Maximizing Hajj: Patience, Patience and Some More Patience

Bismillah.

In Hajj, you lose your personal space. People bump into you, push you, grab on to your clothes, cough and sneeze on you. How will you react? Allah says, “So whoever undertakes the duty of performing Hajj in the month of Hajj then he/she shall not enjoy sexual relations, nor indulge in sins, nor engage in quarreling or bickering during Hajj. And whatever good you do, Allah knows it well” (2:197). All the things mentioned in the verse require one thing: patience. This is the hardest part of Hajj; far harder than the physical or monetary stress that will be encountered during Hajj.

When I went to Hajj, the thing that annoyed me the most was people stepping on my bare feet in the Haram during tawaf. It is little things like this that test one’s resolve over anything else. If you display patience once, displaying it the next time becomes easier. But the moment you “lose it”, that is when Shaitaan has won (albeit temporarily). It helps to display patience by putting this verse from the Quran to practice, “Give glad tidings to the patient. Those when any unpleasant situation reaches them they say, Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon (truly we are for Allah and truly to Him we will return)” (2:155-156).