In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

 

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad.

 

Acts of worship are not restricted to the bodily actions, but they extend to include acts of the heart such as sincerity and fear of Allah and love for his sake. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The performance of `umrah is an expiation for the sins committed between it and the previous `umrah; and the reward of hajj mabrur is nothing less than Paradise.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

 

The question should be what is hajj mabrub? A variety of answers have been given in response to this question. In one hadith the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that hajj mabrur is: “Giving food and spreading peace.” Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said it is: “`Ajj and thajj,” meaning raising one’s voice saying ‘labbayk’ and slaughtering the sacrificial animals in order to feed the pilgrims.

 

 

Another opinion is that in it the pilgrim does not detract from his hajj by committing any sins. Other opinions are that it is an accepted hajj or one in which there is no ostentation or reputation-seeking or one in which the person performing it abides by all the rulings.

 

 

There is no doubt that all of these definitions are based on evidences from the Quran and Hadith. Therefore it is possible to summarise the meaning of hajj mabrur in three points: Sincerity, wholesome provision, excellent performance. The best performance is to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

 

Almighty Allah knows best