Series: A Hajj That Does Not Return as It Began: The Values That Must Be Born Within You (4)
By Prof Dr. Faid Mohammed Said
Not every lesson in Hajj is spoken in words. Some of the greatest lessons are delivered to you in silence, and written in your heart before they are written in books. Among the deepest of these lessons is the hidden question that accompanies the pilgrim at every step, even if no one hears it aloud:
Who are you?
Not your name, nor your position, nor your image before people, but rather: who are you when all these things are stripped away from you? Who are you when nothing remains around you to distinguish you from the millions?
In daily life, a person becomes accustomed to seeing himself through what he owns, what he achieves, or what people say about him. He may feel important because his name is known, because people await his presence, or because his opinion is heard and valued. Yet Hajj comes to rearrange all these meanings in an astonishing and profound way.
In Hajj, the differences that human beings have created for themselves disappear. The rich and the poor dissolve into the same scene, the distinction between leader and follower fades away, and titles fall before one single truth: all are servants of Allah. They wear one garment, stand in the same place, raise the same supplication, and seek the same mercy.
Here, the truth begins to appear.
In this magnificent scene, nothing remains to distinguish a person except his heart. What you once thought was the source of your superiority has no value if your heart is not filled with sincerity, humility, and truthfulness with Allah.
Humility in Islam is not self-contempt, nor the erasure of one’s personality, nor the display of weakness before people. True humility is for a person to see himself as he truly is: without exaggeration and without illusion. It is to realise that no matter how much knowledge, status, or fame he attains, he remains a servant from among the servants of Allah, in need of his Lord’s mercy at every moment.
For this reason, Hajj is a practical school for breaking the ego.
Long hours may pass during Hajj in which no one pays attention to you, no one knows you, and perhaps no one has ever heard your name at all. Here the real test appears: does it disturb you not to be distinguished? Can you be part of the scene rather than its centre? Can you live for Allah, not for the image of yourself in people’s eyes?
Many people live as prisoners of how others see them. They constantly ask themselves: What did people say? How did they look at me? Did they appreciate me? Did they notice my presence? Until a person’s worth becomes tied to the applause he hears, not to the sincerity he carries.
But Hajj seeks to free you from this hidden chain.
It teaches you to be at peace even if no one praises you, to do good even if it is not attributed to you, to serve people without your name being mentioned, and to feel inner tranquillity even if you disappear among the millions.
This is one of the most difficult stations of humility.
True humility is not simply to be humble towards those whom people consider lower in status than you. Rather, it is to remain calm and content when no one treats you as special, when you find no exclusive place for yourself in the crowd, and when no fingers point towards you in recognition.
There are those who master the language of humility in speech, while inwardly they are filled with ego. They choose gentle words and appear humble in their outward manner, but they become angry when they are not appreciated, hurt when they are not mentioned, and broken when no attention is given to them.
True humility, however, is not measured by words, but by reactions.
How do you behave when you are overlooked? How do you feel when no one knows you? What is the state of your heart when you see yourself as an ordinary individual among the millions?
Hajj gives a person a rare opportunity that life does not often provide: to exist without being famous, to do good without it being attributed to him, and to serve without waiting for the hidden psychological reward that many people seek.
Here, true freedom begins.
Freedom from the constant need for appreciation is not a loss, but a new birth of the self. For when a person becomes free from servitude to image, he begins to know his true self before Allah.
For this reason, one of the signs of sincere humility is that a person does not see himself as better than anyone else, even if outwardly he appears superior. It is to see goodness in people, and to realise that true acceptance is not in the eyes of human beings, but with the Lord of human beings.
One of the remarkable realities of humility is that it does not diminish a person. Rather, it elevates him. Yet it does not necessarily elevate him in the eyes of people, but it elevates him before Allah, and grants him a tranquillity that the arrogant do not possess, no matter how much fame, authority, or presence they have.
Therefore, Hajj does not only teach you how to worship Allah. It teaches you how to see yourself, and how to free yourself from the illusion that the world has built around you.
While you are among millions of pilgrims, ask yourself honestly:
If I were not known, would I remain the same?
At the end of this chapter, what is required is not merely to appear humble before people, but to become free from your need to be above them.
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