Hajj, A Symbolic Devotion

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem


The first ten days of Zulhijjah are the holiest of the year, which is why this Khatam is the most valuable one all year, blessed are the ones chosen to attend tonight. And the pinnacle of these ten days is the Hajj, occurring in the holiest of earthly lands.

In these sacred days, occured many events of ongoing importance to the life of a believer. The most profound, being the magnificent story of the sacrifice, the Qurban of Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) of Sayyidina Ismail (as).

This historical event is of symbolic importance, a perfection of Divine Devotion for every believer and mureed in this Way.

يَا حَيُّ يَا قَـيُّومُ

بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ

أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ

وَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ

“O Ever Living, O Ever Sustaining,

in Your mercy I seek relief,

rectify for me all of my affairs,

and do not leave me to my egoistic-self even for the blink of an eye.”

Rasulullah (ﷺ) taught this beautiful du’a to his (ﷺ) daughter. It serves as a daily protection and a reminder for us to never fall for the cunning whispers of our internal enemy.

And our life in this dunia, is indeed only a blink of an eye, compared to the eternity of life in akhirat.

This abandoning of the treacherous ego was beautifully exemplified in Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) when he was put through a pressing test to crush his will and to allow only Allah’s (ﷻ) Will to manifest.

He obeyed the heavy heavenly order to sacrifice his son, a person most dear to his heart, while rejecting the dissuasion of syaitan and his ego, symbolised by the stoning of the Jamrahs.

Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) is seen in this historical event, disobeying his ego, and obeying Allah (ﷻ), hence earning Allah’s (ﷻ) eternal Pleasure, and the Lofty Rank of the Friend of ArRahman.

Every King or Sultan has his private space, a forbidden sanctuary where only his will is manifested.

Allah (ﷻ) too has a Sacred Sanctuary, and that is one in which no pride or arrogance is allowed, for only Allah (ﷻ) has the right to those attributes. (Hadeeth)

Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) entered humbly into the sacred sanctuary of The Most Mighty, Sultan of all Sultans to sacrifice his son. There, only Allah’s (ﷻ) Will manifests.

Believers, for centuries commemorate this symbolic egoistic-self sacrifice on the most important day of the entire year, the Day of Arafah, where millions gather in the Lord’s Sacred Sanctuary to be cleansed of the treacherous, animalistic ego.


Every Muslim, not just those performing Hajj, is to be in repentance during this most mujarab (prayer accepted) period of Wukuf, as every du’a is granted on this afternoon.

Seek sincere forgiveness for all the times one has been in obedience to the ego, and hence, in disobedience to Allah (ﷻ).

Seek forgiveness for all the complaining, grumbling, unhappiness with His (ﷻ)Will, doubt in the Perfection of His (ﷻ) Will - all these are symptoms of an ailing, sickly heart, and Allah (ﷻ) commands us to return to Him (ﷻ), with Qalbun Saleem, the cleansed heart of perfected faith.

The Reality of Qurban is to sacrifice the sinful, lowly ego and allow only Allah’s (ﷻ) Perfect Will to manifest. Such an act requires years of training at the hand of a Sheikh, to gain the power to reign in the rebellious ego, allowing only the Lord's Will to reign.

On this Wukuf (this Monday), make intention to be at Arafah, Allah’s (ﷻ) Sacred Santuary, spiritually, with the pilgrims who are physically there.

May we always be spiritually with the living Ka’ba, the heart of our Guide, and be chosen to gather on the blessed Day of Arafah with the AwliyaAllah, and be granted Forgiveness for the past and Hidayah (Guidance) for the future and may Allah (ﷻ) accept all our prayers (du’as) and Qurban (sacrifices).