The meaning and knowledge of Hajj, or Pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, was discussed in a workshop themed “Pilgrimage: The Journey of Life,” with “Surviving the Trials of Life in a Time of Universal Change” as a subtopic. The February 27 workshop took place during the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day Convention held virtually February 26-28.
The session was organized in preparation to fulfill a goal of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to bring 10,000 people to Hajj in the future. The workshop was hosted by Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, the student national imam of the Nation of Islam.
“It is in the rite or ritual of Hajj that we find one of the greatest signs of the coming of al-Mahdi, Master Fard Muhammad,” said Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, a great-grandson of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
“As we are in preparation for our journey to hajj, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has instructed us to learn the meaning of Hajj,” said the Imam.
›Minister Farrakhan desires that the rituals of hajj are understood, he said, adding, every ritual is wrapped in a principle that allows the believer to uncover what Allah (God) has in mind pertaining to the aim of the ritual.
Imam Muhammad was one in a group of Nation of Islam officials who accompanied Minister Farrakhan on Umrah—pilgrimage outside the Hajj season—in 2019. The workshop provided guidance about Hajj and the impact on some who experienced the pilgrimage.
Hajj embodies the higher goals of humanity, said the Imam, namely, “freedom, justice, and equality” and wanting for your brother what you want for yourself and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
“This important foundational principle of civilization can be found in the journey of faith,” said Imam Muhammad. “The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has taught us that the journey of Hajj is but a picture of the journey of self.”
As a ritual, the pilgrimage takes the believer down a path through the trials of Abraham, Hagar and his first wife Sarah, said panelist Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad, the national assistant to Minster Farrakhan.
“We have put as a subtitle to this topic, ‘the trials of life’ and how each of us can be strengthened in the journey of life and the many trials and tests and challenges that life presents,” explained Ishmael Muhammad, who also journeyed to Mecca with Minister Farrakhan.
“Hajj means to set out for a place. Translated in English is pilgrimage … to attend a journey which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions,” explained Ishmael Muhammad, a son of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
‘So, this journey that we make as part of the pillars of the Islamic faith is reflective of the very journey of life itself,” he said.
From the moment our life is conceived in the sacred womb of the female, it has an aim and goal to evolve from a life-germ to the eventual meeting and becoming one with the Creator, he expounded. “Along that journey there are many trials,” he said.
Minister Ishmael Muhammad said that process is the sign that God has innately equipped the human being with the strength to overcome difficulties and misfortunes if we have faith in God.
Film footage of Minister Farrakhan in Mecca was shown and remarks he delivered explaining the significance of the journey that every Muslim is encouraged to take at least once in their lifetime.
Other highlights were a compilation of remarks from other members of Minister Farrakhan’s delegation who made Umrah in 2019, at the invitation of Saudi Arabia King Salman. They described it as the journey of a lifetime.
“I have to thank the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan for allowing me to make this journey to the holy city of Mecca and Medina in the delegation,” said Aminah Bayyinah Muhammad, the administrative assistant to Minister Farrakhan. “It is one of the greatest blessings of my life.”
In a previously recorded report about the Umrah journey, she bore witness to the honor afforded Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam in Mecca. The moment Minister Farrakhan stepped on the soil in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he was treated as an honored guest, Sister Aminah Muhammad recalled.
For Nation of Islam archivist Carlos Muhammad, who is the student minister of Muhammad Mosque No. 6 in Baltimore, preparing for Hajj includes awareness of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s travels to Mecca and Medina in 1959 to 1960 on a tour of several nations. He showed photos and lifted quotes from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad about the trip.
“We know that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, from his teacher Master Fard Muhammad, taught him correctly,” said Carlos Muhammad.
The proof is being demonstrated today with Minister Farrakhan, he reasoned.
“He has evolved us … taken us deeper, not only in terms of teaching us about the rituals but teaching us the depth and meaning of the rituals and what they really mean to human advancement,” said Carlos Muhammad.
He performed Umrah in a delegation of 40 Muslims, many from the community of Imam W.D. Mohammed, in January 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic curtailed travel to Mecca.
The panelists pointed out the universality of pilgrimage where Muslims worldwide gather on a journey to establish truth.
“But it’s the principle that brings us all together regardless of our faith expression,” said Eric Muhammad, student assistant minister at Muhammad Mosque No. 45 in Houston.
Eric Muhammad was in the delegation of 40 Muslims and emphasized hajj as a picture of the journey of life.
“The pilgrimage is a life journey for all of those who desire to submit their will to do the Will of God,” said Eric Muhammad.
To sign up to begin your Hajj preparation, receive updates and information about traveling in the 10,000, please log on to www.noihajj.com.
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