The third occasion:

The Talbiyah continues with the pilgrim from the very moment he assumes Ihraam for Hajj until he throws Jamrat Al-‘Aqabah on the ‘Eed day. It is the eternal call, in which the servant announces his response to the call of his Creator proclaimed by Ibraaheem (Abraham) as stated by Allah The Almighty (what means): {And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]….} [Quran 22:27]

It is the Talbiyah about which Jaabir in his description of the Hajj performed by the Prophet said, "Then, the Messenger of Allah recited Talbiyah in which he affirmed Tawheed." Consider here his expression 'in which he affirmed Tawheed', for two reasons:

The first is that the pilgrims, during the pre-Islamic days, used to say: "Labbayka la Shareeka lak, illa Shareekan huwa lak, tamlikuhu wa ma malak." (I am responding to your call, there is no partner with you, except for one partner, whom you possess and he possesses not (or along with all that he possesses)). Thus, they used to associate partners with Allah The Almighty in their Talbiyah.

The other is that this great statement includes the three kinds of Tawheed: Lordship, Godhood and Names and Attributes. His saying "Yours is the dominion" affirms the Oneness of Lordship; and his saying: "I am responding to Your call, (O Allah), You have no partner with You" affirms the Unity of Divine Worship; and his saying: "Indeed, all perfect praise and blessing be to You" affirms the oneness of Names and Attributes.

These great manifestations of Tawheed lead the pilgrim to the following actions:

1)   To praise Allah The Almighty that He guided him to Tawheed at a time when some people who belong to Islam fall in various forms of Shirk, which goes back either to their ignorance, or their belief that what they do represents the true religion. Thus, their deviant deeds are made alluring to them until it becomes a religion in which they persist – we seek refuge with Allah. Thus, let a servant then praise his Lord, and keep in mind that his guidance is from the bounty of Allah The Almighty upon him.

2)   To praise one's Lord that He endowed his heart with certainty of the fact that Allah Alone is worthy of worship, with Whom there is no partner, due to His perfect Lordship, Godhood and Names and Attributes, and anything other than Allah The Almighty is not worthy of worship. A servant recalls to his mind all this while seeing some forms of Shirk (polytheism) in which some ignorant pilgrims fall. A Muslim recalls all this, while remembering the past and present nations, which fell into the trap of Shirk and regarded it a correct religion, we seek refuge with Allah. He remembers this and praises his Lord that He saved him from that, which prompts him to ask Allah The Almighty to make him firm on Tawheed until death, given that the hearts are between two of the fingers of (Allah) the Most Merciful, Who turns them as He wills.

3)   To feel afraid and be fearful, when he recites Talbiyah, lest his Talbiyah would not be responded to, or his Hajj would not be accepted from him. This fear should move him to perfect his actions even more, while at the same time, he should beware of despair.

It is narrated that whenever one of the righteous predecessors, recited Talbiyah, he would be overpowered by emotion and fall unconscious. A narration of Imam Maalik from ‘Ali ibn Al-Husayn (Zayn Al-‘Aabideen) that he assumed Ihraam, and when he recited Talbiyah, he lost consciousness and fell down from his she-camel, and was injured. When he was asked about that, he said, "I feel afraid lest the answer will be: 'Let there be no response to you'!"

I saw with my own eyes a man whom I accompanied on Hajj. When he assumed Ihraam for Hajj, he started with Talbiyah, thereupon he could not help weeping. That is because he remembered an incident that happened to one of the leading Taabi‘is (Followers), Muhammad ibn Al-Munkadir . It is reported from him that he started with reciting Talbiyah then stopped in the middle of it and said, "I feel afraid lest I would receive an answer different from what I like to hear." That is, he felt afraid lest it would be said to him: "Let there be no response to your call, nor happiness (for you)." Thus, he could not help weeping until he fell from his riding mount .

Manifestations of Thawheed in Hajj - III