Malfuzat - Volume IX — Page 44
Malf uza t - English translation of Urdu Volume 9 44 H ajj The same is also the case with the H ajj [Pilgrimage]. H ajj does not only mean that a person leaves their home, sails the oceans and returns after uttering some customary words and partici- pating in some rituals. The essential point is that H ajj is an act of the highest degree that is the final stage of the journey of perfection. It should be understood that man’s cutting asun- der from his ego demands that he lose himself in the love of Almighty Allah alone. He should become so enamoured with Allah and such love for the Divine should develop that in com- parison he suffers no pain due to any travel, he cares not for his life or wealth, nor is he worried about separation from his near and dear ones. Just as one who is enamoured or a lover is ready to sacrifice his life for the beloved, similarly he also should not hesitate to do so. An example of this is found in the H ajj. As a lover circles around their beloved, the same is the circumambulation in the H ajj. This is a subtle point. There is the One [God] above the House of God. Without cirumambulating around Him, this circumambulation is not beneficial and there is no reward. The condition of the ones performing circuits around God should also be similar to what is seen at the H ajj. As here they put on a small piece of cloth, in the same way those revolving around Him should take off the clothes of the world and adopt humil- ity and submissiveness and then, in the way of a lover, perform circuits [around Him]. The circumambulation is the expression of one’s love of the Divine and it means that one should only circumambulate around the desires and wishes of Allah and no other objective should remain.