 Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. As-salamu alaikum. Respected viewers, brothers and sisters in Islam, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you. Welcome to the sixth episode of the treatise of rites. In today's episode, we will start with the rite of Hajj. Regarding Hajj, the Imam Zayn al-Abdin alayhi as-salam has said, and the rite of pilgrimage is that you should know that it is an arrival at the threshold of your Lord and a flight to Him from your sins. And through it, your repentance is accepted and you perform an obligation made incumbent upon you by God. The Arabic word Hajj used for pilgrimage really means goal or intention. It is used in its other forms to mean road, since a road helps us reach where we intend to go. The reason these ceremonies are all together, called pilgrimage or Hajj, is that once you start, you intend to visit the house of God. If we were to closely analyze the words of the Imam alayhi as-salam regarding the Hajj, we would notice many important factors, one of which is that the journey of Hajj is a journey of self-discovery and self-healing. The individual who chooses to partake in this journey will without a doubt see a different view towards Allah SWT and life in general. Hajj is one of the most important pillars of Islam and it is one of the greatest religious duties. The Holy Qur'an says in a short and meaningful sentence, It is on people for the sake of Allah to perform Hajj of His house, anyone who is able to undertake this journey to Him. Chapter 2 verse 196 One of the more important philosophies of Hajj is the ethical transformation which it induces within men. We can notice that Allah SWT forbids many things on the muhrim, the individual who performs the pilgrimage. The right of Ihram entirely removes men from material ostentations, external distinctions, extravagant clothing and ornaments. By prohibiting pleasures and engaging him in self-rectification, one of the duties of a muhrim, it distances him from the material world and engrosses him in a world of light, purity and spirituality. Therefore, it causes those who in ordinary circumstances find themselves weighed down by the burden of make-believe distinctions, ranks and honors to suddenly feel light, easy and relaxed. The whole reasoning behind it is to strip humans of all worldly affairs. It allows humans to focus only on their relationship with Allah SWT. The performance of the other rituals of Hajj, one after the other, continually brings men closer to His Lord, strengthens His spiritual connection with Him, distances Him from gloomy and sinful past and guides Him towards a bright, luminous and pure future. Every step a pilgrim walks resembles the path of Ibrahim, Ismail and his mother Hajar took, and the struggles they faced. The city of Mecca in general and the Masjid al-Haram, the Ka'bah and the place of circumambulation in particular, bring to mind the memories of the noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, the holy imams peace be upon them and the struggle of the Muslims during the period of early Islam. As a result, this ethical transformation tends to be deeper and more profound such that in every corner of Masjid al-Haram and in the city of Mecca, man visualizes the faces of the noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, Imam Ali, peace be upon him, and the other holy imams, peace be upon them. With all these spiritual, iconic standpoints, Muslims without a doubt will feel a sense of overwhelming closeness to Allah, it opens the hearts of Muslims and allows them to begin a new chapter in their lives. As it says in one of the hadiths, a pilgrim becomes free of sins just as he was on the day when his mother gave him birth. Truly Hajj is the second birth for Muslims, a birth which is the beginning of a new human life. The noble Prophet, peace be upon him, said, the prayer was made obligatory performing the pilgrimage and the circumambulation of the Ka'bah were commanded and the rituals of Hajj were made known only to establish the remembrance of God. If there is no sense of greatness or awe in your heart for the one who remembered who is the objective and the desired one, then of what of value is your remembrance? Each Muslim who has attained the required conditions must go on the pilgrimage once. If he has not done so when he is alive, someone else should be hired to do so on his behalf when he dies. The jurisprudence have stated the following conditions for going on the pilgrimage. One, physical readiness. Two, financial readiness. Three, open road access to the Ka'bah. We can notice that Hajj is not obligatory upon everyone, but rather only those who are physically and financially ready. Allah SWT has never ordered his servants beyond what they can comprehend or endure. Rather, Allah SWT only asks us of what is reasonable and realistic. Malik bin Anas, who was the founder of the Malikiyya sect, narrated that once when he was accompanying Imam Sadiq, on a pilgrimage trip, the Imam who was riding a horse could not say, labbaik. Every time he tried, his voice got stuck in his throat and he fell down from his horse. Malik said, oh grandson of the Prophet of God, say labbaik. You must say labbaik. Then Imam Sadiq said, oh son of Abi Amr, how dare I say labbaik Allahumma labbaik when I fear that God the Almighty might reply no. I neither accept you nor shall I admit you. If this is what the Imam says, who are we and where do we stand? This does not mean that we should give up and not go to Hajj, but rather when we do choose to partake, we should consider its immense magnitude on ourselves and our relationship with Allah SWT. Imam Sadiq, the last piece and blessings be upon him, said that pilgrimage is a flight to him from your sins. Once you return from the pilgrimage, your sins are forgiven and you are freed from the heavy burden of sins just as when you were first born. Let's go for a quick short break. We will be back. Stay tuned. Welcome back. It has been quoted on the authority of Imam Sadiq, a Bedouin visited the Holy Prophet of God and said, I left my house and set out for pilgrimage. However, for some reason I could not proceed and lost the opportunity to go on pilgrimage. I am a rich man. Tell me what I can do so that God grants me what he grants, a Hajji. The Prophet looked at Abu Qubais mountain and said, if this mountain was made of red gold and it was all yours, you could not get the reward that God gives a Hajji if you donated it all for the sake of God. When a pilgrim begins preparing his provisions for the journey, he is given the reward for 10 good deeds and 10 of his wicked deeds are forgiven for every step that he takes for its preparation. His rank near God is elevated 10 degrees. When he rides in his mount, God will record the same kind of reward for him for every step that he raises and lowers. Once he performs the circumambulations of the house of God, his sins are gone. When he throws stones at the symbol of idols, his sins depart. The Prophet, peace be upon him, repeated the same sentence for each of the stations. Then he said, how can you attain the reward that the Hajji attains? Imam Zaynul Abidin, peace and blessings be upon him, finishes the right of the Hajj and proceeds to the right of the offering. Regarding this, the Imam, peace be upon him said, and the right of the offering is that through it you purify your will toward your Lord and expose yourself to His mercy and His approval and not the eyes of the observers lower than Him. If this is so, you will neither be hypocritical nor extravagant. You will only intend the offering for God's sake and know that God wishes your ease and does not wish your hardship. He also wishes his creatures to take it easy and does not wish them to suffer hardships. Likewise, modesty is better than arrogance for there lies extravagance and falsehood in the arrogant. While there are no formalities or falsehoods in the humble and the servile, since they are creatures and they exist in nature. There is no power but in God. The Arabic word, hada, meaning offering, is used to refer to the sacrifice made for the holy pilgrimage to the Kaaba. We read the following verse in the Holy Quran and do not shave your heads until the offering reaches the place of sacrifice, the Holy Quran al-Baqara chapter 2 verse 196. The second obligatory act in Mina for those who go on the Hajj pilgrimage is to send an offering for sacrifice. This offering is intended to be an act to get closer to God. We read the following in Majba al-Bahrain. Offering refers to any good deed done with the attention of getting closer to God. If we want to better understand what Imam al-Sajjad, peace and blessings be upon him, said about the offering, we should review the Quranic verse on this issue. In the Holy Quran it says, and the service of God. But if ye are prevented from completing it, send an offering for sacrifice, such as ye may find and do not shave your heads until the offering reaches the place of sacrifice. And if any of you is ill or has an ailment in his scalp, necessitating shaving, he should in compensation either fast or feed the poor or offer sacrifice. And when ye are in peaceful conditions again, if anyone wishes to continue the Amr on to the Hajj, he must make an offering such as he can afford. The Holy Quran chapter 2 verse 196. In another verse it says, Generally speaking, we can understand that what the Imam said regarding the offering goes hand in hand with what the Quran says. Knowing the root of where the practice of offering started is quite crucial. Historical records show various forms of offering for sacrifice existed in different nations. The Quran has stated the origin of this practice to be at the time of the two sons of Adam, as we read in the following verse. Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam. Behold, they each presented a sacrifice to God. Accepted from one, but not from the other. Said the latter, Evidently we can tell that offering is a way to get closer to Allah SWT. Since the presence of one of them was accepted, the other one threatened to kill him. The two sons of Adam used this practice to test their closeness to Allah SWT. Abraham also tested his closeness to Allah through presenting a sacrifice. The meat of the sacrificed animal should be distributed among the poor people for the sake of God. We can understand this from numerous traditions. Imam Sadiq, peace and blessings be upon him, quoted on the authority of God's prophet, peace be upon him. God has established this sacrifice in order that your poor may have ample meat to eat. Therefore, give them meat to eat. With this, we conclude this episode of the Treaties of Rights. We hope you tune in to the next episode. Let us always remember for our Imam Mehdi's blessed reappearance, peace be upon him, and peace be upon him.