In the Precincts of Hajj
The Value of Cooperation: A Tool for Building Character
Every act of worship in Islam has an aim that it realizes in building character, in addition to what it builds in other respects; and every act of worship has its own particularity and mechanisms for reaching the goal of building character and bringing it to the lofty stations of Godwariness, righteousness and uprightness, and attaining spiritual balance, in order to overcome problems and crises and harness one’s capabilities for one’s progress and righteousness.
Among the particularities of Hajj and its rites is that it contributes to building character at the individual level through the collective, and through seizing the opportunity of people gathering on this blessed journey. Although the individual can achieve brilliant results in shaping and building his character individually, through humility and through looking at the acts by knowing their meanings and spiritual contents, building character through the collective cannot be bypassed or overlooked.
You can pray to Allah secretly in the depth of the night while people are asleep... You can take from your wealth a charity that you give secretly... You can fast and abstain from food without anyone among the people being aware of you... But you cannot perform a hidden, silent Hajj on your own... You must travel with the collective, gather with people and deal with those who differ... You will inevitably need other people, whether you come on foot or on a lean mount of land, sea or air; in every detail of the journey of Hajj you will need to deal with others.
We can formulate these meanings and these mechanisms of reform and character-building in Hajj through the collective in the word (cooperation), as a value expressing the depth of the movement of dealing with people in the Hajj season, as a tool for reform and an instrument for building a sound and upright character. We see that the verse of cooperation that came in the Noble Qurʾan, which urges Muslims to cooperate in piety and Godwariness and forbids them from cooperating in sin and aggression, came in the context of speaking about Hajj and being present at the Sacred House of Allah and in the sacred month.
Allah the Exalted said: “O you who have faith! Do not violate Allah’s sacraments, neither the sacred month, nor the offering, nor the necklaces, nor those bound for the Sacred House, who seek their Lord’s grace and [His] pleasure. But when you emerge from pilgrim sanctity, you may hunt for game. Ill feeling for a people should not lead you, because they barred you from [access to] the Sacred Mosque, to transgress. Cooperate in piety and Godwariness, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression, and be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah is severe in retribution” (Qurʾan 5:2)
In the collective dynamism of Hajj, in which different souls, different cultures and different aims and wills interact—since “Everyone acts according to his character” (Qurʾan 17:84), according to what his psychological and cultural interior reflects onto the surface of reality—the need for the spirit of cooperation becomes manifest; it is the starting point of the will to change and correct building, and at the same time it is the result of virtuous conduct among people.
To be cooperative with others and with those who differ means that you have crossed many distances to reach coexistence and the social peace that is meant to be realized on the journey of Hajj, and when a person is a guest at the Sacred House of Allah. Through this social orientation in the collective worship of Hajj, the individual can build his character, develop himself and shape his spirit in a mold of faith.
Therefore we see that there is a set of horizons that have come in Hajj and become manifest in this blessed journey—whether in its rulings, its atmosphere or its requirements—that reinforce the effectiveness of cooperation in building character. Here we mention some of them, so that they may be an entry point for the individual into building his character through awareness of them and of what they entail.
(1)
The addresses of the Noble Qurʾan in calling to Hajj, in explaining its rulings and in explaining the rites of the pilgrim were in collective form. He, the Exalted, said in calling people to Hajj, so that they would flock in great numbers and variety:
“And proclaim the Hajj to all the people: they will come to you on foot and on lean camels, coming from distant places” (Qurʾan 22:27).
And He, Almighty, said concerning the prayer of the pilgrim: “Take the venue of prayer from Abraham’s Station” (Qurʾan 2:125), and our Lord said: “Complete the hajj and the ‘umrah for Allah’s sake” (Qurʾan 2:196).
And He, the Exalted, said: “And [remember] when We made the House a place of reward for mankind and a sanctuary” (Qurʾan 2:125).
Hajj is a collective journey to which people come from every remote land, flocking to a single place at a single time, which calls for realizing cooperation in every movement that pushes toward attaining the higher goals of Hajj, such as reaching Godwariness and preserving peace in the soul, in relationships and in social security. Cooperation here is a starting point for preserving the goals of Hajj and a mechanism for obtaining its blessings.
(2)
In the journey of Hajj are the benefits of this world and the needs of the Hereafter, and the pilgrim witnesses these benefits, as He, the Exalted, says: “that they may witness the benefits for them, and mention Allah’s Name during the known days over the livestock He has provided them. So eat thereof and feed the destitute and the needy” (Qurʾan 22:28).
The benefits are not obtained, and this aim is not realized, except through the principle of cooperation, which regards others as sharing with oneself in humanity and in religion. So long as he will thank Allah the Exalted for the livestock He has provided him, and it is obligatory upon him to sacrifice it to feed the weak members of society, the psychological barriers that create haughtiness and arrogance toward others must melt away here, in order to realize this goal.
(3)
In the devotional journey of Hajj, which the pilgrim begins by putting on the two garments of iḥrām and then making his intention, a set of acts becomes forbidden to him, from which he is required to refrain. Among the most important of what is forbidden to him is what lies in the social sphere, where there is mixing with people, and what this collective journey entails. He, the Exalted, says: “The hajj [season] is in months well-known; so whoever decides on hajj [pilgrimage] therein, [should know that] there is to be no sexual contact, vicious talk, or disputing during the hajj. And whatever good you do, Allah knows it. And take provision, for indeed the best provision is Godwariness. So be wary of Me, O you who possess intellects!” (Qurʾan 2:197)
So there is no (sexual contact), meaning the disciplining of sexual desire and refraining from intimacy with women and the acts that follow from it bound up with desire; and no (vicious talk), so that there is no haughtiness over others, as one strips oneself of all worldly attachments so as to be equal with others; and no (disputing), to regulate and order dialogue with people so that their relations are relations whose title is peace and security. The prohibitions of ihram push toward regulating the state of gathering that takes place in the holy lands.
Without doubt, the peak of its realization takes place through cooperation among the pilgrims, so that they cooperate in piety and Godwariness; and they must not cooperate in sin and aggression.
(4)
The principle of cooperation among people on the journey of Hajj becomes manifest in taking into account the particular circumstances of the weak and those with special needs. The ruling on accompanying women so that they may perform their rites is of this kind, and some of the women’s rulings apply to the male pilgrim if he is accompanying them—such as the permissibility of his departing from al-Mashʿar al-Haram to Mina to stone the Jamarat at night: it is a permissible act for women within their circumstances, and this ruling also applies to the men accompanying them. Likewise, the Sharia has stressed that the leader of the caravan or (the Hajj group) take into consideration the woman whose monthly period comes upon her on entering Mecca, or the like, which requires her to delay.
It is narrated from ʿAli ibn Abi Hamza that he asked Abu al-Hasan (a) about the menstruating woman—and he mentioned the hadith, until he said:—I said: The camel-driver and the travel companions refuse to stay on for her. He said: He said: They have no right to that; she seeks redress against them so that he stays on for her until she becomes pure and completes her rites.
(5)
The Sacred House is the place toward which the hearts of people incline from every direction, and therefore it needs care and attention. And because it is the place where people seek purity, it must be pure and purified of every impurity, spiritual or material. Allah the Exalted instructed the prophets and messengers to undertake this task, to prepare the place to receive the delegations of the guests of the All-beneficent; He, the Exalted, said:
“We charged Abraham and Ishmael [with its upkeep, saying], ‘Purify My House for those who go around it, [for] those who make it a retreat and [for] those who bow and prostrate.’” (Qurʾan 2:125).
Allah the Exalted has threatened everyone who acts contrary to that, obstructs these noble service tasks and bars people from the Sacred House, in His saying, Almighty: “Indeed those who are faithless and bar from the way of Allah and the Sacred Mosque, which We have made for all people, the native and the visitor being equal therein—whoever wrongfully tries to commit violation in it, We shall make him taste a painful punishment” (Qurʾan 22:25).
And He called upon the one who is barred and aggressed against not to aggress against the one who barred him and not to overstep his bounds, so that sedition does not arise and the Sacred House is not turned into an arena of fighting and conflict between the parties. He—majestic is His affair—said: “Ill feeling for a people should not lead you, because they barred you from [access to] the Sacred Mosque, to transgress” (Qurʾan 5:2).
Serving the pilgrims and the delegation of Allah in the holy land is a matter of utmost importance, but it must have a spiritual resonance on the ground of reality: people should not prefer the form of service to its substance, nor ought they to content themselves with its name and forget the message that it serves in people’s journey to Hajj. Faith and correct belief, and jihad and translating faith into reality, are the foundation that the providing of water to pilgrims serves; that is why He, the Exalted, said:
“Do you regard the providing of water to Hajj pilgrims and the maintenance of the Holy Mosque as similar [in worth] to someone who has faith in Allah and [believes in] the Last Day and wages jihad in the way of Allah? They are not equal with Allah, and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot” (Qurʾan 9:19).
Service work and not barring [people] from the House of Allah the Exalted are a translation of the content of cooperation among people. A person rises by his intention to the station of serving others and preparing services for them, each in his own place—such as participating in cleaning, organization, health and medical work, and providing religious guidance, direction and propagation, and so on.
(6)
The journey of Hajj is surrounded by social participation. Just as the Sharia has stressed that it is recommended (mustaḥabb) to celebrate the pilgrim, receive him well and honor him, it has also addressed the pilgrim, that he bring back with him from the Hajj a keepsake—the gift of Hajj—which expresses his connection with his loved ones and family. It is narrated from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a) that he said: (The gift of Hajj is part of the Hajj).
Al-Sadiq (a) said: (Whoever embraces a pilgrim while he is still covered in his dust, it is as though he has touched the Black Stone).
And from him (a), he said: ʿAli ibn al-Husayn (a) used to say: O company of those who have not performed Hajj, rejoice at the pilgrims, shake hands with them and honor them, for that is your duty; you will share with them in the reward).
Build Your Character Through Cooperation
Building and shaping character through dealing with people, and through one’s movement within the sphere of human society, will be a strong and solid building, because a person’s true metal is known through friction and testing—for (people are mines, like the mines of gold and silver). And because the journey of Hajj is a journey in which nations differing in tastes, colors, temperaments and ideas gather, traveling toward a single spot, there they are in the direst need for their characters to be sound. We mention a set of directives that the pilgrim ought to grasp, so that they contribute to building his character in a distinguished way:
1/ When you set the principle of cooperation in piety and Godwariness with others before your eyes, you will pass beyond many of the preliminaries of dealing with people, because cooperation is a result and an aim attained only through good conduct and adorning oneself with virtues and noble traits of character, such as humility, cheerfulness, generosity and love of others. These qualities will be like givens, because you have kept in view the result, which is (cooperation).
2/ Everything that harms the principle of cooperation you ought to marginalize and pay no attention to—indeed, it ought to be avoided—such as looking down on others, thinking ill of them, spying, spreading indecency, and partisan zealotries. You are inhabited by the spirit of cooperation, and you ought not to do any act that harms it.
3/ In the case of dispute, sharpness and problems arising, you ought to think of the solutions that lead to strengthening the principle of cooperation and realizing it in reality; any solution or any action that you see does not support this goal will be a failed choice.
4/ Every situation you go through with others on the journey of Hajj must be an educational lesson that contributes to your acquiring more positive qualities, such as training in endurance and patience, forbearance and restraining anger; all of them are the best lessons for building your character. In this way you will have entered a training course in the art of dealing with others and good conduct.
5/ Through the journey of Hajj, broaden the horizon of your dealings with others, and open up to different peoples and diverse cultures, so as to add more awareness to your store—this, and so that the principle of cooperation takes on a broad, global horizon and is not confined to those around you. For Allah made us nations so that we may come to know one another, and He presented to us the universal message of the religion.
6/ Cooperation in good works is the loftiest result with which the pilgrim comes out of the school of Hajj in the social field. Therefore the components of cooperation must carry lofty meanings, such as serving people and extending a helping hand to them, serving the religion and strengthening its place in souls, scholarly and cultural work, and building social relationships that contribute to the cohesion of society and the closing of its ranks, so that they stand in solidarity with one another in crises.
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
