The basic tenets of Islam’s five Pillars are not arbitrary religious rights individually collected by Islamic tradition. Believers accept that they are a perfect. Believers accept they are holistic interlocking of spiritual practices with divine design to engage human beings; in all that they are, all that they should be and can once again be. Sort of sounds like an Army commercial, doesn’t it?
The Hajj
Hajj is the pilgrimage. It is a once in a lifetime obligation of every able bodied Muslim that having the means to perform it. It is a pilgrimage to Mecca for a certain day every lunar year. The true meaning of the Hajj is to return to one’s own heart. The Hajj has one central rite, standing on Mount Arafah on the day of Arafah. It contains many other Sunnah acts and a number of regulations.
Rites and Regulations
The rites and regulations include: settling one’s debts, asking forgiveness of acquaintances, preparing oneself as if for death, traveling to Mecca, dressing in the ihram and consecrating oneself therein, saying “here I am Allah, at your service”, running between the rocks of Safa and Marwah, praying the maqam of Ibrahim or the hijr of Ismail, touching the Black Stone on the corner of the Kabah or the wall between the door of the Kabah and the Black Stone the Multazam and contemplating the Kabah, drinking water from the well of Zamzam, going to the plane of Mina, spending time and sleeping at Muzdalifah, throwing pebbles at the devil, Shaving one’s head, sacrificing an animal, undoing the ihram, visiting the Kabah again and performing the tawaf of departure, visiting the prophet’s tomb in Medina and if possible the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jursalem after the Hajj.
Prohibitions
The prohibitions for the Hajj include: bans on hunting, conjugal relations, lewdness, gossip, shaving or cutting one’s hair or nails while in state of ihram.
The idea of the return to the subtle heart underlies all of the rites, recommendations, regulations, and prohibitions of the Hajj. This single idea binds them all together makes sense of them and shows their common purpose and goal.
There is a mirroring of Allah’s portents, things that foreshadow a coming events between the universe and human beings. It has been said, “Man is a small universe and the universe is a large man.” This is taken to mean that in this sense Mecca and the mysterious cubic, black shrouded Kabah are the spiritual heart of the world. To go to Mecca on the pilgrimage means to return symbolically to one’s heart.
Return to one’s own heart
The idea that the true meaning of the Hajj is to return to one’s own heart. Explains many things. It is understood to explain the direction of prayer for Muslims. The heart is the locus of the faith. Since one prays through faith, one prays through the heart.
This also explains why during the Hajj ordinary actions become full fledged sacred rites. (See the list of Sunnah acts and regulations above). They become sacred rite because the pilgrimage dominates the heart and in the heart everything is a remembrance of Allah and nothing else matters. This explains why Allah forgives the sincere pilgrim’s sins. In returning to one’s own true heart, one leaves behind one’s old ego and its sins and finds the soul at peace.
Conclusion
Islam is about submission not peace. It is about commitment of the body, soul and spirit. Each of the tenets has a place in the dogma of the religion and in construction of the rituals. Remember the basic tenets of Islam’s five Pillars are not arbitrary religious rights Islamic tradition individually collects. They form a more complete whole.
