Helping Your Children Understand Hajj

  

If you are going to have to leave children behind while you make hajj, you want to allow plenty of time to prepare them for your absence.  For some parents, making hajj is the first time they have had to be separated from their children.  The two weeks or more that you are gone will seem like a long time for them and for you.  In addition, they will miss sharing with you the holiday of Eid al-Adha. 

They may be vaguely happy that you are doing something that will please Allah,  but they are more likely to be acutely aware that you are going to be gone from them for what seems like a long time. Here are some items that will help them (and you) get prepared:

The Best Eid Ever by Asma Mobin-Uddin is a good book to help children prepare for their parents’ absence.  It tells the story of a girl who is sad at Eid al Adha because her parents are making hajj. She discovers the blessings in giving to others and that even with her parents away, Allah can give her cause for happiness.

There are two books by Saniyasinain Khan.  Tell Me About Hajj gives the history of hajj and  My Fun Hajj Book, which has coloring pages, puzzles, word searches and other activities.

Take Me to the Kaba is a DVD that explains hajj to children.   The DVD lets them see what you will see and where you will be as you fulfill the rites of pilgrimage.

The Hajj Game is a board game for the family to play that will help acquaint everyone with the details of making an acceptable hajj.

A Hajj Slideshow

Altmuslim.com has a slideshow on hajj entitled “Lost in Prostration” that captures the flavor of the modern hajj.  The photos allow us to see some of the challanges of making hajj.

For those who made hajj a long time ago, and for those who have never gone, the images of malls and fast food outlets outside Masjid al-Haram and cell phones at Ararfah may seem jarring.  The images show just how easy it is let modern distractions keep us from fulfilling our spirtual goal to become closer to Allah.  The photos are a visual reminder of how we must struggle not to lose focus and allow hajj  to become just another vacation or business trip. 

Images of the signs, maps and crowds remind us of the logistical headaches for travelers and how many times the we have to face spiritual and physical tests of patience, anger and exhaustion.  These tests, if we fail to respond to them appropriately, may cause us to make a hajj that Allah is not pleased with.  A way to prepare spiritually for dealing with these tests is by guarding our behavior strictly during Ramadan.

There is one photo–of a Muslim’s feet in salat.  Those feet look as if they must have been in that position thousands of times in the course of a single lifetime.  Those feet are a reminder that making hajj is an act of submission to the Will of Allah.

To view the slideshow click on the Lost in Prostration slideshow from altmuslim.com.

Hajj Asthma Miracle

Years ago, when I made hajj before inhalers were common, I had to take pills and usually stay in bed for a week once an asthma attack started.   The daily temperature in Mecca then was consistently 120 degrees.  It was simply too hot and my lungs were threatening to shut down on me.  My chest felt tight, but I was not yet wheezing.   If I did start wheezing, I feared that the heat would simply overwhelm my medication, and I would be confined to bed and miss the hajj.   I sat on the floor of the Masjid al-Haram after salat.   I asked Allah to not let me have a full-fledged asthma attack, and He answered my prayer.  Allah maintained me in the condition I was in, and the tightness in my chest remained the whole time.  But despite the unrelenting heat, I didn’t have an asthma attack. I was able to complete my hajj.

Please submit your hajj miracle.  150 words or less.

What Was Your Hajj Miracle?

Salaam Alaikum,

My name is Fatimah. I made hajj 3 years ago. On the day of Arafah, I was sick. I had been sick all night. I didn’t think that I would be able to walk to Arafat as some of us had planned. I didn’t know what to do. I had to depend totally on Allah. I prayed and drank ZamZam water. I was able to walk to Arafah and back. That was a hajj miracle for me. Sometimes we Muslims forget what we are supposed to do. We forget to depend totally on Allah….(This hajj miracle appears as a testimonial on the Footsteps to Paradise blog.)

Please write 150 words or less and tell about your hajj miracle.  It could be about your travel plans for hajj or something that happened to you during hajj.

Ramadan Prepares Us for Hajj

Some of the qualities of a good Muslim character are patience, restraint, humility, gratitude and trust in Allah.  Muslims need to develop these and other good qualities in order to try to please Allah during Ramadan and at hajj.  Ramadan offers Muslims the opportunity to develop these aspects of good character even as we fast and pray for forgiveness during this sacred month. The benefit is that we are then able to draw upon these qualities as we need them during hajj.