The Hajj Months: Prohibitions

We now move to the second verse out of the eight that deal with the rules of Hajj, which is: الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ‌ مَّعْلُومَاتٌ: The Hajj is (in) the months well-known'. The word, ashhur أَشْهُرٌ‌is the plural of shahr شَھَر meaning the month. It will be recalled that in the previous verse it was said that one who enters into Ihram with the intention of doing Hajj or ` Umrah must complete it as prescribed. Out of these two, there is no fixed date or month for ` Umrah which could be done anytime during a year. But, for Hajj, the months and the dates and timings of what one must do are all fixed. It is for this reason that the verse opens with the clarification that the Hajj (unlike ` Umrah) has some fixed months which are already known. The months of Hajj have been the same from Jahiliyyah also; they are Shawwal, Dhul-Qa'dah and the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah as it appears in the hadith as narrated by the blessed Companions Abu Umamah and Ibn ` Umar ؓ (Mazhari).

That the Hajj months begin from Shawwal means that it is not permissible to enter into the Ihram احرام of Hajj before it. According to some Imams, the Hajj would simply not be valid with a pre-Shawwal Ihram. Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) rules that the Hajj thus performed will be considered valid, but it will be makruh مکروہ (reprehensible) (Mazhar).

The verse 197, that فَمَن فَرَ‌ضَ فِيهِنَّ الْحَجَّ فَلَا رَ‌فَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ فِي الْحَجِّ ; stresses upon the etiquette of Hajj and makes it necessary for everyone in the state of Ihram to strictly abstain from three things: rafath رَ‌فَثَ , fusuq فُسُوقَ and jidal جِدَالَ , which are being explained here in some detail.

A comprehensive word, Rafath رفَثَ includes marital intercourse, its preliminaries, including an open talk about love-making. All these things are forbidden in the state of Ihram. However, an indirect or implied reference to the act of love-making is not prohibited.

Literally fusuq means "transgression". In the terminology of the Holy Qur'an, it means 'disobedience', the general sense of which includes all sins. Early commentators have taken it here in this general sense of the word but the blessed Companion ` Abdullah ibn ` Umar ؓ has interpreted the word 'fusuq' here to mean only the acts which are prohibited and impermissible in the state of Ihram. It is obvious that this interpretation is more suitable to the occasion because the prohibition of sins as such is not peculiar to Ihram; they are forbidden under all conditions.

Things which are not sins in themselves but do become impermissible because of the Ihram are six in number. (1) Marital intercourse, its preliminaries, even love talk. (2) Hunting land game, either hunting personally or guiding a hunter. (3) Cutting hair or nail. (4) Using perfume. These four things are equally impermissible for men and women both when in a state of Ihram. The remaining two basically concern men: (5) Wearing stitched clothes. (6) Covering the head and the face. According to Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Malik رحمۃ اللہ علیہما ، it is also not permissible for women to cover their face while in a state of Ihram, therefore, this too is included in the common Ihram prohibitions.

The first of the above six things, that is, intercourse and its correlatives, though included under fusuq, has yet been separated from it, and has been introduced separately through the word Rafath, stressing thereby the importance of abstaining from it when in a state of Ihram. This is because 'amends' can be made for the contravention of other Ihram prohibitions through kaffarah کَفَّارہ (expiation). But, should one fall into the misfortune of indulging in intercourse before the Wuquf وقوف of ` Arafat (stay in ` Arafat) Hajj itself becomes null and void and a fine in the form of a sacrifice of a cow or camel becomes obligatory and the Hajj will have to be performed all over again. Because this aspect was so important, the text has mentioned it expressly.

The word jidal' means an effort to upturn the adversary, therefore, a rough altercation or quarrel is known as jidal. This word being very general, some commentators have taken it in the usual general sense, while others, keeping in view the place of Hajj and the importance of Ihram, have particularized the sense of jidal here with a specific quarrel. In the age of ignorance, people differed about the prescribed place of Wuquf وقوف (staying). Some thought staying in ` Arafat was necessary, while others insisted that Muzdalifah was the prescribed place to stay and, therefore, did not consider going to ` Arafat as necessary. They even claimed that it was where Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had stayed, Similarly, they differed in the timings of the Hajj as well. Some would do their Hajj in Dhul-Hijjah while some others would do it earlier in Dhul-Qa'dah and then, they would all quarrel among themselves around the subject and charge each other of having gone astray. The Holy Qur'an said La jidal لاجدال ، no quarrel, and put an end to all quarrels. What was proclaimed was the truth - the obligatory stay has to be made in ` Arafat, then, the necessary stay in Muzdalifah, and Hajj has to be performed in no other days but those of Dhul-Hijjah. Once the divine command is there, quarreling is forbidden.

According to this interpretation, the prohibition given in the verse is restricted to those acts only which are normally permissible, yet, they have been forbidden because of the Ihram, just as the permissible acts of eating and drinking are forbidden in the state of Fasting and Salah only.

But some commentators have taken fusuq and jidal in the general sense. According to them even though the fisq فِسق and jidal are sins, and deplorable at all places and under all conditions, but their sin becomes all the more grave in the state of Ihram. If one could think about the blessed days and the sacred land of the Haram where everyone comes to perform ` ibadah at its best with fervent chants of labbayk لَبَّیک ، telling their Lord 'Here we are at Your call', with the garment of Ihram reminding them all the time that the pilgrim is devoted to his act of ` ibadah within the sight of Allah, how could one stoop to do what is prohibited by Allah; obviously, under such condition, any act of sin or any act of entanglement with dispute turns into sinfulness at its worst.

Taking this general sense into account, one can see the wisdom behind the prohibition of obscenity, sin and quarrel as the place and time of Hajj have their peculiar conditions in which one might fall a victim to these three. There are times when one has to stay away from his family and children for a long time in a state of Ihram. Then, men and women perform Hajj rites at Mataf مطاف (the place around the Ka'bah where tawaf طواف is made) and Mas’ a مسعیٰ (place between Safa صفاء and Marwah were Sayee سعی is made) and at ` Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina منٰی with hundreds and thousands of people coming in contact with each other. In such an enormous gathering of men and women, it is not so easy to control one's inner desires, therefore, Allah Almighty has first taken up the prohibition of obscenity. Then, since so many people are around at a given time, all deeply devoted to performing their prescribed rites, there are also occasions where sins such as theft creep in, therefore, came the instruction: la fusuq لا فسوق (no sin). Similarly, during the entire Hajj trip, there are many incidents where people could get to quarrel with each other because they are cramped for space or for some other reason. The injunction: la jidal لا جدال (no quarrel) is to eliminate such possibilities.

The eloquence of the Qur'an

The words in the verse: فَلَا رَ‌فَثَ وَلَا فُسُوقَ وَلَا جِدَالَ translated literally as 'then there is no obscenity, no sin, no quarrel ...' are all words of negation, that is, all these things are not there in Hajj, although the object is to forbid them, which could have taken the form close to saying - do not be obscene, do not be sinful and do not quarrel. But, the possible prohibitive imperative has been replaced here by words of negation and thereby the hint has been given that such doings have no place in Hajj and cannot even be imagined in that context.

After proclaiming basic Ihram prohibitions, the sentence: وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ‌ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّـهُ (And whatever good you do, Allah shall know it) instructs that abstaining from sins and the contravention of the Ihram during the blessed days of Hajj and at sacred places is not enough. Taking a step farther, one should consider this occasion to be something that comes once in a lifetime, therefore, it is all the more necessary that one should make an effort to stay devoted to ` ibadah عبادہ ، the Dhikr ذِکر also transliterated as 'Thikr', or 'Zikr', meaning 'remembrance' ) of Allah and good deeds. The assurance given is that every act of virtue and every demonstration of goodness from a servant of Allah shall be in the knowledge of Allah and, of course, shall be rewarded generously.

The sentence that follows immediately: وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ‌ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَىٰ : 'And take provisions along, for the merit of provision is to abstain (from asking) ' aims to correct those who leave their homes for Hajj and ` Umrah without adequate preparation claiming that they do so because they have trust in Allah. Obviously, they have to ask for help on their way, or worse still, they themselves go through privation and suffering and in the process, bother others as well. Hence, the instruction has been given that provisions needed for the proposed trip for Hajj should be taken along. This is not against tawakkul تَوکُّل or trust in Allah; it is rather, the very essence of tawakkul تَوکُّل ، which conveys the sense that one should first acquire and collect the means and resources provided by Allah Almighty to the best of one's capability and, then, place his trust (tawakkul تَوکُّل) in Allah. This is the exact explanation of tawakkul reported from the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Forsaking all efforts to acquire means of subsistence (tark al-asbab ترک الاسباب ) and calling it tawakkul is sheer ignorance.