el hajj-kholi\INTRODUCTION

Praise be to Allah, and may He bless His Prophet. Pilgrimage has detailed implication that may escape the notice of many readers of the Quran. It is a definite obligation, and one of the five pillars of Islam that were defined by the Prophet as follows:

"Testimony that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, prayers, Zakat (alms to the poor), fasting in Ramadan and pilgrimage to the Ka'ba." The implications which we mention are not to be sought here but lie behind these words of Allah:

"And proclaim the pilgrimage among men; they will come to you on foot and upon each lean camel, they will come from every deep ravine".

This verse of the Quran caught the attention of Muslim scholars who wondered at the idea that once the voice of the summoner is heard from the mosque at Mecca, the people will come from every deep ravine. Yet their wondering did not last long for it dawned upon them that though human effort is limited in its extent, God's power is infinite. They explain the meaning of the verse by saying that when God said to Ibrahim : "Proclain the pilgrimage among men, etc.", Ibrahim said to him : "Oh Lord, and how can my voice reach to the horizons ?" God answered him saying : "I `will make sure the call reached whoever I wish, though he be at the ends of the earth" The pilgrim, in this sense answers a divine call the moment he sets out on his pilgrimage. God has instilled this into his innermost heart, and he devoutly answers:

"O Lord, here I come ! I come to you who have no partner Praise and blessing and power be yours `." His Lord has called to him and be answers by saying : "Here I come !" (Labbayka). The implication here is that each pilgrim should be truly aware of what is being presented to him; that he is being summoned by his Lord, the Lord of creation, to visit him and that he should recognize that the invitation is an honour. Each pilgrim, when he enters the harm, must keep his feelings under strict control and drive away all evil thoughts. It is against this that God has warned us:

"And whosoever seeks wrong-doing therein we shall canse to taste a grievous punishment."

it is evident here that God inflicts punishment not only on evil doing, but also on wishing evil, for in the presence of God one should not allow one's thoughts to wander.

This book is a pointer to some of the obligations which we must observe in visiting the Holy Places. In it will be found collected the tenets which determine the rites of the pilgrimage and the manner of our fulfilling the Divine ordinance.