Answer
Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
- Hajj inculcates the spirit of love and devotion to the One and Only Lord.
- Hajj unifies peoples’ minds and hearts on almost the same purposes; to please Almighty Allah and to have their sins forgiven.
- All those who perform Hajj, despite their differences in ethnicity, culture, and language, share the same rites and hopes.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. Like other pillars, it was instituted by the all-Wise and all-Knowing to help humans realize their full potential. They are primarily intended to instill true consciousness of Almighty Allah in us and to make us aware of our real purpose in life. The following are some of the most important benefits of Hajj:
1- It deepens our awareness of the Oneness of Allah and helps us to be God-centered.
2- It teaches us the oneness of the human family under the Lordship of One God.
3- It helps us to develop a feeling of universal human brotherhood.
4- Finally, it enables us to renew our faith by making us aware of the transient nature of this life and our final standing before the Lord on the Day of Judgment.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.