Hajj is a type of jihad in the path of Allah, it is worship of Allah the Exalted, and an explanation of the status of Hajj and the error of those who date by the Gregorian calendar.
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The Shaykh : We remind you of the favor of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) upon the pilgrims this year, for this year, praise be to Allah, is one of the easiest years, whether in terms of the journey, the preparation of the sacred sites, or the pleasant weather that involved no hardship.
We also remind you that Hajj is a type of jihad in the path of Allah, and it necessarily involves hardship. Many of the pampered, corrupt people, when they see the slightest hardship, leave the ritual, exit the state of ihram, and return to their countries, as if they want the ritual to be a leisure trip, like when they go to parks, valleys, sands, and mountain tops. This is part of their foolishness.
For Hajj is a type of jihad in the path of Allah, as the Mother of the Believers, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), said: "O Messenger of Allah, is there a jihad for women?" He said:Bulugh al-Maram 11:3 And Allah pointed to this in His Book, where He (Mighty and Majestic) said: [Al-Baqarah 2:195-196].
Therefore, whoever begins Hajj or 'Umrah, even if they are voluntary, must complete them, just as one who begins jihad and the two lines meet is not permitted to flee, due to the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He):[Al-Anfal 8:15-16].
I remind you for the third time that Hajj is worship, a great worship, a major responsibility. It is not permissible for a person to be negligent with it, such that he goes out for it without knowing anything about its obligations, pillars, or prohibitions. Because he will make mistakes, and if he makes a mistake and then asks about it after it has occurred, it may be a mistake that cannot be rectified.
We give an example of this: some people, when they saw the crowd at the tawaf, started entering between the Black Stone and the Ka'bah because it is shorter and easier. This is undoubtedly a mistake.
Because if a person does that, his lap in which this violation occurred is not valid. And although, as I was told, the authorities placed a barrier on the door of the Hijr on the eastern side this year so that no one passes it, some people may be negligent, move this barrier, and enter.
The important thing is that a person should be cautious about this ritual before entering it, and be cautious about this ritual after entering it, so that if he falls into something he sees as a violation, he hastens to ask about it as long as he is in Makkah, making it easy for him to rectify the matter and complete the ritual.
And he should not ask except from one whose knowledge and trustworthiness he is confident in. Just as a sick person does not go to just anyone to be treated, but only to one from whom he hopes for correct and sound treatment, so too in matters of worship, a person should not ask, and it is not permissible for him to ask, except from one he knows or strongly suspects is qualified to answer, because he knows that he is a scholar, that he is trustworthy, and that he is reliable, so that he is on clear guidance regarding his affair.
How many are those about whom we hear answers regarding Hajj and 'Umrah that have no basis, neither from the Sunnah nor from the statements of the scholars, but are pure error. But the layperson is like a drowning man clinging to everything; if he finds someone he thinks is a scholar, whether for his appearance, his clothing, or the like, he goes to ask him, even though he is ignorant, and he misguides him in all these matters. A person must pay attention to these matters, not only in Hajj, but in Hajj, fasting, zakah, prayer, ritual purity, and others, so that he worships Allah (the Exalted) on clear guidance.
Then, when the Muslims multiplied and spread across the earth, and transactions and circumstances occurred that were different from the initial state, they needed to establish a calendar to follow. This happened during the time of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). Some said we should start the calendar, meaning the year, from Rabi' al-Awwal, because it is the month in which the revelation was first sent down to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and because it is the month in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated and arrived in Madinah, establishing the state and the community.
But the opinion settled on making the first month of the year Muharram, because when people finish the Hajj season and depart from it, and Hajj, as we know, is the fifth pillar of Islam, the Muslims will have completed this great pillar and rested after it, especially in the past when they were tired from reaching Makkah and returning from it. So they saw that the start of the year should be from the month of Muharram. This is a successful and sound opinion.
And it is not befitting for us, Muslims, to turn away from it to the calendar of the disbelieving nation, which builds its time markers on imaginary months that have no origin, but are merely conventional.
Then, it is also befitting for us not to consider the Gregorian years, because we have the Hijri years, which are a symbol of our honor, strength, and dignity.
And we regret that some people today, and they are a few, have gone to date by the Gregorian calendar and turned away from their Hijri Islamic calendar, which was established by the Commander of the Believers, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and upon which the Muslims agreed. No one among the scholars dated by the Gregorian calendar in the past, ever; they only dated by the Hijri calendar.
He assumed the caliphate in such-and-such a year, meaning from the Hijra, and such-and-such a scholar was born in such-and-such a year, died in such-and-such a year, and such-and-such happened in the Hijri calendar established by the second Rightly Guided Caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). And these are their books now; you find that when a person finishes an author, he says he finished its composition on such-and-such a day, in such-and-such a month, in such-and-such a year, all in the Hijri calendar.
But the Gregorian calendar entered the Muslims when the Christians colonized the lands of the Muslims in the Levant, Egypt, and Iraq, when they took control and became dominant, because custom, nature, and fitrah dictate that the defeated imitate the victor. So they adopted this calendar. But this state, as a state, has made its calendar, as in the issued system of governance, the Hijri calendar.
And this is undoubtedly better, but we regret some people who turned away from this and started dating by the Gregorian calendar, even though the state's system is that its calendar is the Hijri calendar, indeed the system of the Islamic community since this calendar was established in the time of 'Umar until this day. So we ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to grant us and you the following of our righteous predecessors in creed, methodology, morals, etiquette, and dealings. He is capable of all things. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions. Now we begin with the questions, read them to us.
We also remind you that Hajj is a type of jihad in the path of Allah, and it necessarily involves hardship. Many of the pampered, corrupt people, when they see the slightest hardship, leave the ritual, exit the state of ihram, and return to their countries, as if they want the ritual to be a leisure trip, like when they go to parks, valleys, sands, and mountain tops. This is part of their foolishness.
For Hajj is a type of jihad in the path of Allah, as the Mother of the Believers, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), said: "O Messenger of Allah, is there a jihad for women?" He said:
Yes, a Jihad which is without fighting, it is Hajj and 'Umrah.
نعم جهاد لا قتال فيه الحج والعمرة(195) And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good. (196) And complete the Hajj and 'umrah for Allah. But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And do not shave your heads until the sacrificial animal has reached its place of slaughter. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head [making shaving necessary must offer] a ransom of fasting [three days] or charity or sacrifice. And when you are secure, then whoever performs 'umrah [during the Hajj months] followed by Hajj [offers] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And whoever cannot find [or afford such an animal] - then a fast of three days during Hajj and of seven when you have returned [home]. Those are ten complete [days]. This is for those whose family is not in the area of al-Masjid al-Haram. And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty.
وأنفقوا في سبيل الله ولا تلقوا بأيديكم إلى التهلكة وأحسنوا إن الله يحب المحسنين وأتموا الحج والعمرة للهTherefore, whoever begins Hajj or 'Umrah, even if they are voluntary, must complete them, just as one who begins jihad and the two lines meet is not permitted to flee, due to the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He):
(15) O you who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieve advancing [for battle], do not turn to them your backs [in flight]. (16) And whoever turns his back to them on such a day, unless swerving [as a strategy] for war or joining [another] company, has certainly returned with anger [upon him] from Allah, and his refuge is Hell - and wretched is the destination.
يا أيها الذين آمنوا إذا لقيتم الذين كفروا زحفا فلا تولوهم الأدبار ومن يولهم يومئذ دبره إلا متحرفا للقتال أو متحيزا إلى فئة فقد باء بغضب من الله ومأواه جهنم وبئس المصيرI remind you for the third time that Hajj is worship, a great worship, a major responsibility. It is not permissible for a person to be negligent with it, such that he goes out for it without knowing anything about its obligations, pillars, or prohibitions. Because he will make mistakes, and if he makes a mistake and then asks about it after it has occurred, it may be a mistake that cannot be rectified.
We give an example of this: some people, when they saw the crowd at the tawaf, started entering between the Black Stone and the Ka'bah because it is shorter and easier. This is undoubtedly a mistake.
Because if a person does that, his lap in which this violation occurred is not valid. And although, as I was told, the authorities placed a barrier on the door of the Hijr on the eastern side this year so that no one passes it, some people may be negligent, move this barrier, and enter.
The important thing is that a person should be cautious about this ritual before entering it, and be cautious about this ritual after entering it, so that if he falls into something he sees as a violation, he hastens to ask about it as long as he is in Makkah, making it easy for him to rectify the matter and complete the ritual.
And he should not ask except from one whose knowledge and trustworthiness he is confident in. Just as a sick person does not go to just anyone to be treated, but only to one from whom he hopes for correct and sound treatment, so too in matters of worship, a person should not ask, and it is not permissible for him to ask, except from one he knows or strongly suspects is qualified to answer, because he knows that he is a scholar, that he is trustworthy, and that he is reliable, so that he is on clear guidance regarding his affair.
How many are those about whom we hear answers regarding Hajj and 'Umrah that have no basis, neither from the Sunnah nor from the statements of the scholars, but are pure error. But the layperson is like a drowning man clinging to everything; if he finds someone he thinks is a scholar, whether for his appearance, his clothing, or the like, he goes to ask him, even though he is ignorant, and he misguides him in all these matters. A person must pay attention to these matters, not only in Hajj, but in Hajj, fasting, zakah, prayer, ritual purity, and others, so that he worships Allah (the Exalted) on clear guidance.
Then, when the Muslims multiplied and spread across the earth, and transactions and circumstances occurred that were different from the initial state, they needed to establish a calendar to follow. This happened during the time of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). Some said we should start the calendar, meaning the year, from Rabi' al-Awwal, because it is the month in which the revelation was first sent down to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and because it is the month in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated and arrived in Madinah, establishing the state and the community.
But the opinion settled on making the first month of the year Muharram, because when people finish the Hajj season and depart from it, and Hajj, as we know, is the fifth pillar of Islam, the Muslims will have completed this great pillar and rested after it, especially in the past when they were tired from reaching Makkah and returning from it. So they saw that the start of the year should be from the month of Muharram. This is a successful and sound opinion.
And it is not befitting for us, Muslims, to turn away from it to the calendar of the disbelieving nation, which builds its time markers on imaginary months that have no origin, but are merely conventional.
Then, it is also befitting for us not to consider the Gregorian years, because we have the Hijri years, which are a symbol of our honor, strength, and dignity.
And we regret that some people today, and they are a few, have gone to date by the Gregorian calendar and turned away from their Hijri Islamic calendar, which was established by the Commander of the Believers, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and upon which the Muslims agreed. No one among the scholars dated by the Gregorian calendar in the past, ever; they only dated by the Hijri calendar.
He assumed the caliphate in such-and-such a year, meaning from the Hijra, and such-and-such a scholar was born in such-and-such a year, died in such-and-such a year, and such-and-such happened in the Hijri calendar established by the second Rightly Guided Caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). And these are their books now; you find that when a person finishes an author, he says he finished its composition on such-and-such a day, in such-and-such a month, in such-and-such a year, all in the Hijri calendar.
But the Gregorian calendar entered the Muslims when the Christians colonized the lands of the Muslims in the Levant, Egypt, and Iraq, when they took control and became dominant, because custom, nature, and fitrah dictate that the defeated imitate the victor. So they adopted this calendar. But this state, as a state, has made its calendar, as in the issued system of governance, the Hijri calendar.
And this is undoubtedly better, but we regret some people who turned away from this and started dating by the Gregorian calendar, even though the state's system is that its calendar is the Hijri calendar, indeed the system of the Islamic community since this calendar was established in the time of 'Umar until this day. So we ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to grant us and you the following of our righteous predecessors in creed, methodology, morals, etiquette, and dealings. He is capable of all things. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions. Now we begin with the questions, read them to us.