According to an authentic Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),”Whoever performs Haj for the Pleasure of Allah and therein utters no word of evil, nor commits any evil deed, shall return from it (free from sin) as the day on which his mother gave birth to him.” In the light of this Hadith this should be the state of pilgrims after performing Haj, accepted or not we should try our level best. How should one live after completing Haj? Should he go back to one's previous ways as he was living before he came to perform Haj? A pilgrim spends his time uttering the ‘talbiyah' which continuously reminds him of his important duty toward Allah. ‘Labaik Allahumma LaBbaik, Labbaik…'; “I respond to Your call O Allah, I respond to Your call, and I am obedient to Your orders, You have no partner, I respond to Your call All the praises and blessings are for You, All the sovereignty is for You, And You have no partners with you!” The ‘talbiyah' clearly indicates that Allah alone is to be worshipped at all times, and this journey is being undertaken for Him. One should also continuously pray to Allah for the acceptance of their Haj. The main objective of Haj is to teach a pilgrim ‘tawheed'- Oneness of Allah. By chanting the ‘talbiyah' wholeheartedly with dignity and pride, one is ready to adopt the true color of Islam in its purest form as described by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) and prescribed by Allah in the Qur'an. It is a promise that one makes with himself that from today onwards everything that I do will be for the love of Allah and for the sake of Allah alone. A classic example would be Prophet Ibrahim wherein he declared, “Verily, my Salât (prayer), my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allâh, the Lord of the worlds (mankind, jinn and all that exists).” This is how one should strive to live by worshiping Allah alone and try to seek His Pleasure by doing various good deeds with the correct intention. There are also numerous verses in the Qur'an which clearly tell us not to associate partners with Allah and worship Him as the Supreme Being. Pilgrims must thank Allah Al mighty abundantly for providing him health, wealth and opportunity to perform Haj and visit the two Holy Grand Mosques. The memories of Haj should be so pure and intense that it should act like a barrier against shirk and sins. Haj is a turning point in one's life and a Muslim should always try to remain good, calm and humble as he was during the days of Haj. This is the commitment which he should undertake while going to perform Haj, that after he returns he will remain the same and strive for betterment. Normally, people return with gifts for their relatives and loved ones, but the best gift is ‘guidance' from Allah for oneself and others. They should engage themselves in learning more about the religion and propagating the correct message by giving away books and CDs. One should start living a pious life and try their best to abstain from sins and the best way to do so would be to supplicate Allah all the time. Remember and repeat the following verse for guidance and repentance, “Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us (3:08).May Allah accept the Haj of every Muslim who came to perform with complete faith and pure intentions. __
