What Not to Do
During Hajj
During the days of Hajj, the things that are forbidden are the same things that are harmful in everyday life, too. These actions are forbidden in Hajj as a way of training. In Hajj, these prohibitions are followed with extra care so that a person becomes more alert about them and develops the ability to avoid them in daily life as well.
When a person is at home or engaged in business, he remains absorbed in his personal affairs and forgets the greater realities beyond them. For this reason, he is brought to the mosque five times a day to perform prayer, so that for a while he may step out of his private world, clear his mind of distractions, and turn with full concentration toward God. In the same way, during Hajj, a person is taken out of his limited world and brought to different places in Arabia for deeper spiritual experience. Hajj means being completely separated from worldly surroundings so that one can fully turn toward God.
Many important religious traditions are linked to Arabia. That’s why the land of Arabia is the ideal place for the Hajj rituals. Here is the Kaaba, which has been regarded as sacred for thousands of years. It is also where the stories of the sacrifices of the Prophets were recorded. This is where we find reminders of God’s blessings on His faithful servants. It is also the land where the lives of God’s last Messenger and his Companions left their marks. These historical connections give Hajj sites a unique sense of importance and reverence. When someone steps into this atmosphere, a deep spiritual history awakens in their mind. Naturally, their faith grows stronger. They become more serious and focused in obeying God’s commands. Because of its special significance, God chose this place so that symbolic training for Islamic life can occur here, and then the individual returns to their usual environment to lead a more God-centered life.
During the days of Hajj, while performing special rituals, there are three important things that are forbidden for the pilgrim:
1. Do not hurt anyone with your words.
2. Do not kill or harm any animal.
3. Avoid things related to comfort and decoration, like cutting nails, combing hair, wearing stitched clothes, applying perfume, marital relations, etc.
When people live together, the thing that causes the most trouble is the tongue. One person often hurts another with his words. During Hajj, as so many people are together at one time, there are more chances that someone may lose control of their speech and hurt another Muslim. So the season of Hajj is specially used for training in this matter. Hurting someone with words is generally forbidden in Islamic ethics, but in Hajj, it is made part of worship, so people take extra care to protect themselves from this social wrongdoing.
The Quran says: The pilgrimage is in the appointed months. Whoever intends to perform it during them must abstain from indecent speech, from all wicked conduct, and from quarrelling while on the pilgrimage. (2:197)
These are the three main ways in which people hurt each other with words: a person says indecent things, uses bad language about others, or argues and fights. All these actions are completely forbidden during Hajj. The purpose is to make a person more sensitive about them, so that when he returns from the spiritual journey, his tongue remains clean from such words forever.
Once a person wears the ihram for Hajj, hunting land animals becomes forbidden for him. Even accepting meat of hunted animals as a gift, pulling a bird’s feather, helping in hunting, giving someone a knife to kill an animal—all these are forbidden for the pilgrim.
During Hajj, if there is a dangerous animal like a snake, the pilgrim is allowed to kill it. He is also permitted to sacrifice the animal as part of the qurbani (sacrifice), which is a ritual during Hajj. Aside from this, killing or harming any animal is forbidden. While hunting animals is generally allowed, it is not permitted during Hajj. This serves as training to live with discipline and extra care. A person is always expected not to kill others or harm any living being. Although this is a general command for all times, during Hajj, this rule is extended even to animals to help individuals become more aware of it and follow it more strictly after returning from Hajj.
The summary of Islamic life in one word is: living with self-control. The journey of Hajj is specially designed for training in such a controlled way of life. This role of Hajj is explained in a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad: “Whoever performs the Hajj in such a way that Muslims remain safe from his tongue and hands, all his past sins will be forgiven.” (Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn Asakir, Vol. 29, p. 362)
That means, during Hajj, the most important thing a person must protect is this: no one should be hurt by his words, and no one should suffer because of his hands. The Hajj that erases all sins is the one where a person returns with a peaceful tongue and a kind hand.
During Hajj, even things of comfort and decoration are made forbidden. The Hajj begins with wearing the ihram. Ihram is a simple dress—one white lower cloth and one white upper sheet. As soon as someone enters the boundaries of Haram (the sacred area of Makkah), wearing ihram becomes necessary. This is a type of simple dress worn while visiting the Kaaba. This is the first symbolic step through which God reminds His servants that all human beings are equal. The outer things that people use to show off or think they are better than others are all meaningless in God’s sight. God looks at everyone equally, just as all pilgrims wearing the same dress during Hajj look alike. So the ihram is a practical expression of Islam’s teaching that all human beings are equal. Those who wish to be truly devoted to God must set aside every other ‘garment’ and unite by adopting the spiritual garment of piety. (Quran, 7:26)
The Prophet Muhammad was asked, “Who is the real pilgrim?” He replied, “The one with messy hair and dusty face.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 2998)
These words show the real picture of a true pilgrim. Untidy hair and dusty body are signs of a purposeful person. When someone devotes himself seriously to a special mission, he doesn’t have time for decoration. In Hajj, being told to adopt such a state is like being reminded of living a purposeful life. It means a person should be so deeply involved in God’s mission that he forgets about his looks. He forgets temporary pleasures. In his passion to achieve a higher goal, he forgets his personal desires.
About Hajj, the Quran says: Make provision for yourselves—but surely, the best of all provision is God-consciousness. (2:197)
In ancient Arabia, people believed that bringing food and supplies for Hajj was a worldly act. They thought that anyone who set out for Hajj without food or goods was very pious and religious. Such people used to say about themselves, “we are the ones who trust only in God” (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith No. 1730). But the Quran made it clear that this kind of outward display is not true piety. Genuine piety is in the heart and mind, not in outward appearances. What a person must safeguard is not his food bag but his heart and mind—ensuring they are free from fear of anyone other than God.
All India Radio, New Delhi,
14 September 1981.
