By: Samsul Nizar
Professor and Head of STAIN Bengkalis
The mystery of Baitullah will be strengthened when dhuyuf ar-rahman is able to carry out a sequence of tasks truly and correctly while being a guest of Allah. A riddle with a million interpretations for His slaves who are “truly” encouraged to partake in “dishes of His love” in order to acquire degrees of glory. Other mysteries of activity are:
Firstly, Miqat, talbiyah, and the ihram costume. Miqat’s etymology translates to “the appointed place,” which refers to the starting point and time for wearing ihram while planning to perform the Hajj or ‘Umrah. Miqat is where one should begin wearing ihram attire and upholding their purity at all times. Philosophically speaking, it entails accepting responsibility for every action he has taken up until “the death of a servant” occurs.
The ihram costume represents human attire when death arrives. Lost power, lost degrees, no splendour is conveyed, the tongue is unable to “dance”, devoted followers are no longer united, and “defenders” are no longer eager to accompany. Nothing except practice is provided. When wearing the ihram clothing, there is supposed to be no remembering other than Him, no word other than worshipping Him, and no activity other than worship and charity. However, its connotation is not always clear. When wearing the ihram, pride remains firmly set, selfishness remains everlasting, worldliness remains dominant, injustice remains burning, and virtue (goodness) declines. They cannot “subdue themselves” to Allah while wearing ihram and Haramain, especially when wearing “great worldly clothes” and away from Haramain, then you can imagine the havoc that will be spread and caused.
While the strands of talbiyah speech are sacred and special sentences for those who are wearing ihram. It is an expression of the servant’s awareness of his position as a guest and gratitude for His invitation. This can be seen from the meaning of the phrase talbiyah, namely: “I fulfil Your call Dear Allah, I fulfil Your call dear Allah and there is no partner for You. Indeed, all praise, favours, and power are only for You without any partner.”
Such is the sacredness and depth of the meaning of talbiyah for servants who understand. But some are only limited to expressions, even seeming to “hum” which is humoured.
Secondly, Wuquf (standing before God) in the Field of ‘Arafah is the core of Hajj. This refers to the words of the Prophet Muhammad SAW: “Hajj is (wuquf) in Arafat, so whoever has done wuquf in Arafat before dawn breaks, then he has really performed Hajj” (HR. Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidzi, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah).
Referring to the above hadith, the wuquf in the Field of ‘Arafat (9 Zulhijjah) is essentially a physical activity by stopping at the Field of ‘Arafat to perform a series of sharia worship while the spiritual dimension is the reflection to “ascend to meet Allah SWT”. The time is from noon (Dhuhr) to sunset (maghrib). For servants who understand, wuquf in ‘Arafah field gives a sense of renewal and makes them aware of yaumil mahsyar. At that time, humans will be accountable for everything they do while in the world. For that reason, wuquf in the Field of ‘Arafah jerks the side of the servant’s consciousness. How small I am and how great His majesty is. At the same time, there is a sense that all humans are equal and equal in the side of Allah, both dressed in white, praising, praying, while getting closer to Allah SWT. But strangely, this dimension is often unable to be felt by the congregation. This dimension is sometimes defeated by the urge of the digital era. Some are busy just taking pictures and publishing them on social media. As a result, the meaning of wuquf in Arafah field is limited to physical presence, but human presence without spirit.
Third, stay overnight at Muzdalifah. Simply put, mabit means “to spend the night or rest”. The meaning of overnight refers to pausing at night to prepare everything for the throwing of the Jamrah. This activity means that humans have physical strength, prepare “weapons” (stones) and supplies, organise strategies, and multiply hope to Him before carrying out the struggle (in the way of Allah).
Fourth, throwing the jamarat (a small piece of a pebble or stone), tahallul awwal, and qurban. Throwing the jamarat on the 10th of Dhu’l-Hijja and during the days of tashri’ historically recalls the incident of Prophet Ibrahim slapping the devil who tempted him with a stone. Meanwhile, in essence, throwing the jamarat is an activity of the servant throwing and destroying the “demons” within himself.
Whether they exist in the visible or hidden dimensions, demons exhibit certain traits and behaviours. Allah’s words over the “demons” that have been dominating each person are accompanied by the vile flinging of stones. A slave is deserving of tahallul (tahallul awwal cutting at least three strands of hair), which means “releasing or freeing himself” from the diabolical features in each self, when he is able to drive the devil from himself. The lucky servant is the one who can stone the Jamarat and free himself from the demonic entity that has bound him. However, the servant who only throw the jamarat and tahallul to the legal limit suffered a loss. Because, he is unable to expel the devil from himself, even fearing that he will herd the devil’s hordes within himself and encourage his lust to achieve what he wants.
The activity of throwing the jamarat and exiting ihraam is in line with the act of sacrifice. Shari’a symbolises the slaughtering of sacrificial animals, but in essence it is slaughtering the animal traits that exist within us that bring humans down to humiliation. Slaughtering qurban animals is a form of gratitude to Allah for the sustenance obtained and a form of social piety to share (sacrificial meat) regardless of social and religious strata. Thus, the beautiful teachings of Islam guide its people to achieve vertical and horizontal salvation in a civilised manner.
Fifth, Tawaf ifadhah, Sa’i, and tahallul tsani. After successfully expelling the devil within, the servant is then reminded to increase awareness to follow Allah’s rules. The next pillar of Hajj activity is doing tawaf ifadhah (counterclockwise direction). This activity is a symbol of submission to “raise oneself” as a servant to the Creator. However, Allah reminds humans to remember their duties and functions as parents to their children and as children to their parents. This activity is summarised in the sa’i activity that crosses the hills of Safa and Marwa. The sa’i activity is a symbol of the journey and struggle of Siti Hajar and prophet Ismail AS. Symbols to be used as a mirror to position themselves as parents for their attention and affection for their children. Siti Hajar is a symbol of parents who tirelessly try to find water for their children in a halal way. Fatigue is ignored to endeavour to find halal sustenance.
In the same vein, the prophet Ismail can portray the figure of a devout kid and is therefore like a mirror of a child. For the sake of consuming halal food, this is an effort. In order to convey the figure of a devout youngster, halal food serves as nourishment. A “grain of hellfire” is something that will be consumed and generate children who are habituated to injustice, on the other hand, if an endeavour is conducted in an unfair manner and results in the production of illicit food. In actuality, eating haram food will pollute one’s person and function as a curtain for one to “meet” with Allah (the Most Holy)
When the meaning of tawaf ifadhah and sa’i can be achieved, then humans return to tahallul tsani to proclaim themselves who have been able to release themselves from the shackles of the devil’s seduction and lust for misguidance. Tahallul tsani is not limited to the law by cutting at least 3 strands of hair, but at the same time the meaning of the essence of the victory of faith over the persuasion of the devil, like the victory of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail over the persuasion of Satan.
Sixth, Tawaf wada’, a farewell tawaf around the ka’bah before returning to the homeland. After doing tawaf, dhuyuf ar-rahman is no longer present in Baitullah until returning to the homeland. His activities without wearing ihram, doing sa’i and tahallul. Indeed, every meeting must have a farewell. Tawaf wada’ is a farewell tawaf performed by dhuyuf ar-rahman before returning to the homeland. As the saying goes “come looking face, go home looking back”. The existence of tawaf wada’ is a form of attitude towards the Baitullah. Attitude before leaving Baitullah that has given a million lessons of servitude to get to know the God better.
Make tawaf wada’ as the last tawaf for him. Farewell Tawaf with a million pleasures while being His guest. Unnoticed, the tears flowed endlessly. It was hard to leave Baitullah. Either this visit is the last visit to be called back by God. So many imperfections are made, but only hope to Allah for self-limitations. Indeed, every activity while being a guest of Allah should further strengthen faith in the physical evidence of the truth of His verses through a series of traces while in the haram. All of them are felt delicious and strengthen belief in the truth of Islamic teachings.
The quality of the former as a guest of Allah will be seen after returning to the homeland. Like a former servant who prays, it can be seen in his activities after prayer. If you are able to enjoy “Allah’s banquet” while being His guest, then the spiritual mind will be healthy by divine nutrition. Allah serves vitamins and nutrients to restore the spirit to find “Nur Allah and Nur Muhammad” which makes the spirit happy. What a happy and fortunate servant who finds and enjoys “divine nutrition” when His guest being to nourish his spirit. However, if being His guest is limited to being present, limited to achieving prestige, and limited to “makeup” to cover up mistakes, then his spirit will remain “sick and rotten” even after being Allah’s guest. This is because he does not find the true nutrients and vitamins that Allah offers for servants who are His guests.
What a miserable servant who is unable to find and enjoy the vitamin and nutritional dishes served by Allah while being His guest. If this happens, then multiply reflection for the cause of spiritual aridity that is unable to be “moistened” by the cool water of zam-zam, the dullness of the mind that is unable to capture “His verses”, the chronic and dirty heart that is unable to be treated by the “kalam Allah” and is also unable to be touched by the sanctity of Haramain, so dry tears to spill seeing the majesty of Allah and the humiliation of self, and the weight of the body to submit to His commands. If this is the case, it is a sign that the position of dhuyuf ar-rahman is only a “joke” to be played. Is it still appropriate to claim to be a servant of Allah and a follower of the Prophet when His verses are denied, and the love of the Prophet is never welcomed?
Take advantage of the opportunity to clean and improve yourself while in Haramain. Improve the quality of intentions and deeds, not just the quantity of intentions and deeds. Do not let the opportunity pass without a trace. Because everything is a form of opportunity given by Allah before returning to His promise (death). In fact, Allah has repeatedly (31 times) reminded Him through His words in QS. ar-Rahman: “So which of the favours of your Lord do you deny?”
The verse is repeated by Allah because of the ignorance of humans who often deny the truth of His verses. May we all be able to present ourselves as dhuyuf ar-rahman and His servants with ihsan (beautification) character. A character that is hidden in the attitude of sincerity and nourishes the tree of tawadhu’ in totality (kafah).
Wa Allahua’lam bi al-Shawwab.
Translated by Riska Saputra, S.Pd
Alumni from the English Education Study Program at STAIN Bengkalis.
Master Student at Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology in National Central University, Taiwan.
