 Alhamdulillah, this is the season of the Hajj, and so many of our brothers and sisters, by the grace of Allah, are embarked on this very important journey. Mehlus Manautala made their Hajj a good one, a successful one. Mehlus Manautala bring them back safely. Mehlus Manautala bring us the barakah that will bring back from the visit to the house of Allah, and a visit to the place of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. It is possible to talk about the Hajj from many different angles, and for a very long time. It is said in certain circles that the difference between ordinary people and those who are extraordinary, is that extraordinary people build institutions that endure. Ordinary people do good things, they're good to their families, they're good to their neighborhoods and their communities, but not necessarily build institutions that endure. And it is said that our Prophet ﷺ built not one institution, but five institutions. This is what is said, the institution of the word, the institution of Salat, which is the prayer, the institution of fasting, the institution of zakat, and the institution of Hajj. That's only an approximation, because when you look at the Hajj, the Hajj is not one institution. The Hajj is many institutions in one, and you can take it, explode it, as you do for instance, when you look at a scientific object and want to analyze it, you can explode it, and look at each one of the items, each one of the things that we do in preparation for the Hajj, performing the Hajj and coming back, each one of them is an institution. Insha'Allah, this is what we'll try to do today, is to look at Hajj from a historical perspective. There are many young people in here, and they need to understand how Hajj was perceived, was practiced, and how it benefited so many people before the advent of our Prophet ﷺ and after our Prophet ﷺ finalized the rights of Hajj. The Hajj relates to the house of Ulus Manau Dada. People say, those who are not Muslim taskists, why is it that you point in the direction of Makkah? The answer is simply that that is the place where the first human performed the sajda to Allah ﷺ. If you go for Hajj and many of you have done for Hajj, it is related that Adam, and Hawa, when they were separated from each other. See here, I want to transmit to you a very important idea, the idea of separation. The idea of separation that animates all great literature, animates all great human endeavor, whether it be poetry, whether it be a work of architecture. Every great idea is animated by the idea of separation in as much as we as human beings were separated from Ulus Manau Dada, and it is a continuous endeavor that we have from the moment we are born to be died to find in Makkah. We find it through Salat, we find it through fasting, we find it through giving salat, we find it through zakat, we find it through Hajj. Meaning, it's a means, a process, the idea of separation. And that, in a sense, is to find our beloved. Beloved, not in the sense that the understanding in the ordinary means, but in the sense that at one time all of us, from Adam, to the last man who will raise this earth before the Day of Judgment, we stood in the presence of Ulus Manau Dada, and Ulus Manau Dada took that oath from us, we all said, Bala, yes, indeed you were, indeed it's an affliction that you took, that covenant from us. We were separated. So it's said, Adam and Islam, and how Islam were separated from each other, and they found each other, recognized each other, Arafa. See, again, it's very possible when you start a discussion of the Hajj to take out in a certain direction, Arafa itself is several hoodbusts in one. One of the meanings, Jigya, is the recognition, recognition of the names of Allah, recognition that Adam, and Islam, had of each other, and hence the common origin of all human beings. So it's said that they recognized each other, and they prayed at the place of Sajda. Sajda is the proper relationship between a human being and a Ulus Manau Dada. They said, what is the relationship? There is no relationship. The only relationship you want to think of from a human perspective is when a human being goes into Sajda, surrenders completely, and besieges Allah's Manau Dada for his munificence and his mercy. So that was the first place of Sajda. And he is led by, age is led by, and it's related that during the Great Flight, as it happens in many flights, the house of Allah's Manau Dada was destroyed. So many people who are not done for Hajj, they ask, how is it possible in the desert that you will have a flood? Well, if you want to see what kind of flood you're going to have in Makkah, go there during the winter months, during the rainy months. We had the good fortune of one time in 787 to be there during the month of December, and all the waters from the various different mountains converged towards the Kaaba, which is at the center of you in the valley. And the water, no exaggeration, could be as high as 20 feet. No exaggeration. I mean, ourself's thought. So the house of Allah's Manau Dada was destroyed until the time of Ibrahim al-Islam. It was reconstructed, and the story, and the historical evidence for it is the Ha'an. Ibrahim al-Islam, with his son, Ismail al-Islam, they reconstructed the house of Allah's Manau Dada, and it has stayed subject to the new constructions, old U.S. new destructions and so on, as it was at the time of Ibrahim al-Islam. So first of all, it's a visit to the place of the first sajda. As the Ha'an says, the first house for the worship of Allah's Manau Dada was established in Makkah, meaning Makkah, full of blessings for human mind. So one goes there for remembering the first sajda, and the place of sajda establishes only a direction. Just imagine humanity if they had multiple directions, because another thought that I want to pass up to the young people in here, where so many religions are a projection of the earth upon the heavens. Islam is a projection of the heavens upon the earth. See, for instance, in Sunnah al-Baghra, Allah's Manau Dada teaches us, al-Iqlani, the al-Qalqitabu, that, not this, it's a demonstrated form of the book that is in Lubanah, who's out there. A first of Ha'an is a portion, the final portion. Allah's Manau Dada revealed to our Prophet Muhammad SAW, in the same sense, the Ka'bah is a reflection, it's a reflection of the heavens upon the earth. It is said that there is the vital Ma'un. The vital Ma'un is the place in the heavens where all the angels circle around it. What a place that must be. Imagine billions, zillions of angels circulating around a central focus. And if you can withstand that imagination and withstand the projection of that upon the Ka'bah, you'll have some semblance of the spirituality that's associated with the Ka'bah. This faith believes that, indeed, it is a projection of the Ma'un or upon this earth. I believe that it's a spiritual statement. It is not of this earth, it is not of the heavens, but it's a projection, just as Islam is a projection of the heavens upon the earth. And hence, when people are specified, for instance, Islam as a religion, Islam is not a religion, Islam is a deem. It's much more than a religion. Religion has different connotations. It's a limitation of the English language. So one goes there to commemorate and to associate with the projection of the heavens upon the earth. But I said, we'll relate to it in a historical sense, even after our Prophet Muhammad SAW What I'll do very briefly is to touch upon some events so that the young people here carry back with them not just the spirituality of the place, and I'm sure many hadiths will stand here, inshallah, and they will talk about the spirituality of Haid, because it's a multi-dimensional, multi-institutional institution. It's not an institution, many institutions in one. Women in Hajj, for instance. In the 8th century, that is approximately 150 years after the time of our Prophet Muhammad SAW, when the Islamic domains extended all the way from the rumor of Indus to the Koreanist mountains which divide France from Spain, all the way from what is today Pakistan to what is today Spain and France. At that time, at the beginning of the 8th century, Haruna Bashin was the Khalifa in Baghdad and his wife, Zubeda, performed the Hajj. What a marvelous lady she was. People say, well, you know, Islam keeps women down. What? They are not studying the history of Islam. They do not know how Islam took women from the position that they were in and elevated them to the highest and the highest. This lady performed the Hajj, so she was the wife of the Khalifa. She took a big entourage. And not only did she perform the Hajj, noticing that there was not a good road between Baghdad and Makra. She constructed the road. Of course, the road, because of the sand that blows across the Bukhari, it gets covered up. But the road is still visible if you look at it from satellites. Not only that, but he went for Hajj. She noticed that there was a dirt of water. You remember that Baghdad was built in the desert and people said, why was it built in the desert? Think of Khilwa. If you want to live with Allah, you want to isolate yourself. You want to somehow absorb yourself of all the connections, the distractions that you have from the outside world. And what better place is there than the desert to isolate yourself so that you are in a one-to-one relationship in a relationship center, Sezda, with Al-Isman al-Ata'a. It was built in a desert and it's mentioned in the Qa'am. When Ibrahim Al-Isman along with his leaves, his wife and his baby, he praised Al-Isman al-Ata'a, put mercy in the minds, in the hearts of some of the denizens that those who lived in this area so that my children would partake in some things. So the desert is where the Ka'ba was located. Zubeda saw that there was no water. So she built a cistern, a system of condoms bringing water from the mountains to the location of the Ka'ba. And those cisterns are still there. This way there, but still there. What a marvelous lady she was. Not only was she the wife of the Khalifa, but she did this wonderful thing that was of benefit to people for generations to come. Let's move on, especially for young people. In the 14th century, and I'll paint for you what the 14th century was like. The 14th century obviously came after the 13th century. The 13th century was a century of devastation, complete total devastation. On the one hand there was devastation of the invasions from Europe, which is what we call the Crusades. On the other hand, much more with greater intensity in the devastations of the Mongols between 1219 and 158. But all the areas from the Amudaria, which is in Central Asia, was Pakistan, to Baghdad, and up to Jerusalem, up to the Battle of Angelo in 1262. All the areas completely totally destroyed, then came the 14th century. In the 14th century, there were only three Muslim kingdoms standing on the feet. One was the Mongol Sultanate of Delhi, who had to continuously fed off the Mongols. The second was the Mongols of Egypt, who fought a brave and successful battle against the Mongols in 1262, of the outskirts of Jerusalem, and there was the Empire of Mali. The Empire of Mali, after the Kingdom, is something that most Muslims may not know about. Mali was by far the richest kingdom in the world in the 14th century. Why? They had access to the gold mines of time. And the king, Mansa, he means Mansa, Mansa Musa, he was perhaps the richest man on earth in the 14th century. He decided to go for Hajj, and it was ready. This is important. He is related. He took with him so much gold, and he spent with them. He traveled through the desert, and I don't want to go into all the trade routes that existed. He traveled through the desert, went to Egypt. Egypt was the very prosperous place of art at the time, because they controlled the trade between the Mediterranean and the East, the space tribe. And even so, Mansa Musa brought so much gold, it caused inflation in Egypt. There is a supply of money that obviously prices go up, and you have inflation. He spent so much money that he influenced the economy not just Egypt, but all the dominions that were controlled by the Mamluks, namely Syria, and into India, along the coast of Ajaz. He went to Hajj, came back, and on the way back, what did he take with him? He brought back with him copies of the Quran. He brought back with him scholars. He brought back with him knowledge. My dear brothers and sisters, my young brothers and sisters, knowledge is the basis of Islam. There was a time when the kings would do anything, anything to acquire knowledge. In the 16th century, just another fascinating example, there was a holy empire whose name was Muwajib, who was defeated by another king, and he had to flee. And what did he take with him? He took with him a hundred and fifty thousand books. That's how people value the gift of Allah, is the fire that cannot be extinguished. Allah passed on from father to son like they passed on a piece of paper or property. Knowledge is the gift of Allah's power. Allah took that knowledge and built Timbuktu into one of the three nearest cities in the world. Unfortunately, in the river of Niger, it used to flow by the city of Timbuktu. It has shifted down because of the desert. But even now, it is a city to behold. Mansa Musa. Everyone put the kingdom upon you, upon the global picture. Indeed, there are some people who say that Africans discovered America way before Columbus discovered America. And again, that's another story. If it happens, it happens at the time of Mansa Musa because he had the engineering material, he had the ability to know how and he had the means which is capital to make it happen. And there are historical records to prove that. Yet, another example, again, because of the time, I would like to finish in the next three to five minutes in time to make. In modern times, the high-tech Malcolm X, one of the great personalities, those who have been in America the last 50, 60, 70 years and have lived through what he had found in the 50s and the 60s. So, one of the great personalities who influenced the flow of history in the United States. He went for Hajj in 1964. I don't want to go into the other aspects of it. Before he went for Hajj, he was of the opinion that people could be divided on the basis of race and color. When he went for Hajj, he was transformed. Hajj is transformation from within and transformation from without. At the time of Mansa Musa, you saw how the kingdom of Hollywood was transformed as a nation. Years against when a great leader and a new world is transformed, when you go for Hajj, you come back transformed. And he went and talked about each one of the events in the Hajj in the transformation. He came back completely transformed. Unfortunately, he did not live to build an edifice, a social edifice based upon his new vision of Islam, his new vision of America. That is Hajj from a historical perspective. And I'd like to close as to why it is that, how it is from a historical perspective that people go there, not just drained from the waters in the Zanzan, but drained from the waters that come down to the heavens and come back, a building of the Nur Ilahi, the light of Allah's power. And then they go on to the place where our Prophet Muhammad was born, and come back with the Nur that radiates from the city of light. Why is it that it happens? It happens because of the Hajj itself. Because it's not just a place. The Hajj is a visit to a place which is a reflection of the heavens upon Earth. It's a reflection of Bailu Mahmood. It's a reflection of what the Prophet will have so long had as in the final Hajj, which was the first Hajj. And it behooves us to remember some of the things he taught us in that last Hajj. If the young people wish to understand the personality of our Prophet Muhammad and nothing else, read the last khudba. The last khudba of our Prophet Muhammad that he gave, Jablu Rahman, and the Maulana Arakah. Two or three things that you must remember even in this day and age. Number one, we talk about men and women. After reminding everyone to believe in Allah SWT and to observe his commandments, he reminded us of the rights and responsibilities of men and women. And so many people today that say, well, Islam keeps women down. Read the instructions. Read the bidaya of our Prophet Muhammad. Read what is there in the Quran. The Quran is our guide. The Quran, any week in human time. The Prophet SAW said, you men have rights for women and they women have rights for you. Mutual rights and responsibilities. Rights and responsibilities. Adu. Adu means right and responsibilities. Many other meanings too. Women have the rights. Women have the responsibilities. Then, the Prophet SAW wanted to lay the foundation of a just society. That 1500 years ago, clearly, an Arab is not better than an Arab. A black man is not better than a white man. If there is not a difference, it is only on the basis of his good deeds. What a marvelous statement. 1500 years ago, he laid the foundation of a just society. A just world. And that's what the Hajj is about. And you put on the Quran and you say, Allahumma La Bayt. La Bayt. La Shajika La Bayt. La Bayt. When you do that, that's what you do. You have taken out your snake skin and you said, Allah, before Allah, we are all one, does not matter who it is. So he taught us to be brothers and sisters, not just black and white. In America today, if you want to understand America, the biggest schism that we have is here that moon, America would be a much greater place. Historically and today. And in the world today, people are divided on the basis of what? But this belongs to you, it belongs to me, I'm a Torah, and whatever, I'm white, black, no, nothing. The Prophet taught us that. And lastly, he laid the foundation of the just economic system. He said, and he reiterated the teachings of the Quran, no rebound. You see, so many hadith, so many imams avoid the issue of Riba. The Quran is very clear. The Quran says he who consumes Riba is as if he has consumed the fire, as if he is friends with the devil, making a covenant with the devil. Stay away from Riba. I know the economic situation in the world may not promise us to do that, but at least no, that is not right. That is not correct. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam on his, in his last book, and reminded us of the evils of Riba. Of the evils of human mind will buy for itself if it departs on the path. And there are so many other other hidayah that he gave us. So, in summary, whether you look at the from a historical perspective, from a spiritual perspective, the perspective that indeed the Kaaba is a reflection of the heavens and earth, a perspective that the Hajj is a journey with it, and a journey in the top. A journey to discover ourselves, or to discover our origins to our father, Adam Alai Sallam, and our mother, Allah Alai Sallam. A process of discovery of how we relate to Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, no matter how we look at it, is many institutions in one. May Allah SWT bring back those who have a mark in the Hajj with safety. May Allah SWT grant them all the blessings of Hajj. May Allah SWT make this Hajj be successful. May Allah SWT also heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT healing not just in the physical sense, healing also within the heart. Because the healing in the heart is even more important in the healing of the body. The diseases of the body are a reflection of the diseases that we have been talking about for a long time. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah, my brothers and sisters, may Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. May Allah SWT heal those who are sick. So those who have the privilege, the blessings of Allah, whether you do with Umrah or Al-Hajj, make sure you visit the city of the Prophet because the mosque of the Prophet gives you vibrations that are qualitatively and quantitatively complementary, different, and yet sublime in their own way from the vibrations that you see in the house of Allah. Whereas the vibrations that you see in the Ka'bah overwhelm you. It is like you're confronting a tsunami. That's how deep and how powerful are the vibrations that you feel when you're in the Ka'bah. One to one in the presence of Allah, when you pray, or very close to a wall of the Ka'bah yourself, or you understand just the sight of Him. But when you are in the presence of the tomb of our Prophet Muhammad, in the mosque of our Prophet, the vibrations are like bombing. It's like the reflection from the moon rather than the hot rays of the sun. That's the approximate analogy. May Allah Almighty make it all possible for all of us to visit the tomb of Prophet Muhammad, and partake of the blessings that come from the visit. Let us pray, Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Allahumma sunnah nasa al-aliyah. Wa fta'hna na fata'n qalibah. Allahumma sunnah miladun al-awliya. Allahumma sunnah miladun al-sultana al-masirah. Wa qtub al-sa'qa wa al-salama. Wa al-a'rfa wa al-lafiha. Wa al-nusrat al-alayna. Wa al-abujaj. Wa al-zawad. Wa al-buzzad. Wa al-mukineen. Wa al-busatereen.