Abdullah Oduro – 5 Pillars Made Plain – Intro to Hajj, Pilgrimage

			Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all. I'm
Abdullah odo and welcome. A young woman walks in the mosque and she sees a group of sisters standing
around one particular sister, she walks up to that group wondering what's going on. And she notices
that these women have pieces of paper with requests on them with due eyes prayers, and they're
handing it to the sister. And they're saying, okay, you know, please make this job for me. This is
for my relatives. This is for my friend, this is for me. And the sister that walked in the mosque is
wondering, why are they doing this? You see, the sister was a convert. And she didn't know why they
		

			were handing her these prayers. They were thinking she was thinking, is this a righteous sister to
that level? Why is this sister so special, come to find out that this sister was going to make the
pilgrimage to Mecca. And that's when it really hit her. You see, she remembers one time that her
husband was telling her when he converted to Islam, how he was dumbfounded when he walked into the
apartment of one of his friends. And it was a TV screen. And on the TV screen was the cabinet, the
house of Allah that is symbolized to be the house of Allah. And he was amazed by the people just
circumambulating around in the unity when they would stop to pray, and all go into the bowing
		

			position, all in unison, all in synchronization, all saying mean, which is like Amen. All saying
this, at the same time, the uniformity and how all of this is in one direction to the same God, it
was amazing to him. This is what he told her. When she saw that she immediately remembered what her
husband told her. A couple of weeks later, that sister that received all those requests that went to
the pilgrimage came back to the mosque. And the sister that walked in the mosque saw how elated all
the sisters were when seeing this pilgrim come back from Mecca, and how they all lined up to talk to
her. And she remembered at that time when she embraced Islam, and how everyone was lining up to hug
		

			her and to congratulate her the pilgrimage. Hij the fifth pillar of Islam is something that is so
amazing, extraordinary. And it is a life changing experience for the Muslim. And especially for
someone that is just converted to Islam, or someone that is a renewed Muslim, trying to practice
their faith. This without a doubt is a life changing experience. You know, many times we find people
that tell you, you know, you got to go to the Grand Canyon, you know, you got to go to certain
places around the world. You have to go to Japan or go to certain places to visit these certain
sites and learn history and see what has taken place throughout the world and no doubt about it in
		

			the Quran. It reminds us to go around the world and see in particular to see what's happened to
certain nations. But there's no problem with going and taking a journey around the world to see the
beautiful is in science of Allah. But let's remember that Hajj is a travel unlike any other. It is a
spiritual journey. It's a journey to visit Allah subhanho wa Tada. It's a journey that broadens your
scope. And this broadening of one scope was exactly what Malcolm X said, may Allah have mercy on his
soul, an individual that fought against dehumanization and prejudice and stereotypes and racism
against non whites, particularly African Americans when he said, Never have I experienced such
		

			sincere hospitality and true brotherhood, as displayed by people of all races and colors, and this
ancient holy land, the home of Abraham, Mohammed and all of the other prophets of the Holy
Scriptures. In the past week, I've been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness
displayed around me by people of all colors. He also said, in the past 11 days, I have eaten from
the same plate, drunk from the same glass, slept on the same rug while praying to the same God with
peoples whose eyes are the bluest of blue, whose hair is the blondest of blonde, and whose skin is
the widest of light. That statement by Malcolm X shows the importance of the universality of Islam,
		

			being that when he made the pilgrimage, he saw how there were different colors and different types
of people, but all worshipping the same God practicing the same reenactments of the prophets. Even
within practicing this pillar of hygiene there are certain adapt or certain forms of etiquette here,
we see in chapter number two verse number 197. Or a law says, the Hajj the pilgrimage are welcome.
		

			Known months it's within well known months. So whoever decides to perform the Hajj or make it
obligatory upon themselves by performing it, there is no sexual relations, nor any disobedience nor
any arguing or disputing during Hajj. And whoever does it a lot is well aware of what you do.
Whatever good you do a lot is well aware of it. So take your provisions for really the best
provision is that of piety. So fear me or people of understanding. So understanding that Allah
subhanho wa Taala, the Exalted within performing this pillar, there are certain etiquettes that we
will talk about in sha Allah. Allah says in chapter number three, verse number 97, and for Allah
		

			upon the people is to make the pilgrimage to the house, whoever is able to do so. Whoever
disbelieves Indeed, Allah is free from any need of the worlds. So an understanding that Allah has
obliged this upon us. And being that Hutch is something that if you're able to do so, we understand
the mercy of Allah when performing or trying your level best to perform that pillar of Islam. And if
when that disbelieves Allah is free from any need of anyone or anything to show you that going to
make hunch going to this pilgrimage, traveling 1000s of miles is better for you in your soul of your
existence on this earth, thus fulfilling that purpose.