The Road to Hajj / Umrah – 5 Tips to Make your Spiritual Preparations

PREPARATIONS

When it comes to Hajj or Umrah, many people fail to make the necessary spiritual preparations before they take off. As a result, they lose the effectiveness of their acts of worship – and in some severe cases, Allah knows best – perhaps might actually do more harm than good to themselves – and what a waste that would be!

In the context of Hajj and Umrah, Allah Commands us in the Qur’an –

“وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ ۚ”

“So make your preparations and provision – but (know, that) verily, the best of provisions are that of Taqwa (God-consciousness)” (Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 196)

When it comes to making the preparations for these acts of worship, many people emphasize on the ‘physical’ aspects of the preparation – the packing and “what-to-brings”, the physical health, the logistics arrangements – and the Fiqh aspects of the Rituals.

And yes, this is all good – in fact this was commanded by Allah to make preparations for as per the Verse above – but the most important, the BEST preparations before going – are the spiritual aspects of our preparations, to build our Taqwa.

What the pilgrims should be most concerned about is “how to ensure my acts of worship are accepted?” – How can I best make sure that these acts are most Pleasing to Allah?

Because at the end of the day, when all is said and done, it really doesn’t matter how comfortable or how convenient your trip was, how good were the facilities, or how well you resolved the physical challenges and difficulties there : what matters is whether your acts of worship – especially your Hajj and Umrah – are accepted!

The Prophet ﷺ said,

“الْعُمْرَةُ إِلَى الْعُمْرَةِ كَفَّارَةٌ لِمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَالْحَجُّ الْمَبْرُورُ لَيْسَ لَهُ جَزَاءٌ إِلاَّ الْجَنَّةُ”

“(Performing) Umrah from one to another Umrah is an expiation (means of forgiveness of one’s sins) for whatever comes in between –

And an accepted Hajj (Mabrur) – has no reward other than Paradise (itself)!” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

“مَنْ حَجَّ لِلَّهِ فَلَمْ يَرْفُثْ وَلَمْ يَفْسُقْ رَجَعَ كَيَوْمِ وَلَدَتْهُ أُمُّهُ"

"Whoever performs Hajj sincerely for the sake of Allah and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were just born” (Al-Bukhari)

Clean slate - With all your good deeds intact..!

So here insha Allah I’ve compiled a list of mandatory spiritual preparations that one should make, prior to performing Hajj and/or Umrah. This is first and foremost a reminder for myself and the steps I personally commit to take towards this great journey, and finally to share it with others.

If you know of family or friends who are going any time soon – may this be of benefit for you.

It’s interesting to note that the common mindset is that people go to Hajj expecting that they will “change” after that. But in fact, based on these instructions, the best thing to do is to “change” BEFORE going for Hajj to get the best out of it – build our taqwa.

There are many many different good deeds that one can do towards building one’s Taqwa – but based on my experience and the combined advice from different scholars and books, these are what I feel are the top 5 things that should be given due priority.

If we look at it holistically per the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, Hajj and Umrah is really an amplification of who we REALLY are as a Muslim between ourselves and Allah. Now you are here, in Makkah, in Madinah – you’ve set aside your resources and time purely for the sake of Allah : away from the burdens of responsibilities of your job, your household chores, your family, with no WiFi in the masjid either – just you and Allah - with hundreds of thousands – or millions – of other pilgrims around you from all ages, cultures and backgrounds in one place with the same mission.

Now what…?

Bismillah, here it is – 5 spiritual preparations for your Hajj and Umrah.

#1 – FOLLOWING THE RIGHT GUIDANCE

If there was only one – the BEST – piece of advice that I have been given, and that I would like to share with others,  is ALWAYS live with this golden rule:

At every turn, every juncture, every act of worship, every conversation, every potential disagreement, every meal, every inconvenience – ask yourself:

“What would the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ do in this case?”

It’s such a simple thing to do – yet perhaps the most comprehensive and practical. WAllahi if all the pilgrims were to adopt this rule, we would have such a blessed, blissful and amazing Hajj and Umrah experience.

This golden rule – “What would the Prophet ﷺ do?” should come from firstly, the perspective of “how” to perform your act of worship. How to perform your Prayers, your Tawaf, your Sa’ee – in accordance to how he taught it. When it comes to Fiqh, there’s so much difference of opinion and disagreements these days that sometimes one gets so drowned in these pointless debates that one has lost track of the actual objective : at the end of the day, our objective – is to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet. Even the great imams such as Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Ash-Shafi’ee would say “whenever a hadith is authentic, that is my mazhab”. At the end of the day, despite their disagreements and different conclusions: their objectives are the same and clear for all – They are all achieving to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet. But the context of how they received their evidences and how they understood the evidences, and the reliability of their sources at that time – may differ.

This is also especially important in protecting yourself from doing any pointless acts of worship which are actually innovations (bidaah) in the religion.

The Prophet said, “مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُنَا فَهُوَ رَدٌّ”

“Whomsoever performs an act of worship other than our practice (our teachings), it is rejected” (Narrated in Sahih Muslim)

If it is rejected – don’t waste your time. It is ironic that sometimes people go to great lengths to do certain acts which are not sanctioned in the shari’ah – but there are so many virtuous deeds in the shari’ah which are far easier!

So don’t go with the mindset that “I heard this ustaz say this” or “this shaykh said this” – the primary criterion of our deeds to be accepted is : “Is it in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet?”

Also don’t get caught up with long speculative discussions on “What is the rationale of this act?”

The rationale for all acts of worship is – “Because that is what Allah and the Prophet taught us: and, because Allah is the All-Wise, All-Knowing Creator, decreed that that is what is BEST for us, for our life in this world and Hereafter – even if we may not immediately understand its wisdom and physical benefits”.

Brothers and sisters, Allah told us the simple Criterion of Success – Obedience

“وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّـهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا”

“And whomsoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, then verily he has achieved a great success” (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:71)

“It is not (befitting) for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter - that they should have any option in their decision.

And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.” (Surah Al-Ahzab 33:36)

Equally important is to apply this rule of “What would the Prophet ﷺ do?” from the perspective of attitude and good character – when it comes to patience in putting up with others, in guarding our tongue, in thankfulness, in being charitable, in talking with our family members while we are there, in interacting with potentially rude people there – always ask, “How would the Prophet ﷺ react here?”

The Prophet said, “Verily I have only been sent to perfect good character” (Narrated in Muwata Malik) – the entire objective of Islam as a whole is the perfection of good manners and attitude.

Although extremely crucial throughout the performance of our Hajj/Umrah, this rule is really something that should be applied in our everyday lives and not just when we’re in Mekkah or Madinah.

Of course this implies studying the Prophet’s daily activity, his mannerisms and interaction – and the qur’an itself.

So BEFORE you go, apply this in your every day lives, get used to the mindset – and once you’re there it becomes second nature.

#2 GUARD YOUR TONGUE

Perhaps the #1 leading cause of destruction when it comes to Umrah or Hajj.

My father once shared during his experience in Hajj, during the time of Wuquf – undeniably the most important part of Hajj, where pilgrims are to make their supplications – some of the pilgrims, after a while of making du’aa, they got bored – then “lepak ramai-ramai” at the coffee shop, and started talking politics. Slanders, criticisms, gossips, unfound rumours, character assassinations – a guaranteed recipe to destroy your good deeds.

But it doesn’t stop there. Almost every trip I have been there, there’s always some reason that people have to insult how (insert negative comment here) this “Pak Arab” is, this travel agent, that mutawwif, that hotel staff, that one asking for sadaqah, that obnoxious person in the group, that “wahabi”, etc.

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Do you know who the bankrupt person is?

The truly bankrupt person is the one who will come on the day of judgment with his (good deeds from his) Prayers, fasting and charity, (but) because he abused others, slandered/defamed against others, unlawfully devoured the wealth of others, shed the blood of others and beat others;

so his good deeds would be credited to the account of those (whom he wronged).

If his good deeds fall short to clear the account, their sins would be entered in his account and he would be thrown in the (Hell) Fire". (Muslim)

Imagine that – after all that money, time and effort spent – if one were to end up shortchanged and come back with nothing!

Stick to this simple rule: The Prophet said,

“وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ”

“.. and whomsoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him speak what is good – or remain silent!” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

When it comes to speech, you have two choices – say what is good – or just shut up. Such a simple way of life yet many of us fail to implement.

On the upside, Hajj and Umrah is also a great opportunity to meet sincere people who want to do good – thus presenting opportune moments to give good advice, say positive things and brighten up their day and increase their motivation for being steadfast worship. Our words can have profound impact on ourselves and others – so choose wisely. The Prophet ﷺ said

"‏ إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ مِنْ رِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ لاَ يُلْقِي لَهَا بَالاً، يَرْفَعُ اللَّهُ بِهَا دَرَجَاتٍ، وَإِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ مِنْ سَخَطِ اللَّهِ لاَ يُلْقِي لَهَا بَالاً يَهْوِي بِهَا فِي جَهَنَّمَ ‏"

“A slave (of Allah) may utter a word which pleases Allah, without giving it much importance, but because of that Allah will raise him to degrees (of reward);

a slave (of Allah) may utter a word (carelessly) which displeases Allah without thinking of its gravity and because of that he will be thrown into the Hell-Fire." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari)

So before you go off, prepare yourselves by minding your words very carefully, and don’t waste time by useless and non-beneficial talks which can reduce your rewards – in and out of hajj. (Yes, political news : I’m referring to you)

#3 DEVELOP YOUR PATIENCE

Whilst performing hajj and umrah, there is very high likelihood that you will come across situations that will test your patience – to varying degrees. From the quality of services and facilities, the inconveniences, the weather, the circumstances, the crowds, to the different unpredictable behaviors of others – sometimes even your own family members will show a different “side” to them when you’re there.

Instead of thinking of them as external nuisances “ruining” your Hajj/Umrah, have a paradigm shift think about all of these as part and parcel of the Hajj itself - your own personal tests which Allah had Tailor-made for you, while you’re there. The degree of reward varies in accordance to its difficulty, and Allah will Never burden a person beyond what he can bear.

إِنَّهُ مَنْ يَتَّقِ وَيَصْبِرْ فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“Verily, he whom has taqwa and is PATIENT – verily, Allah will never allow to be lost, the deeds of those who do their deeds with excellence” (Surah Yusuf, verse 90)

So really start off with “PATIENCE MODE” on way before you depart; starting this with our home and those closest to us. What normally annoys or angers us, withhold as much possible – train yourselves to save up those huge “bags of patience” which you will really need to cash out when you’re out there.

The Prophet said,

“لَيْسَ الشَّدِيدُ بِالصُّرَعَةِ، إِنَّمَا الشَّدِيدُ الَّذِي يَمْلِكُ نَفْسَهُ عِنْدَ الْغَضَبِ”

"The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger." (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

#4 MAKE LOTS OF DU’AA AND DZIKR – IMPROVE YOUR CONNECTION WITH ALLAH

If one were to really look at the acts of Hajj and Umrah, from the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ there really isn’t all that much specific rituals. In fact, even when it comes to the specific rituals – such as tawaf (circumambulation around the Ka’bah) or sa’ee (walking back and forth between the mount of Safa and Marwah) – the Shari’ah has left it free for the Pilgrims to perform the specific acts of worship – make any du’aa (supplications), perform any dzikr (words of remembrance), recite any part of Qur’aan, that is convenient to you as you wish.

The PROBLEM happens if, when one goes and one doesn’t prepare oneself in this aspect.

Unfortunately, for many people, dzikr and du’aa becomes a ritualistic act which they say “amin” to the imam, or from pre-made “scripts” and “texts” which sometimes we don’t even know what they mean – devoid of the spirit of du’aa – a sincere and beloved communication between a slave with his Lord.

Hajj and Umrah presents many opportune moments in which our du’aa, suppliations and prayers have greater chance of being immediately accepted and responded to by Allah.

What tends to happen is that when they have those opportune “mustajab” moments to make du’aa – after a while, they don’t know what to do! They get bored, they run out of “texts” to read from.. and it becomes a tired exercise of just waiting… to get from one place to the next.

And, as a Hajj course instructor once shared with us, at this point, many people, instead of looking for “hajj Mabrur”, they look for “hajj Marlboro”.

Jokes aside, we really should make the best of these moments. Prepare early on, increase in uttering words of remembrance and constantly make sincere du’aa from Allah.

Prepare a list of du’aa – what you want to ask of Allah, for yourself, your family, and your friends – and even the Muslim ummah as a whole. Instead of “saving this list for Hajj”, implement these du’aa immediately – once you’re there, perhaps more idea will come: keep them coming!

As the poet once said,

“the creation Allah – when people request and ask of him, he gets annoyed.

But as for the Creator – when people stop asking of Him, he gets angry!”

The Prophet ﷺ said,

"‏ لَيْسَ شَىْءٌ أَكْرَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ”

“There is nothing more noble in the Sight of Allah other than du’aa (supplication and prayers asking of Him)” (Sahih Hadith Narrated in At-Tirmidzi)

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ

“When My slave asks of Me, then (tell them), verily, I am indeed close (to him) : I Respond to the supplication of the one who supplicates, when he asks of Me..” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186).

Dzikr are also very powerful acts of worship which many of us take for granted. So get into the habit of repeating them – there are specific words of dzikr which were taught by the Prophet (e.g. referenced in books such as Hisnul Muslim “Fortress of a Muslim”) – memorize them by heart, utter them habitually in our every day lives – while driving, while cooking, while waiting for the train, while waiting for our food, etc.

It’s one of the easiest acts of worship to perform – yet also one of the most virtuous in the Sight of Allah.

وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّـهَ كَثِيرًا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“And Remember Allah (make dzikr of Him) much – so that you may be successful!” (Surah Al-Juma’ah, verse 10)

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“أَلاَ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِخَيْرِ أَعْمَالِكُمْ وَأَرْضَاهَا عِنْدَ مَلِيكِكُمْ وَأَرْفَعِهَا فِي دَرَجَاتِكُمْ وَخَيْرٍ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِعْطَاءِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْوَرِقِ وَمِنْ أَنْ تَلْقَوْا عَدُوَّكُمْ فَتَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَهُمْ وَيَضْرِبُوا أَعْنَاقَكُمْ”

“Should I not inform you of the best of your deeds, and the purest of them with your Master, and the highest of them in your ranks, and what is better for you than spending gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks, and they strike your necks?”

The companions replied – “Of course!”

The Prophet then said,

“ذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى”

“The Remembrance of Allah, Most High” (Narrated in Muwatta Malik, At-Tirmidzi, and ibn Majah, graded hasan)

A man once said to the Prophet, “O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), indeed, the legislated acts of Islam have become too much for me, so inform me of a thing that I should stick to.”

The Prophet replied,

“لاَ يَزَالُ لِسَانُكَ رَطْبًا مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ”

“Let not your tongue cease to be moist with the remembrance of Allah.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidzi and ibn Majah)

Through our constant remembrance and prayers, this will inevitably make us more conscious of our deeds and indirectly have a positive effect on our behaviour, reinforcing the first few acts we mentioned previously.

#5 – EQUIP YOURSELVES WITH THE AUTHENTIC KNOWLEDGE

This may seem like a repeated point from the first, but for good reason – you will see a whole range of strange practices in Hajj and Umrah: you will even have ‘guides’ that teach Hajj/Umrah rites which are blatantly in direct opposition of the Sunnah.

And coming across different parts of the world you will also most likely be exposed to people performing strange un-Islamic acts of innovation, from their own respective cultures.

Naturally, if we didn’t equip ourselves with the authentic knowledge before we take off, we can easily get lost. We lose confidence, we get disoriented, shaytan will disturb our peace of mind in worship, perhaps even resulting in us getting into unhealthy disputes and argumentation with others. All because we didn’t arm ourselves with the right knowledge beforehand.

It is interesting to note that the many ahadith related to Hajj of the Prophet are very clear and easy to understand – one can read them off Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim and get a very clear picture on what it’s all about.

So start off in the sincere pursuit of knowledge, and depart with confidence and glad tidings of Allah’s Pleasure. The Prophet said,

“مَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ”

“Whomsoever Allah wants good for, He grants him an understanding of the religion” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, ibn Majah, At-Tirmidzi and others)

That’s it insha Allah – 5 simple steps to enhance our spiritual preparation for the Great Journey of Hajj and Umrah.

May Allah keep us steadfast in preparation and may He grant us the BEST of rewards from our Hajj and Umrah!!