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COU^SI!S O^ TBAVI!!!^C
Yon mnsr hold fast to all the acts of devotion which you perform regularly when you
are not travelling. Do not make light of leaving any of them. You should make up any
acts of devotion which you are unable to perform due to travelling when you are able
to do so, if they are of the sort which can be made up. If it is not possible to make
them up, then remember that Allah has made things easy for people travelling. The
hadith states: If a believer travels or becomes sick, Allah orders His angels to record
for him the same actions that he would perform when he was not travelling and was in
good health.
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This is a blessing, a mercy and ease from Allah. All praise be to Allah
He is so merciful and kind to His slaves!
Beware of belittling the dispensations of shortening and joining ones prayers when it
is permissible to do so, for Allah loves for people to take His dispensations just as
He loves people to perform that which has normally been made compulsory for
them.
2
Be coosIsreor in reading the supplications that it is recommended to read while
travelling, such as the supplication you read upon mounting (your horse) or
dismounting,
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or the supplication you read upon entering a town. You will find a large
amount of these in al-Adhkr [of Imm al-Nawaw] so look for them and memorise
them.
When you travel, make your spiritual ambition drive your feet forward and make your
heart travel with your body. Let reliance upon Allh be your provision, having a good
opinion of Him your support, truthfulness your vehicle and neediness and brokenness
your inner and outer garments. Let your contentment with Him to the exclusion of all
others be your companion.
AJJ
Yon mnsr purify your intention to go to Allahs Sacred House, to perform the rights of
ajj, to venerate the things which He has made inviolable and sacred and to visit the
grave of His Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace. In
your journey to those places you should have no other purpose or aim except this and
any other praiseworthy intention connected to this. Beware of combining these noble
intentions with the desire for recreation or trade.
1!Narrated!by!alKBukhr
2!Narrated!by!Amad,!alKBayhaq!and!alKabarn. !Rukhah!is!a!dispensa?on;!`azimah!(strictness)!is!
what!Allah!ini?ally!legislates!of!general!rulings!not!concerned!with!one!circumstance!rather!than!
other,!or!one!individual!rather!than!other.!(Reliance!of!the!Traveller,!N.!Keller!c6.1K2).!
3!In!our!?mes!this!applies!to!any!vehicle!which!you!may!board.
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Yon mnsr make awf (circumambulation) of the Ancient House in abundance, for the
one making awf is immersed in mercy. While you are doing so, your hearts should
be overflowing with veneration and magnification for the Lord of the House. Do not
busy yourselves with anything other than recitation of the Qurn, remembrance of
Allah and supplication. Beware of idle speech.
Be consistent in reading the adhkr and supplications which should be read during
awf and sa` and in other places on the ajj. You should also have the utmost
concern for visiting all the sacred places.
You should perform `umrah in abundance, especially in the month of Raman, for
performing one `umrah in Raman is equal in reward to performing ajj with the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and his Family and grant them peace.
Yon mnsr have veneration for the two Sacred Precincts and observe the correct
etiquette in them. You must also honour those living there, and give them the right
due to them for living in proximity to those blessed places. Maintain a good opinion
of them specifically and of the Muslims generally. If you see or hear something you
dislike, be patient and remain silent. However, if you are able to openly speak the
truth then do so, for no one has any excuse to remain silent unless he is absolutely
certain he is unable to change a wrong that is being committed.
One of the best states to be in is to focus fully on Allah and on worshipping Him such
that you are unaware of the state of those around you, since the people of this time
have contravened the way of the pious predecessors and left behind their praiseworthy
teachings. The one who Allah guides is rightly guided; but the one who Allah
causes to go astray for him you will nd no protector to guide him.
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Yon mnsr perform abundant pious acts in the Sacred Precinct in Makkah, for one
good deed therein is rewarded one hundred thousand times over. This multiplication is
narrated specifically regarding the prayer by the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings be upon him) but some scholars regard it to apply to all acts of obedience.
Just as the reward for acts of obedience is far greater in the Sacred Precinct, likewise
acts of disobedience are far graver therein. One of the pious predecessors said: There
is no place where someone is taken to account for wishing to commit an act of
disobedience other than Makkah. The scholars use as evidence for this Allahs
saying: If Anyone wishes therein to do wrong out of deviance We will cause him to
taste a painful punishment.
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Ibn `Abbs, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: I would prefer to commit
seventy sins outside the Sacred Precinct than to commit one sin in Makkah. May
Allah protect Makkah, and increase it in greatness, stature and nobility.
When you reach His inviolable House and your eyes gaze upon it, make your heart
gaze upon the Lord of the House. ajj has an outer element and an inner element. The
4!Al3Kahf,!18:17
5!Al3!ajj,!22:25
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outer element is the Sacred Law (shar`ah) and the inner element is reality (aqqah).
Do not focus on one element to the exclusion of the other, but rather combine the two.
Know that there is a house inside you that belongs to Allh, which is your heart. He
has ordered Ibrhm (your knowledge) and Ism`l (your intellect) to purify it for the
angels and spirits who wish to make awf (circumambulation) of it, seclude
themselves in it, bow and prostrate in it.
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Anyone who possesses neither Ibrhm nor
Ism`l is ignorant and foolish, and the Fire will consume him. Anyone who possesses
them both but does not allow them to purify the house so that it is fit for those who
wish to make awf (circumambulation) of it and seclude themselves in it, is a
representative of the Devil. An example of such a person is a heedless scholar who
does not act according to the dictates of his knowledge and intellect.
The Prophet said: Zamzam water is what it is drunk for. This means that if
someone drinks it for a sickness, Allah will heal them; if someone drinks it for
hunger, Allah will cause them to be satiated and if someone drinks it for a need, Allah
will fulfil that need. This is because the well was brought forth when Allahs aid was
sought and Allah gave relief to Ism`l by it. The great Imms have tried this with
their own needs and found the Prophets words to be true. However, it requires a
correct intention and sincerity and it is not for everyone.
CO^C!US!O^ STOB!IS OI THI P!OUS
This conclusion is somewhat appropriate to the counsels which preceded it, and
someone of intellect and intelligence may derive etiquettes from these narrations
which he should observe in those sacred places.
Mentioning the pious predecessors and their lives gives comfort to travellers on the
path to the next life, for they are the examples which we should take. Looking at their
striving helps seekers to realise their shortcomings. If someone looks at the people of
his time and their heedlessness and procrastination, he will most often become proud
of himself or harbour a bad opinion of them, both of which are blameworthy. The
felicitous one is someone who emulates the pious predecessors, uses them as a proof
against himself and drives himself to walk in their footsteps and to follow their
straight path.
! The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and his Family and
Companions and grant them peace) made ajj riding on a shabby-looking
saddle, under which was a rug worth less than four dirhams. On his return he
said: O Allah, make it a blessed ajj. Let there be no ostentation in it, nor
reputation-seeking.
! `Umar made awf around the House. He placed his hand on the Black Stone,
kissed it and then cried. Then he said: By Allah, I know that you are a Stone
6! The!Imm!is!referring!to!Allahs!saying: ! We!took!a!covenant!with! Ibrhm!and!Ism`l!that!they!
purify!My!House!for!those!who!wish!to! make!awf!(circumambula9on)!of!it,!seclude!themselves!in !
it,!bow!and!prostrate!in!it!(al3Baqarah,!2:125).
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that cannot harm or benefit anyone. Had I not seen the Messenger of Allah
doing this, I would not have done it. Then he turned round and saw `Al (may
Allah ennoble him) behind him. He said to him: O Ab al-asan, this is the
place where tears flow.
`Al said to him: On the contrary, O Leader of the Believers, this Stone harms
and benefits people. When Allah took the covenant with the progeny of Adam
and said to them: Am I not your Lord?, He recorded this and this Stone
swallowed this document. It will then bear witness to anyone who touches it
with truthfulness.
! A man met `Abdullh bin `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) while
making awf. He asked `Abdullh bin `Umar for something but he did not
respond. `Abdullh bin `Umar met the man again later and said to him:
Perhaps you were upset when I did not respond to you. Do you not know that
when we make awf we present ourselves to Allah? In any case your need has
been answered.
! s said: I saw `Al (Zayn al-`bidn) the son of Imm al-usayn in the
depths of the night standing in prayer in the ijr
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so I came close to him,
saying to myself, This is a pious man from the People of the House. Perhaps I
will hear him say something that will benefit me. I heard him saying while in
prostration: A beggar is at Your door, a poor man is at Your door, Your needy
slave is at Your door.
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Whenever I called upon Allah using these words, my
prayers were answered.
! It was said that when `Al (Zayn al-`bidn) the son of Imam al-Husayn
entered into irm he wished to say labbayk, but instead he started shaking,
his colour changed and he fell off his camel. When he was asked what
happened he said: I feared that I would say labbayk responding to the call
of my Lord - and it would be completely rejected.
! Slim bin `Abdullh bin `Umar met Hishm bin `Abd al-Malik who was then
the governor of Makkah inside the Ka`bah. Hishm said to him: Ask me, that
I may fulfil your need.
I would be ashamed to ask other than Him, when I am in His House.
When they were outside the House, Hishm said to him: You are now
outside, so ask what you wish.
Slim said: Do you mean from the things of this world or the next world?
7!The!ijr!is!the!crescent!shaped!area!immediately!adjacent!to!the!Kabah.!It!was!originally!part!of!the!
Kabah.
8!The!prayer!in!Arabic!is:!
#z#% #U$ur #Usz# #z#% #$z uz #z#% #$zr
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All I possess are the things of this world.
I did not ask for worldly things from the One Who possesses them, so why
would I ask them from anyone other than Him?
! A pious man said: I once saw a man performing awf and sa`. His slaves
were around him driving people out of his way to make space for him. I later
saw him in Baghdad begging. I asked him what had happened and he said: I
showed arrogance in a place where people show humility so Allah humbled
me in a place where people show arrogance.
! Al-asan al-Bar once stood at `Araft in the sun on an extremely hot day. He
was asked: Why do you not move into the shade?
He replied: I did not realise I was in the sun. I recalled a sin that I had
committed and I did not feel the heat of the sun. It was so hot that had
someone wrung out his clothes, sweat would have run forth from them. This
sin that he recalled was probably a mere thought that had it come to anyone
elses mind, they would not have even considered it a minor sin. This is the
veneration the pious predecessors had for their Lord and their distance from
acts of disobedience.
! A man once took seven stones from `Araft and made them bear witness to his
testimony that there is no god but Allh. He then saw in a dream that he was
standing in front of Allh to be judged. He was taken to account and then
ordered to be taken to the Fire. However, whenever he was brought to one of
the seven gates of the Fire, a stone came and blocked his entrance. He realised
that these stones were the same stones that had born witness to his testimony.
Then his testimony was brought and the gate of Paradise was opened to him.
! `Ali bin al-Muwaffaq said: On the eve of the Day of `Arafah I saw in my
dream two angels who had descended from the heavens. One said to the other:
Do you know how many people have come to our Lords House to perform
ajj this year?
No, said the other.
Six hundred thousand, he said. Do you know how many have been
accepted?
No.
Six people.
So I remained in a state of sorrow and distress. I said to myself, What chance
do I have of being among those six?
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The following night, the eve of the Day of Slaughter, I saw the two angels
again. One said to the other: Do you know what the judgement of our Lord
was?
No, said the other.
He gave one hundred thousand people to each of the six (and thus accepted
them all.
Upon hearing this, I woke up in a state of joy that was indescribable.
TUB^!^C TO THI MISSI^CIB OI A!!AH
We round off these counsels with Imm al-addds address to the Messenger of
Allah on his visit to him.
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{us #zr% '$ '`* szt$ sz#r # g q2rr {'* g
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{ u$ i%tr r# '* sJr#* }s i%tr %'#* g {%&* r8r `* g
%,u#* g %Ru* z* %?$% "< g "#us ru# z* $0r #u#r
We have come to you as visitors, aiming to attain your intercession with Allah in
wiping out our sins and wrongdoings
In our souls are needs and requests that we hope to be fulfilled through your status, O
giver
Turn (to Allah), O Messenger of Allah, regarding every need and concern of ours in
our worldly lives and in our hearts
The rectification of my religion and my heart is my utmost goal, my Master, so assist
me.
May Allahs blessings be upon you, for you are the best one who guides by the light
of Allah in the East and West.
[Taken from Imm al-addds al-Waay al-Nf`iah, from his Dwn and from al-
Fuyt al-Rabbaniyyah by abb Zayn bin Sumay]
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