread throughout Arabia, the Kaba lost its purity and idols were placed inside it. Its walls became covered with poems and paintings, including one of Jesus and his mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols came to be placed around the Kaba.

During the Hajj period itself, the atmosphere around the sacred precincts of the Kaba was like a circus. Men and women would go round the Kaba naked, arguing that they should present themselves before Allah in the same condition they were born. Their prayer became devoid of all sincere remembrance of Allah and was instead reduced to a series of hand clapping, whistling and the blowing of horns. Even the talbiah (Labayk allahumma labayk… -chant Muslims say while on pilgrimage) was distorted by them with the following additions: 'No one is Your partner except one who is permitted by you. You are his Master and the Master of what he possesses'.

Sacrifices were also made in the name of God. However, the blood of the sacrificed animals was poured onto the walls of the Kaba and the flesh was hung from pillars around the Kaba, in the belief that Allah demanded the flesh and blood of these animals.

Singing, drinking, adultery and other acts of immorality was rife amongst the pilgrims and the poetry competitions, which were held, were a major part of the whole Hajj event. In these competitions, poets would praise the bravery and splendor of their own tribesmen and tell exaggerated tales of the cowardice and miserliness of other tribes. Competitions in generosity were also staged where the chief of each tribe would set up huge cauldrons and feed the pilgrims, only so that they could become well-known for their extreme generosity.

Thus the people had totally abandoned the teachings of their forefather and leader Prophet Ibrahim. The House that he had made pure for the worship of Allah alone had been totally desecrated by the pagans and the rites which he had established were completely distorted by them. This sad state of affairs continued for nearly two and a half thousand years. But then after this long period, the time came for the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim to be answered:

"Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them your aayaat (verses) and instruct them in the book and the Wisdom and sanctify them. Verily you are the 'Azeezul-Hakeem [the All-Mighty, the All-Wise]."

[Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129]

Sure enough, a man by the name of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullaah (pbuh) was born in the very city that Prophet Ibrahim had made this supplication centuries earlier. For twenty-three years, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) spread the message of Tawheed [true monotheism] - the same message that Prophet Ibrahim and all the other Prophets came with - and established the law of Allah upon the land. He expended every effort into making the word of Allah supreme and his victory over falsehood culminated in the smashing of the idols inside the Kaba which once again became the universal center for the worshippers of the one True God.

Not only did the Prophet rid the Kaba of all its impurities, but he also reinstated all the rites of Hajj which were established by Allah's Permission, in the time of Prophet Ibrahim. Specific injunctions in the Quran were revealed in order to eliminate all the false rites which had become rampant in the pre-Islamic period. All indecent and shameful acts were strictly banned in Allah's statement:

"There is to be neither lewdness nor wrangles during Hajj."

[Surah al-Baqarah 2:197]

Competitions among poets in the exaltations of their forefathers and their tribesmen's achievements were all stopped. Instead, Allah told them:

"And when you have completed your rites [of Hajj] then remember Allah as you remember your forefathers; nay with a more vigorous remembrance."

[Surah al-Baqarah 2:200]

Competitions in generosity were also prohibited. Of course, the feeding of the poor pilgrims was still encouraged as this was done during the time of Prophet Ibrahim but Allah commanded that the slaughtering of the animals which was done for this purpose should be done seeking the pleasure of Allah rather than fame and the praise of the people. He said:

"So mention the name of Allah over these animals when they are drawn up in lines. Then, when they are drawn on their sides [after the slaughter], eat thereof and feed the beggar who does not ask, and the beggar who asks."

[Surah al-Hajj 22:36]

As for the deplorable practice of spattering blood of the sacrificed animals on the walls of the Kaba and hanging their flesh on alters, then Allah clearly informed them that:

"It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is Taqwaa (piety) from you that reaches Him."

[Surah al-Hajj 22:37]

The Prophet (pbuh) also put a stop to the practice of circling the Kaba in a state of nudity and the argument that the pagans put forward to justify this ritual was sharply rebutted in Allah's question:

"Say: Who has forbidden the adornment [i.e. clothes] given by Allah which He has produced for His Slaves?"

[Surah al-A'raaf 7:32]

Another custom which was prohibited through the Quran was that of setting off for Hajj without taking any provisions for the journey. In the pre-Islamic period, some people who claimed to be mutawakkiloon (those having complete trust in Allah) would travel to perform Hajj begging for food through the whole journey. They considered this form of behavior a sign of piety and an indication of how much faith they had in Allah. However Allah told mankind that to have sufficient provisions for the journey was one of the preconditions for making Hajj. He said:

"And take a provision [with you] for the journey, but the best provision is at-Taqwaa (piety)."

[Surah al-Baqarah 2:197]

In this way, all the pre-Islamic practices, which were based on ignorance, were abolished and Hajj was once more made a model of piety, fear of Allah, purity, simplicity and austerity. Now, when the pilgrims reach the Kaba, they no longer find the carnivals and the frolic and frivolity that had once occupied the minds of the pilgrims there before. Now, there is the remembrance of Allah at every step and every action and every sacrifice was devoted to Him alone. It was this kind of Hajj that was worthy of the reward of paradise, as the Prophet (pbuh) said: "The reward for an accepted Hajj is nothing less than paradise."

May Allah grant us all the ability to visit His House and perform the Hajj in the manner of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Aameen.

from: Islamicity.com

A brother like that ( or sister :))

Shuaib received a car from his brother as an Eid present. On Eid day when Shuaib came out of his house, a poor street child was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, Uncle?” he asked. Shuaib nodded. “My brother gave it to me for Eid.” The boy was astounded.


“You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…” He hesitated. Of course Shuaib knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Shuaib all the way down to his heels. “I wish,” the boy went on, “that I could be a brother like that.” Shuaib looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, “Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?” “Oh yes, I’d love that.”

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, “Uncle, would you mind driving in front of my house?” Shuaib smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a cool car. But Shuaib was wrong again. “Will you stop where those two steps are?” the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Shuaib heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.

“There it is, little brother, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Eid and it didn’t cost him a penny. And some day I’m gonna give you one just like it…then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the shop windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about.”

Shuaib got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable ride. That Eid, Shuaib learned what the RasulAllah SAW meant when he had said: “Love for your brother what you love for yourself”.

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Short Story Winner! Nor Lianna

Muslimah by heart and by card
Congratualations to Nor Liana Kamaruzzaman who won the MYGA Short Story contest with her touching story. Inshallah we will be sending her some good Muslim books as per her request as a prize! Thank you to all other contestants as well, everyone's stories were really good Mashallah and the competition was hard to judge. Below is Nor Lianna's contest entry :)

Assalamualaikum warrahmatullahi wabarrakatuh…

Truthfully, I was once in reverse; A Muslimah by card, but not by heart. I pretended to follow the Islamic rules. Call me a hypocrite if you want, but when you are someone who don't believe in a faith but surrounded by those who do, you feel both alienated and threatened. Much so when I knew how those who turn will be treated with despise or out casted. If you were born as someone in a different faith it is fine, if you are a convert, that is better, but if you are in this faith and decided out, you're as good as dead.

Silently, I thought myself as a freethinker. The loopholes unanswered, the reactions, both verbal and actions by those whom are considered pious, seems to me very strict and radical, and most of all what I hate the most, is the way they always seem to belittle others they consider kufr or badmouthing. I mean, for sure, people make mistakes, but for you to keep mentioning it as if doing something stupid once is a big sin. I hated them, but again, as they have many followers, I kept my silence. I hoped and hoped of getting into university, in hopes that I could be more open of my faith, or in other words, non-faith.

True, in university, people are more open to that. More often than not, I found many that admitted themselves not believing their faiths. I thought I found my place. But, something was missing. I still have my rationality, I wasn't restricted ( though my family don't know of my plans when I went to university ), there was still something missing. I wasn't putting hopes on my initial faith, because the missing feeling was from before too and I was hoping it diminishes when I am free. So, despite me being against it, I decided to give one last try. I don't know why I decided on that, but I don't have any regrets now. I joined an usrah at my university. Truth to be told, I still found those that act the way I dislike in the usrah, including those whom considered famous and respected, but I also found those, who show me Islamic way of life have a true sense within it.

We were taught and grew with the thinking that we can defy all sorts of conditions, but we forget our fitrah. Something, despite being in our control, could also be out of our control. If we had a control in it, what we desire to change could be out of the norm, something that isn't fair for us to have or don't have yet others don't or do. We are short-minded humans; grow only through the complexities of knowledge and experience. I shared my thoughts, my fears with some of them. While some reveled in disgust, shocked, and detest, in that some say I am beyond help (shirk, kufr, anything you can call as bad and will receive the tortures of hell), but many are also as acceptable.

They showed me that Islam is not in the secular sense; there is no such thing and career life, personal life, and religious life divided, like secularism. Islam teaches us the way to live, work, play, in ways that we can only see the goodness years after. It is we who are not patient, when so many times, we were taught to be patient, and patient, and patient. They told me of the different mazhabs and khilafs, what a scholar thought can differentiate with the others. I can form my own understanding, with the mind gifted from Allah s.w.t. , not necessarily just follow and obey blindly as the first experience I have.

I guess, that is the difference between following Islam with knowledge, as those I found within the usrah, and following Islam as a custom without thinking, as those I found before coming. Weird thing isn't it? I went into this new phase of life with the identity of Muslimah by card, but not by heart. However, coming out of it, I became a Muslimah by heart, not just by card. Wallahualam...

Nor Liana Kamaruzzaman
19 years old.

Short Story Give-away!

Salam Dear Sisters :)

MYGA is super excited to announce our first ever give-away contest :) We want YOU to be a part of it for a chance to WIN awesome prizes! All you have to do is send in one of your own short stories to muslimyouthgirls@live.com along with your name, age, and an address that you would like your prize mailed to - (confidential formalities below).

The story should somehow be linked to Islam and it will be judged on overall quality and creativity - so be unique, fresh, funny or dramatic - were open to anything and everything :) There will be first, second and third place prizes of hijabs, accessories, and Islamic books. Winners of the contest, aside from their cool gifts, will have their story and name published on the MYGA blog. Runner up's will also have their stories published on the blog.

All information sent to MYGA will be held confidential unless otherwise stated by the sender. Names of winners will be published along with their stories unless they don't want their name up, in which case we'll place it as anonymous, however, we will need names for contest entries. The contest is open to Muslim girls of all ages and locations. So send this link to your friends even if they are not followers :)

Deadline ends May 30th.