Hajj Washes all the Sins of a Person
The Hajj is the Annual Pilgrimage which holds every year, in the last month (Dhu al-Hijjah) of Islamic calendar. Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam which means “to intend a journey”. Hajj is obligatory (fard) which every Muslim should perform at least once in his/her life, but only if he/she is physically and financially able to do. As Allah says in Quran in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 196:
“And complete the Hajj and Umrah for Allah”. [2: 196]
There is a complete surah on Hajj, named as Surah Al-Hajj, and its verse number 27 says:
“And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass” [22:27]
One of the Hadiths also shows that Hajj is an important pillar of Islam,
“Islam is based on five fundamentals: to proclaim that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad (P.B.U.H) is the Messenger of Allah, and to establish the prayer, and pay Zakat, to offer pilgrimage of the House [of God] and to fast during Ramadan”. (Bukhari No: 7)
There are so many benefits of Hajj, along with that Hajj shows equality on Earth among people, in a way that every person wears white dress to show that no one is superior to another. Muslims shed or remove all the marks of their wealth, status, pride and all the societal differences by wearing simple white garments which is also called “Ihraam”. Even the sandals which a pilgrim is asked to wear is simple and without made by stitches. Woman can wear white or black dress with the simple gown and head scarf. The dress of woman should cover her completely, however only hands and face are uncovered. Hence, this unity in regard to dressing shows that there is no distinction of cast, creed, culture, race, wealth, or any materialistic thing between the people. All Muslims are equal in the eyes of God, their rewards and punishments vary as per to their deeds and which only Allah knows the best.
Hajj is the great chance to wash the sins. All the moments while performing Hajj contribute a lot in gaining rewards and to get rid of sins. The beautiful saying of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) is:
“One who comes to this House for Hajj and avoids all lewdness and sins, he returns as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him.” (Bukhari, Muslim).
This shows that no matter how much bad a person there is or in how many bad activities a person is indulged in, Allah will wash off his bad deeds with his good deeds. A person should promise to not repeat those past sinful deeds again after pilgrimage, because true intentions of a person will lead him to the good path.
