hajj

We're back from the dead! Literally, one of us just came back from a funeral. This week we get a closer look as Lake (@LakeMarston) takes us on a trip to a Buddhist funeral. How fun! Tanim (noahxfence) tells us his experience of the pilgrimage Muslims take for hajj and the amount of deaths that occur each year. They also get into how corporations really just care about their own greedy needs and could care less about people as a whole. And speaking of corporations, they dish out how Netflix plummeted this quarter and why that may have happened.

Yasir Khan has covered wars, revolutions, and has chased camels through the Australian Outback. As a journalist and documentary filmmaker, he has worked for outlets including CBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and Euronews, and is currently editor-in-chief of Thomson Reuters Foundation. He talks about lessons from his career, including how he avoided becoming the "Muslim correspondent," and how empathy may have literally saved his life.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, go to agakhanmuseum.org/thisbeinghuman

Further resources:

Watch Yasir Khan’s documentary “Camels in the Outback”:

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/al-jazeera-world/2014/12/26/camels-in-the-outback

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While we yearn and pray for the day Allah invites us to experience the last pillar (whether or not it is our first visit), we can find solace in a few gifts the Prophet (s) left us: messages that confirm that even when we are far from his land and the land of Ibrahim (a), we can still earn the reward of a fully accepted Hajj through the ordinary deeds that are in extraordinary standing with the Most High. 

A major theme of the Prophet’s directions on how to perform Hajj was flexibility. He knew that, just as Allah never places a burden upon anyone beyond what they can handle, Hajj was also meant to be something every individual could handle. He reminded his Companions to be flexible and to remember that honoring each other was even more important than the holy pilgrimage itself. 

On the most blessed day of all in the Sight of Allah, the Prophet (s) did two things: speak to the people and speak to Allah. And on that fateful day, as the Ummah was spread out across Arafah, he delivered his final sermon: the unparalleled, most comprehensive message to the world that marked the moment Islam was perfected and completed.

The journey of the Prophet ﷺ began with rejection, as he stood atop a hill in Makkah to declare a message that few accepted. But many years later came a moment of redemption, when a crowd of 144,000 believers joined him in his farewell Hajj. The example he set in his final pilgrimage is one we still follow today. 

In this episode of the Valley Ranch Islamic Center podcast, we talk to Dr. Omar Suleiman. He recounts his first few hajj journeys and discusses why preparing for hajj is the only way to really experience it to the fullest. 

After the Battle of Hunayn in the 8th year after Hijrah, the Prophet (s) performed his third Umrah. But it was the eventful 9th year that saw both the abolishment of the rituals from the days of ignorance and the first ameer of Hajj in Islam who set the stage for the Prophet’s (s) farewell pilgrimage to come in the next year. 

The opening of Makkah was a momentous event, but it was immediately followed by challenges. After the Battle of Hunayn, whisperings of discontent arose among the Ansar. But in a speech that left everyone present in tears, the Prophet ﷺ reassured the hearts of the people of Madinah, affirmed his abiding love for them, and chose them even over his own homeland. 

After the Treaty of Hudaybiyah was broken by the Quraysh, the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims embarked on the long-awaited journey back to their homeland of Makkah. In a day of reconciliation and mercy that was an example of the faith they were persecuted over, he ﷺ liberated the Ka’bah from idolatry and solidified the triumph of truth. 

Sometimes a sign can lead to good things that we didn’t expect. For the Prophet ﷺ, the truth of a dream of performing Umrah was assured, but it was not to be fulfilled immediately. Instead, it re-directed to a lasting good: the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. 
What did the eventual journey to Umrah and the first homecoming back to Makkah look like for the Messenger ﷺ and his Companions?

Forced out of the only home they knew, the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions missed Makkah dearly. They reminisced through tearful poetry and heartbreaking conversations, until the Prophet ﷺ made a du’a that not only gave them solace, but made the city of Madinah twice as beloved to believers for generations to come.

Before Islam, the Quraysh knew the Ka’bah was special, but they misused the holy site in pursuit of idolatry. As a result, the Prophet ﷺ avoided the Ka’bah in his early years, wishing to stay away from shirk and obscenity. But that would change once he received revelation. As he learned about what the Ka’bah truly stood for—a symbol of monotheism in a lost world—he began to spend more time there to establish the rituals of Hajj.

Over Ramadan, we peered into the life of the Prophet ﷺ. We saw him in gatherings, met him around town, and heard his khutbahs. But we haven’t yet explored one of the seminal moments of his life—and the experience that every Muslim strives for, too: the Hajj. What did the first official pilgrimage look like? What was the story surrounding it? 

This Dhul Hijjah, we’ll step deeper into the life of Muhammad ﷺ and learn his Hajj story. From the long and arduous journey to his homecoming into Makkah, join Dr. Omar Suleiman as he tells the story of the most inspirational pilgrimage of all. 

We are half way the month of Ramadan and the previous two episodes were related to this month of fasting for Muslims. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. In this episode we speak about the other four pillars of Islam, about the history of Islam and some of the important traditions and believes of Muslims.

I worked on this episode also as part of my tour guide studies. We had a semester with Dr. Barakat Al Qasrawi about the history of Islam and the religious practices. Instead of preparing for the final exam in Arabic, which was a bit out of my league, I prepared this podcast episode in which I share what I learned from him and the sources he shared with me in English.

In this episode you will also hear my daughter Louisa pronouncing some of the verses in Arabic.

If you want to know more about Sufism then you can listen to episode 2 of season 2.
Or click here to find it on the Buzzsprout site

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Ustadh Michael Wolfender discusses Ayah 35 of Surah Hajj which deviates from details on Hajj to discuss four qualities of believers: being humble before Allah, patience with what befalls believers, offering worship and prayer and spending from what Allah has provided. Each is a means to increase your connection with our Maker. Support Good Tree Academy  at ​http://goodtreeacademy.org/donate

Allah invites believers to His House to witness what is good for us and to remember Him. 

Remember that Allah encourages this journey as one of the strongest acts of obedience in worshiping and connecting to Him. Brother Michael’s newest video helps you connect with our Master and perfect our worship of Him, no matter how far you may be from Allah’s House. 

After 10 Hajj experiences, like almost everyone, Imam Wisam is at home this year. But what dramatic first-Hajj altercation caused him to think he’d stop after going once? How did 10 years of Hajj leave him feeling on this year he couldn't go? And what is this Virtual Tawaf exercise he brought home with him?

Join Imam Wisam Sharieff and co-host Jawaad Khan as they discuss Imam Wisam's initial Hajj experiences as well as reflecting on all his time guiding people through Hajj. Take the mental journey and reflect on the experiences that Hajj brings for all those touched by it. 

Finally, listen to a full guided audio through Imam Wisam's Virtual Tawaf experience (starts at 49:50), and get a slice of Hajj at home this year. 

*Note: Imam Wisam's voice has lower audio quality in the first half of the podcast. It improves at around 37:00.

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