Surah Hajj ( Surah Al Hajj )
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This important 22nd chapter of the Quran is based on 78 verses. The name of this Surah Hajj was taken from 27 verses of this Surah.It is one of those Surah which has the qualities of both Makki and Madni Surah. It seems that some of its parts were revealed in Makkah, and the rest part was sent down in the Prophet’s life of Madinah, the city of Saudi Arab.Scholars had different opinions about its revelation; some said it was revealed in Makkah, and some say it sent in the Prophet’s life of Madinah. For the period of revelation, it is essential to check the style and themes of the Surah.Some scholars said that verses 1 to 24 were the part which sent during the Prophet’s PBUH life of Makkah. They also said that the rest of this Surah 25-78 was sent in the initial stages of the life of Madinah just after migration. It was also said the common characteristics of Makkai Surah and Madni Surah in this Surah due to such factors.Scholars suggested that the abrupt change in style after the 25th verse somehow tells us that the rest of the Surah was revealed after migration and the month of Zul-hijjah. It was visible by verses 25-41, and the occasion of the revelation backed up by the verses 39-40.This Surah indicated the point that the arrival of the holy month of Zul-hijjah always brought some past feelings in the mind of believers; for example, they were pushed out by the disbelievers of Makkah from their houses just due to abiding by the teachings of Prophet PBUH and the Quran. Moreover, they were not allowed to visit the sacred house of Allah in Makkah to perform worship.The believers might have been requesting Allah to launch the struggle to liberate Makkah from disbelievers so that they could smoothly perform worship. This was the physiological occasion when this Surah was sent down.That is why, the purpose for which Musajid Ul Haram was built, discussed in this chapter of the Quran. The point which spreads irony in this Surah was that at first, it was said that the Hajj was for one Lord instead of many. Later, Allah discussed it as the ceremony of Shirk that was why the believers had been told not to go there.But, this irony came to surface when Allah has allowed the believers to launch a war against disbelievers to push them out from Makkah. There are some notable scholars, for example, Ibn Abbas RA, Urwah bin Zubbari, Mujahid and Muqatil bin Hayan, agreed that it was the occasion when the believers were given green signals by Almighty Allah.There are different Ahadith, which identified that the preparation for holy war actually started after the revelation of this verse. Notable scholars also agreed with this fact.
Translation of Surah Hajj
Surah Hajj comprises 78 verses; there is some important verse; the translation of Surah Al-Hajj is given following.Surah Hajj with Urdu translation is also available.
Surah Hajj Verse no 2
‘On the day of judgment you see that every nursing mother will leave his child unnourished and leave feeding them milk, every pregnant will leave her pregnancy, you will watch the people intoxicated while they will not be, but the punishment by Allah is hard.’In this verse, Allah is describing how hard the Day of Judgment is. We can easily guess the mother and father will pay no attention to their child, as described in the Quran; everyone will do his care. It will be time when the person will be presented to Allah to face accountability. If the person will fail in the accountability process, he will meet with bad results, and if the person gets through in these exams, he will definitely receive the joys of paradise.Definitely, it will be one of the hardest days.
Verse no 3 (Surah al Hajj)
‘And for the people is he who becomes turbulent about Allah almighty without having knowledge and go after every rebellious devil. ‘In the present verse of this Surah, Allah discussed the people who will face hard conditions at the Day of Judgment. It will be the people who will quarrel with the people who carry the message of Allah. Such type of people will face the wrath of Allah almighty.The Day of Judgment will be the day when they will be no one who will care for one. Everyone has to face the accountability conducted by Allah almighty.The person who will not become disregard for the teachings of the holy book and the Quran will be full of pleasure at that Day, and the one who will become disregard in relation to the teachings of Allah will face the hardest punishment by Allah almighty.
Verse no 4
‘It has been ordered for the devil whoever will go him, he will distract you, and will take him to the punishment of fire.’We have been told multiple times that Satan is the apparent enemy of the Muslims in the Holy Quran by Almighty Allah. Allah has also discussed the discussion between him and Satan. As in the present verse, Allah is announcing that whoever will go him, he will definitely distract you from the right path and will compel to do evil deeds as he is doing himself. These evil deeds will be the cause of our own destruction when they will be sent to hellfire.Moreover, one thing is essential that Satan will say at the Day of Judgment to his believers that I am not responsible for your condition today. He will make himself disregard of the situation of its believers entirely.Therefore, it is necessary for us to follow the teachings of Allah almighty.
Verse no 7
‘And (that they may know) the movement is coming near, they will have no doubt about it, and Allah will make them stand from their graves.’When the Prophet of Allah PBUH announced the preaching of Islam, the people of Makkah did not leave any method to tease the believers. Sometimes, they said that the ProphetProphet Muhammad was a poet; sometimes, they said that Prophet Muhammad PBUH made the Quran by himself.Even, they discussed each other that Prophet Muhammad PBUH said that Allah would make them stand again at the Day of Judgment.In the present verse, Allah discussed their condition at the Day of Judgment that they will be stood up again after the departure from the earth. They will have to face accountability about their deeds. No one will be left without facing accountability.In this verse, it is a lesson for us that we should not become disregard for the verses of the Quran and teachings of the ProphetProphet PBUH; it is a matter of our benefits. We should act upon this advice.
Verse no 10
‘This is for what you have left for sending forward because Allah will never be ever unjust to its believers. ‘It is the universal principle of Allah almighty that the one who rejects the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet PBUH, he will send to face the punishment of fire in hell. The one who accepts the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet PBUH, he will be sent towards paradise to enjoy the pleasures.Allah will take the decision according to the deeds of the people. It is the grace of Allah on us that he told us which way was right and which way was wrong. Now, it is up to us which way we choose. The excellent way will take us to paradise, and the bad way will take us to hellfire.
Verse no 11
And for those who do worship of Allah living on the edge, if he is presented good, he is reassured by it, he is struck by difficulty, he moves his face, he has lost his world and the Day of Judgment. This is the apparent loss.’Allah discussed three types of people in this Surah. The present verse is about weak Muslims who did not have strong faith in Allah and his Messenger PBUH. Allah warned him to avoid such type of practices. They used to worship Allah and enjoy the good days, but whenever difficulty came, they left the Muslims and sat away from them.Allah has warned such type of people with strict words that they will get no benefit by having this kind of attitude. This attitude will lose all deeds, and they will be left with nothing. Allah almighty criticized them and their attitude. After this verse, it was necessary for them to choose one way either to fully cooperate with the Muslims or to meet with disbelievers.
Verse no 24
Every time they want to take him out from this hellfire from anguish, they will be sent back into it, ‘tastes the punishment of the hellfire. ‘It is clear and evident to us that we can achieve success only by following the teachings of the Holy Quran and beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH; there is no other way of success and to save us from hellfire. This point was also clarified by the verses of the Quran and Ahadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH.In the present verse, Allah discussed the condition of the disbelievers who reject the teachings of Allah that they will try to come outside from the hellfire, but they will be turned back to the fire. Allah will say to them that taste the fire about which you have been told.In the present verse, it is an obvious lesson for us not to include ourselves in the list of the people who turn their backs towards the noble teachings. Instead, we should include ourselves to those who always said yes to the noble teachings of the Quran and Prophet PBUH.
Verse no 35
‘When the word ‘Allah’ is discussed before them, their hearts feel fear, and they are patient over what has inflicted him and establish the prayers and those who spend what we have given them.’In the present verse, Allah discussed the condition of the people who accepts what they have been given by Allah almighty; they did not say even a single word against the will of Allah. While discussing their characteristics, Allah said that when my name is taken before them, they feel fear; in fact, they show obedience. It means that they do not become regardless of my name or feel any distress like disbelievers.The second whom Allah discussed the believers is that they become patient when they inflict with some trouble, for example, disease or any disturbance. Instead, they seek help from Allah almighty. The third thing which Allah discussed the believers is that they regularly establish prayer and do not miss any obligatory prayer.The fourth point about disbelievers that Allah discussed is that they spend in the way of Allah what we have given them.We should try to adopt these points; it is necessary for us and for our fate on the Day of Judgment.
Verse no 53
‘And to those who were bestowed with knowledge may know that this is the true thing from your Lord and keep believe in it, their hurts humbly bow to it, and indeed is Allah the guidance for those who accept straight path.’The present Hadith describes two things, one is the status which is having by the Muslim by possessing knowledge, and the second is the characteristics of the noble people. In fact, Allah said that those who have been bestowed knowledge by us feel easy to recognize me. They also know well that this is the only truth we can believe on. In fact, it is the grace of the Lord that he gives such a type of knowledge.All these are the translation of essential verses of Surah Hajj. It is beneficial for us to learn how to recite this Surah Hajj properly.
Benefits of reciting this Surah Hajj
The holy book of the Quran is full of rewards and blessings for the person who recites. Admittedly, it is the guidance to lead a good life as well as an intercessor at the Day of Judgment in our favor. Similarly, being part of the Quran, Surah Hajj is an essential chapter of the Quran. Surah Hajj’s benefits and virtues are there to be added to our account. Repeatedly reciting Surah Hajj will make us enabled to visit the sacred mosque of Makkah, where Hajj is performed by the grace of almighty Allah.Moreover, there are common benefits of reciting the Holy Quran, which can be quickly gained by reciting Surah Hajj. For example, according to the Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH,’ the good will be the one who will learn the Quran and teach it to others.’ We can quickly get this reward by learning the recitation of Surah Hajj and learn it to our friends and brothers.In another Hadith, according to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, ‘the recitation of the single word of the Quran brings ten rewards to us.’ We can also quickly get these rewards by reciting Surah Hajj repeatedly.There is a list of benefits that we can get by reciting Surah Hajj. The recitation of the Holy Quran will take us to the door of paradise; similarly, the rejection of the knowledge of the Quran will take us to hellfire. It is a bad refuge. We should try out best to avoid this.
Discussion of different points in Surah Hajj
There are different points discussed briefly in this Surah; for example, first is the disbelievers of Makkah; the second is the believers who keep firm faith in Allah, and the third is the wavering Muslims. There are different Tafsir available of Surah Hajj in English.In the present chapter, Allah warned the disbelievers of Makkah in strong words, for example, he said to them,’ you have obdurately and always been on your beliefs of ignorance instead of having belief on Allah almighty, they you have no such power of undoing, and you have criticized the Prophet PBUH of Allah, now you will get bad ends as the people faced before you, you have done damage of your own by not believing on our Prophet PBUH and persecuting the notable members of your society, now you deeds have no ability to save you from the anger of Lord,This was the result, announced for disbelievers for their evil deeds, which they will have to face on the Day of Judgment. At the same time, they have been criticized for the Shirk done, and the firm arguments were delivered, which qualified Towheed and the Day of Judgment.In the whole 13 years of Prophet PBUH spend in Makkah while preaching Islam, the disbelievers did not leave anyway to mistreat Prophet PBUH and his believers. They called the poet, magician, and even bad words were used multiple times to bare him from preaching Islam.The Muslims who’s Eman was not firm, Allah discussed their condition in this Surah. Allah said to them,’ what was the faith of you as wearing Muslims? On the one hand, you prepare to believe in Allah Almighty and become his servant who gave you prosperity and peace, on the other hand, if you meet some hardships, you become disregard to these hardships and remain just as a servant of Allah almighty. You should keep in mind that your weak attitude does not turn the losses and misfortunes which Allah has allocated for you.’The Muslims with wearing faith did not have strong faith in Allah. Allah has warned them with the above verse and told them clearly about the situation they would face.The third important point which Allah discussed in this Surah was about the true believers. The true believers were told that the disbelievers of Makkah did not have the right to make you prohibit from entering the sacred place of Kabba. This objection which Allah presented in this Surah was justified well by telling the story of the construction of holy Kabba by the hands of Prophet Ibrahim PBUH.Moreover, Allah cleared that Prophet Ibrahim PBUH did not construct this place for doing Shirk and Shirk related activities. It was the time when the Muslims strictly prohibited from entering the city of Makkah to worship.The second important thing was that the believers had been given the order to launch a holy war against the disbelievers of Makkah. Most notable scholars in which Ibn Abbas RA also included, they termed the verse no 39 as the first-ever permission of Allah to wage a holy war.These three points discussed in this Surah prominently.
Conclusion
The holy book of the Quran is the book that provides us complete guidance from individual to collective life. It is the best source of knowing how to lead a good and balanced life. Moreover, it is our obligatory responsibility to learn how to recite the Holy Quran and implement it in our life practically.Surah Hajj provides us an opportunity to win these rewards and blessings. We should not refuse to get these blessings. First, we should learn how to recite this Surah; secondly, we should recite it repeatedly. We are fortunate enough to have this holy and divine source.