As we approach Dhul Hijjah I want to take the time to reflect with the community why Muslims should do Hajj. Here in Canada, many know Hajj as an expensive trip to Saudi Arabia to perform religious rituals in the hot sun so that Allah might have mercy on us. Do we ever wonder why we must do it? It is one of the five pillars of Islam, and I think it is the one that is not talked about enough. There is more to Hajj than just Arafa, Jamarat and Muzdalifah. Hajj symbolises the Ummah, and it starts right here in London, Ontario. As much as Hajj is a communal experience, it is also a deeply personal experience. Here I will share with you my philosophical/ social perspective on Hajj as well as my personal perspective.
Hajj merits reflection. Perhaps the first obvious reason why, is because it costs a lot of money. Anything that costs a lot of money must be significant. However, you would be surprised to hear that a few decades ago, Hajj was very affordable for Saudis, almost free. I met a Saudi man during Hajj who has done it 20+ times, and only in the past 30 or so years has it started costing money because companies took it among themselves to prepare air-conditioned tents, food, and other amenities. [1] So no, money is not why Hajj merits reflection.
Maybe Hajj merits reflection because it traces the footsteps of our Prophets (peace be upon them). That in itself is a great and noble reason why someone might do Hajj. If you want to be like a prophet, then you might want to do what they did. However, let us be real. We are in 2026, and 2026 is not 632 AD.
Maybe Hajj makes one spiritual. Personally, I think it does not (well [2] maybe a little). You are what you are, and your spirituality is between you and Allah so only Allah can determine that. Despite the difficulty of Hajj, I personally do not think it makes you any more spiritual, although it may improve your pain tolerance threshold. The heat, the long walks, the lack of sleep and the whole process, all affect people differently. Some become spiritual from such things, others don't, and that's just the way it is.
To me, Hajj merits reflection because of this question: What can possibly gather millions of people to the middle of this hot and dry desert?
Think about it. Why are millions of people gathered here on this hot patch of land to perform religious rituals? They have been doing this every single year! The Kaabah has people doing Tawafs 24/7 non-stop since Prophet[3] Mohammed (PBUH) did it. Subhanallah. To me, Hajj proves one thing: Muslims can unite and achieve key objectives if they put aside their petty differences.
I think you can feel the pulse of the Muslim ummah from Hajj. Is Islam still alive? Go to Hajj and you will see. Yes Islam is still alive—very much so, but some people are simply not putting in the effort in practicing it. What I mean by that is that there are too many people riding the [4] bandwagon and not putting in the work. I saw too many people sleeping, eating talking and blogging way too much.[5] I am not even sure they completed all the steps. I am not even sure they fully participated, even though they put all that effort into coming to Hajj. Maybe they didn’t even pay for their Hajj; maybe they got in easily. In any case, they don’t appreciate their privilege of doing Hajj. These people are the ones weighing down the ummah with their indolence. Although there are those who are fully committed to Islam and its practices, there are also many who, despite being given the rare opportunity, simply waste it.
I don’t want to rant on the negatives; this is not the point of this reflection. My purpose in writing this is to share with you my thoughts on Hajj as it pertains to the state of our ummah today. I also want to stress that some people have no business doing Hajj, like how some people have no business wandering into parties uninvited. Hajj is not a party, but it is the single most important gathering of people in one place anywhere in the world. If you don't know that, now you do. No other religion does this, and no other legislation dictates this. Only Islam does this, and that should tell you one thing: Islam is powerful—if you harness it.
I used to live in Saudi Arabia, more specifically between Khamis-Mushait and Abha. I had done 5 Umrahs before I applied for Hajj. I had been applying for three years before I finally got accepted on the third. Getting chosen for Hajj felt like a life achievement. You are chosen for Hajj—you don’t apply for it. If you are lucky enough to do Hajj, know that Allah chose you. I treated my Hajj experience with this mentality. Luckily for me, the Hajj was smooth logistically because I applied from inside Saudi Arabia, so I had the time to reflect on the entire experience.
The trip for me began in Abha. I took a 10-hour-long bus ride from Khamis-Mushait to Jeddah (where the Hajj company was) like I had done a dozen times before. When I got to the Mikat area, I changed into the Ihram when the bus stopped for a break. I remembered one thing very distinctly: everyone treats you so well when they know that you are doing Hajj. This is very uncommon in Saudi Arabia. Normally, you were treated like a second-class citizen, or like you didn’t exist. When people know you are a Hajji, almost everything is free. I remember walking from the hotel to some falafel joint that was 15 minutes away (I didn’t have my car). Some shabab (youth) in[6] a car asked me where I was going and offered me a ride. They drove me to the falafel joint, paid for me, and drove me back to the hotel. They told me their names and asked me to make dua for their futures while doing tawaf at the Kabah[7] . Wow! What hospitality! This shows me that young people have faith. The shabab gave me hope from that day forward. Before, the shabab had been consistently disappointing (I used to be a teacher in Saudi). At the Hajj company, we were very well received. We were given food, umbrellas, a casual guide who didn’t really do his job, and other shenanigans. I will spare you the details of a typical Hajj experience and tell you this:
No one is surveilling you. You are on your own when you do Hajj. It is strictly between you and Allah, so lock in. Don’t let your mind wander and think only about improving your relationship with Allah. Appreciate your situation. Think about Allah as you make dua at Arafa. Don’t let the blisters on your feet bother you. Don’t let the burning rocks make you lose your concentration, or the heat be rude to others. Humility above all else. You need Allah. Allah does not need you. This was my mentality as I was performing Hajj.
I will also tell you this: Islam is flexible. On one of the days of the Jamarat, I decided to do it in the morning because I wanted to avoid the afternoon heat, so that’s what I did. I came back and slept. Around Zuhr, my Yemeni neighbour woke me up and said, “lets go! Why are you sleeping? -We have to do Jamarat.” I said: “I already did it.” Then he said: ‘No! You have to do it after Zuhr, not before. We had a long argument then he finally said: ‘Ask the Mufti.’ I said: ‘OK, do you have his number?’ He said: “no,” but he directed me to someone in the same tent, and this Yemeni referred me to some Saudi and to another Saudi and so on. Finally, someone had the Mufti’s number. I got the Mufti’s number and rang him up. The Mufti actually answered the phone. I greeted him and explained to him my situation: The[8] argument I had with the Yemeni, and I asked him if doing Jamarat before Zuhr was OK. He said: “It is OK if you are Hanafi.”He added that Hanbalis had to do Jamarat after Zuhr but it is OK for Hanifis to do it before. So I just sat around and chatted with the brothers who were in the tent.
In conclusion, I want to say this: I think Allah decreed Hajj not so much for performing religious rituals, but rather, to spend time and get to know our Muslim brothers and sisters. Allah wants to teach us that Muslims are meant to be united and achieve objectives together and strengthen one another. Also, we share more similarities than differences–that is the source of our strength. Our similarities outweigh our differences should exploit this. So why am I telling you all this? How does this reflection on Hajj help Muslims in London, Ontario? This reflection should prove to you three things:
1. The Muslim ummah is alive and well; but it is being weighed down by many indolent, self-satisfied individuals who are doing nothing to push our Muslim agenda forward.
2. Hope is in the youth. The youth of this Ummah have a desire to see their Ummah thrive and provide a structure to people’s lives.
3. Doing Hajj in itself is not really the goal of Hajj; the goal of Hajj is to prove to Muslims that we are able to achieve big objectives if we put aside our differences, coordinate and work together.
I have always been a firm believer that a people becomes a community if they do things together. There has to be some common shared struggle that Muslims need to take part in for them to be united. This shared struggle has many levels, and before we can talk about tackling big struggles, such as, for example, liberating Palestine, people need to start struggling with things right here in the community. Things as simple as praying Fajr on time, being consistent in physical activity, getting a G2, or getting money, need coordinated and sustained efforts from community members. Showing up for the community is a great start. Not everyone can go to Hajj, but anyone can definitely show up for the community.