The Spirituality of Hajj: Ihram and Talbiyah

Spahic Omer

Two subjects associated with the dramatic commencement of Hajj are ihram and talbiyah,
further enhanced by the concepts of sincere intention (niyyah) and mawaqit (fixed times and
places for the beginning of Hajj). Ihram is making the intention for Hajj on the 8 th of Dhul
Hijjah and taking off all sewn cloths and wearing the Hajj garment. The garment consists of
two sheets of white cloth made of very plain and simple fabric. One is wrapped round the
upper part of the body, except the head, and the other round the lower part of the body.
This is the dress for men. For women, however, it can be regular clothing, albeit with
all ihram restrictions applying to them as well.
Talbiyah is the uttering of specified words while donning the garment of ihram. It is
part of the Hajj intention and continues to be uttered afterwards in most Hajj circumstances
until the throwing of the first pebble at Mina on the 10 th of Dhul Hijjah. Imam al-Shafi’i is
reported to have said: “We love to say it (talbiyah) at all times (during the said period of three
days).” As for its legal importance and rank, talbiyah oscillates from being recommended to
being obligatory.
The standard words of talbiyah are the Prophet’s words: “Here I am, O Allah, here I
am. Here I am. You have no partner. Here I am. Verily, all praise, grace, and sovereignty are
Yours alone. You have no partner.”
The Prophet (pbuh) also said: “Here I am, O God of Truth.” Moreover, he approved
of some people’s addition to the original talbiyah: “Here I am, O Owner of the Ways of
Ascent. Here I am, O Owner of Excellence”. A companion of the Prophet (pbuh), Abdullah b.
‘Umar, used to add as well: “Here I am and blessed by You, and all good is in Your Hands,
and desire and action are directed towards You.”1
It goes without saying that there is more to ihram and talbiyah than what is
immediately apparent. The two acts constitute a procedure that ushers a person into a higher
realm of meaning and experience. The set times and locations for the start of Hajj (mawaqit)
denote the end of a less significant domain and the beginning of a greater and more
consequential one. The mawaqit function as the transition point, and ihram together with
talbiyah as an epitaph to it.
The city of Makkah is a holy city. It was and remained umm al-qura, the mother of all
cities and villages, i.e., all types of urban and rural human settlements. Its nobility and
luminosity stand for the source of all other nobilities and luminosities. Not only is Makkah
the centre of life on earth, but also the centre of the universe and all existence. Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) said that Almighty Allah decreed Makkah to be what it is – i.e. a holy
city, sanctuary, and a place of safety – the moment He created the heavens and the earth. As
if the city is the existential raison d’etre of the terrestrial life.
1
Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani, Rites of Hajj and ‘Umrah from the Qur’an, Sunnah and Narrations from
the Pious Predecessors, www.islamhouse.com, 2010, accessed on January 31, 2022.
 Following the heavenly feat of creation, it all started the moment Adam and his wife
Hawwa’ descended from Paradise to earth. Adam built the Ka’bah as the House of God and
as the first house of worship established for mankind, and thus introduced the ceremony of
pilgrimage. However, no sooner had monotheism been swapped for polytheism, than the
Ka’bah and the tawhidic (God’s Oneness) pilgrimage rites were distorted, abandoned and, in
the end, forgotten.
Later, Prophet Ibrahim and his son Isma’il - also prophet - were tasked with the
rebuilding of the Ka’bah and the revival of the Hajj institution. Almighty Allah instructed
Ibrahim: “And proclaim to the people Hajj (the pilgrimage); they will come to you on foot
and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant path” (al-Hajj, 27).
At the time Makkah was a barren and uninhabited valley. There was nothing that
could attract anybody to undertake a journey to it, let alone to settle there or to fall in love
with it. What was happening was hard to rationalize and relate to the laws of nature or
society.
Even Hajar, Ibrahim’s wife, whom he had brought to the valley together with his
newly born son Isma’il and was about to leave them there, was lost for words - and
judgments. In desperation she asked Ibrahim if Allah had commanded him to do all that, to
which he replied in the affirmative. Afterwards she calmly responded: “Then certainly, He
will not abandon us.”
Indeed, the story of Ibrahim, his wife Hajar and his son Isma’il, was intended to be
something extraordinary. The story represented a divine plan for mankind. Yet, it was about
mankind’s destiny. Furthermore, it was a window into the future where some of its most
momentous chapters were intimated. Thus, Ibrahim is normally called the father of holy
prophets, but in the highest heavenly spheres he is known as the friend of God.
It follows that studying human history with holy prophets at centre stage means
exploring the unfolding of the divine plan. It also means reading the Will of God at work, and
reading the evolution of the mother of human settlements (umm al-qura) from being nothing
to being everything, and of the world from being misguided and directionless to being guided
and purposeful.
This is the spiritual, in addition to intellectual, world which every pilgrim steps into
by means of putting on ihram and declaring talbiyah. Through ihram a pilgrim renders
himself qualified – and pure – to be admitted into this world replete with historical wonders
and with present overwhelming sensations and signs (ayat). Removing his old dress
represents removing hindrances that may stand between him and a proper experience of the
new world. Positively, one of the goals of Hajj is to chart and enliven history as much as
possible.
There are certain etiquette which a pilgrim must observe while wearing ihram, and
generally while being on Hajj. They revolve around cleanliness, beautification, maintenance
of ihram, interpersonal communication, dealing with the environment, and some other
elements related to general decency and good manners. The Qur’an sums up those etiquette
as follows: “For Hajj are the months well known. If any one undertakes that duty therein, let
there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling (disputing and quarrelling) in the Hajj.
And whatever good you do, (be sure) Allah knows it. And take a provision (with you) for the
journey, but the best of provisions is right conduct. So fear Me, O you that are wise” (al-
Baqarah, 197).
Wearing ihram and staying away from impropriety return a person to his primordial
self as well as origins. He forsakes artificial and often discriminatory titles, symbols, routines
and standards of living. There is nothing, or extremely little, in Hajj that can allude to any of
these. People are all one and the same, demonstrating thereby the profundity of tawhid (the
Oneness of God) and how it manifests itself in life via the unity of existence, purpose, calling
and destiny. People are reminded of the simplicity and practicality of the truth, and of the
inconvenience and desolation of falsehood.
In other words, a person becomes human and himself. He becomes a member not only
of the earthly humanity family – temporarily erasing all falsely drawn borders and established
criteria – but also of the universal family that features the boundless known and unknown
planes of creation. He is constantly reminded of who he is and what he is supposed to
accomplish. All paths leading to happiness, success and distinction are redrawn on Hajj. Most
things are not themselves.
This way, essentially, Hajj is more about returning than going. It is more about
investing (earning) than spending. It also connotes coming back home to the warmth of the
ideals that the holy land of Makkah (the mother of human settlements) personifies. No
wonder that pilgrims are the guests of Allah. They are in their Makkah. They are home. As
Allah’s sanctuary, Makkah is free and belongs to nobody. Nobody can lay claim to it. Those
who are in charge of it are no more than its servants. Makkah belongs to everyone, just as
everyone belongs to it.
With ihram donned and internalized, a person’s shortcomings become exposed to
him. All masks fall off and all deceitful convictions get destroyed. Throughout Hajj, a person
is expected to fight his behavioural inadequacies. It is a war of attrition between his newly
found self and the overarching truth, on one side, and his old self (old negativities), his ego
and Satan, on the other. If he wants and is ready, a pilgrim is afforded what it takes to win the
war. The spoils of war are forgiveness, a new self, a new life and Paradise (Jannah).
The Prophet (pbuh) said that nothing but Paradise (Jannah) is the reward for an
accepted Hajj.2 Elaborating further, he said that whoever performs Hajj for Allah, and he does
not have sexual relations nor commits any sin, then his previous sins will be forgiven. In
another report, the Prophet (pbuh) added that he who performs Hajj correctly and whose Hajj
is accepted (neither approaching his wife for sexual relations nor committing any sin) will
come out as sinless as a new born child, (just delivered by his mother). 3 And obviously, for a
sinless person the only reward can be Paradise.
Pilgrims are the guests of their Creator. Ihram is the official uniform of the event and
talbiyah the motto and, at the same time, hymn. As the munificent Host, the best thing
Almighty God can offer His guests is clemency - coupled with forgiveness - and Paradise.
For this reason is the life of a pilgrim after Hajj an extraordinary mood. It is about
maintaining the status procured during Hajj and about remaining as pure (sinless) as possible.
Some people become paranoid. Going from one extreme to the other, certain pilgrims feel

2
Ibn Majah, Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 25, Hadith No. 7.
3
Al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 27, Hadith No. 15. Al-Tirmidhi, Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, Book 9, Hadith No. 3.
bent on repeating the occasion, and yet others – as a serious mistake and misreading, though -
keep unduly postponing Hajj to their very old age, in order to live little afterwards and hence,
have better chances of remaining - and dying – uncontaminated by sin.
Living through the significations of ihram is akin to declaring a “yes” to the power of
the liberating spirit (soul), and a “no” to the incompetence of the impeding matter (body). As
a whole, Hajj is an exploit of emancipation, and ihram is its instrument and also immediate
insignia. Having sensed the value of true freedom, a transformed pilgrim wants to cherish it
forever, constantly rising through the ranks. For this reason, for example, was Makkah with
its Hajj season in the late 19th and early 20th centuries a midpoint of the pan-Islamic and
anticolonial sentiments. It was often recommended that it yet be turned into the seat of the
caliphate institution.
The word ihram is derived from the root “ahrama”, which means “to prohibit”.
Related to the same root are the words “harrama”, “haram”, “muharram”, “hurmah” and
“ihtarama”, which mean “to prohibit”, “prohibition”, “prohibited”, “sacredness” and “to
honour” respectively. In passing, “hurmah” also means “wife”, in that she is deeply esteemed
by her husband and is prohibited to anybody else.
Accordingly, ihram means “making one’s self sacred or prohibited (pure)”, in the
worldly sense of the term, before entering the sacred and prohibited territory; that is,
becoming (intending to become) a micro haram, as it were, before entering – joining - the
macro haram. Defects and impurities are to be left behind as they are neither welcome, nor
qualified for the unification. The situation is similar to what God said to Prophet Musa
(Moses) when he arrived at the sacred valley of Tuwa to be in the private presence of God:
“Verily I am your Lord, therefore put off your shoes; surely you are in the sacred valley,
Tuwa” (Ta Ha, 12).
Ihram, therefore, is a state of mind, of soul, and of entire being, rather than a mere act
or a process. It is something to be as much done as experienced and built on. It is the
foundation of Hajj in its totality. That is why the verb “ahrama” became so comprehensive.
Apart from meaning “to prohibit” it also assumed other meanings, like “to enter the state of
ihram”, “to wear ihram”, “to enter the holy land”, “to enter a forbidden month”, “to seek
somebody’s or something’s safety” and “to enter the (holy) state of prayer (salat)”.
With the intrinsic spiritual and human qualities of a pilgrim drawn attention to,
against the backdrop of the sacredness of Makkah and its Hajj, a pilgrim’s personal
sacredness becomes absolute too. He is elevated to the pedestal of inviolability firstly as
human being (part of Allah’s creation) and secondly as believer (conscious servant of Allah).
All of a sudden, apart from being a spectator from the fringe or the circumference, a pilgrim
is being thrust into the heart of Hajj, at once as a concept and sensory experience. He
becomes its object.
Certainly it was not a coincidence that the Prophet (pbuh) personally gave emphasis
to this honourable status of believer in the framework of Hajj and its holy sites. What is more,
he did it in a rather forceful fashion. While circumambulating the holy Ka’bah, the Prophet
(pbuh) is reported to have communicated to the Ka'bah: “How pure you are! And how pure
is your fragrance! How great you are! And how great is your sanctity! By Him in whose
hands lies the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity (holiness) of a believer is greater with Allah
than even your sanctity (i.e. the Ka’bah). That is (the sanctity) of his property, his blood
and that we think nothing of him but good.” 4
The Prophet (pbuh) also said at ‘Arafah in his historic sermon during his farewell
pilgrimage: “Verily, your blood, property and honour are sacred to one another like the
sanctity of this day of yours (i.e. the day of Nahr or slaughtering of the animals of
sacrifice), in this month of yours (the holy month of Dhul Hijjah) and in this city of yours
(the holy city of Makkah).” 5
In his book “The Road to Makkah” Muhammad Asad dwelled on the liberating and
unifying character of Hajj. Above all, Hajj is a humanizing experience, exhibiting the
intricacy of the convergence of people’s human and sacrosanct dimensions.
Muhammad Asad said, as for instance, that the sight of a desert filled with pilgrims
who were resting on their way to Makkah resembled a huge army camp with innumerable
tents, camels, litters, bundles, a confusion of many tongues – Arabic, Hindustani, Malay,
Persian, Somali, Turkish, Pashtu, Amhara, and God knows how many more. This was a real
gathering of nations; but as everyone was wearing the all-levelling ihram, the differences of
origin were hardly noticeable and all the many races appeared almost like one.” 6
Moreover, in his autobiography, Malcolm X commented that he saw “that Islam's
conversions around the world could double and triple if the colourfulness and the true
spiritual-ness of the Hajj pilgrimage were properly advertised and communicated to the
outside world.”
In the same vein, Malcolm X said: “The people of all races, colours, from all over the
world coming together as one: it has proved to me the power of the One God… Never have I
witnessed such sincere hospitality and the overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is
practiced by people of all colours and races here in this Ancient Holy Land, the home of
Abraham, Muhammad, and all the other prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I
have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around
me by people of all colours…There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the
world. They were of all colours, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we
were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my
experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the
non-white.”7
Talbiyah is an integral part of everything ihram stands for, perfectly complementing
it. Linguistically, it means “answering (after hearing)”, “agreeing” and “accepting”. In the
Hajj context, it is an extension of the intention (niyyah). Thus, while the latter is uttered
quietly and privately, the former is chanted, preferably, openly and loudly.
Talbiyah is an invocation for drawing ever closer to, and for an eventual union with,
the beloved Creator. It is an affirmation of one’s tawhidic faith and of one’s readiness to
sacrifice of his possessions and self for the sake of the Creator’s ordinances. A pilgrim

4
Ibn Majah, Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 36, Hadith No. 3932.
5
Al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 78, Hadith No. 73.
6
Muhammad Asad, The Road to Makkah, (New Delhi: Islamic Book Service, 2004), p. 363.
7
Malcolm X and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, (New York: Ballantine Books, 1992), pp. 396,
390-391
finds himself and feels the impact of Allah’s announcement in the following Qur’anic
verse: “And (due) to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able
to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the
worlds” (Alu ‘Imran, 97).
Talbiyah, moreover, is answering the call of Allah – the Owner of the House (Ka’bah)
and the Host of Hajj. Ibrahim had been summoned to proclaim to humanity the ritual and
convention of Hajj. A pilgrim desires to be of those whose hearts yearn towards the Makkah
and its holy mosque as well as Hajj, and of those who have been foretold that they will hasten
to the caller (Ibrahim) and his call. They will do so from each and every corner of the globe
and will be using all available means of transport.
Which further means that he who turns a deaf ear – and a blind heart - to this call is
lifeless and his senses debilitated. Consequently, talbiyah features references to God’s
blessings upon people and their expected gratitude for them. A pilgrim is quick in
recognizing and thanking God for everything, but especially for the blessing of all blessings,
which is the truth of Islam. As he indirectly rejects the lifelessness and blindness of non-
belief by asserting that there is no good, nor excellence (i.e. there is no life worth living, and
no paradigm worth subscribing to), except that which is in God’s Hands.
Exuberant, a pilgrim wishes to be included into the coverage of those heavenly
declarations of the truth and to be an instrument of their realization. He does not want to be
left behind in any way. Those declarations are comprehended by the heart, pronounced by the
tongue, and translated into the vicissitudes of the real world by limbs. And these three: the
heart, the tongue and limbs, make up a believer’s axis which connects him with the rest of
worthy material and immaterial alignments. That talbiyah is encouraged to be recited openly,
loudly and basically everywhere, proves its external and collective dimensions.
According to Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali, “as for the state of sanctification (ihram) and
the talbiya from the miqat (onward), let the pilgrim know that this has the sense of answering
the call of God Most High. Therefore, have the hope that you will be accepted, as well as the
fear that you will be told: “You are neither accepted (in my service, i.e. your talbiya is not
honoured) nor blessed”, so that you will waver between hope and fear, and be stripped of
your might and power, thereby becoming completely dependent on the Grace and Generosity
of God Most High. For the time of talbiya is the real beginning of the matter and the place of
the danger.
Sufyan bin ‘Uyayna said: “Ali bin al-Husayn - may God be pleased with them - once
performed the Pilgrimage. When he had entered the state of sanctification and was well
mounted on his camel, his colour became pallid; then he trembled and a shiver befell him to
the extent that he could not recite the talbiya. When it was said to him: “Why are you not
reciting the talbiya?” He said: “I fear that it will be said to me: “You are neither accepted nor
blessed.” And when he later recited the talbiya he fainted and fell off his camel. This
continued to happen to him until he completed his pilgrimage.”8
Having responded to the universal call, for a pilgrim things become personal
afterwards. In a sea of pilgrims, he - when all is said and done - is on his own. The central

8
Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali, The Book on the Secrets of Pilgrimage, http://ghazali.org/books/hajj-text.htm,
accessed on January 30, 2022.
aspect of Hajj sets in. Other aspects, though important, are supplementary, playing second
fiddle to the former. A pilgrim is committed to his own personal case as a part of an extensive
grid. He is not sure and worries if his response to the call is accepted or not, in keeping with a
maxim that it is easy to love or care, but hard to be loved and cared about, in that reciprocity
is the answer. As an anomaly on earth and in heaven, one way relationships never worked,
and never will.
A pilgrim is thus expected to work on going from strength to strength during Hajj, and
through recurring life challenges after that, to make sure that his response has been heard,
that he has been welcomed to the spiritual festival hosted by the Creator, and that his Hajj
efforts have been appreciated – and accepted. Sure enough, one of the indicators that a
person’s Hajj has been accepted is that after Hajj he feels positive changes in his life overall,
in his attitude, manners and relationships. The same is to be felt by others. A victorious
pilgrim does not talk his Hajj; he walks (lives) it.
When a pilgrim sees multitudes of people on Hajj, he relates the phenomenon to the
humble beginnings of the place. He perceives God’s answers to Ibrahim’s prayers intended
for that place, and the fruits of Prophet Muhammad’s work as a grand finale. He is so happy
to be linked with such historical developments which dictated the course of human history,
with holy prophets being main protagonists.
It is confirmed that all prophets performed the pilgrimage. A pilgrim’s repetitive and
loud talbiyah is a mark of excitement and appreciation to be part of the best company that
graced the world. As if the voices of talbiyah tend to transcend the barriers of time and space
and reach out to those illustrious personalities and their legacies. As if the voices,
additionally, are directed to reverberate horizontally throughout the world, and vertically
throughout the universe, in order to be heard by all creation and be attested to. A pilgrim
“sees’ those prophets and their victories. He personally bears witness to them. As one would
expect, Hajj spells the convincing evidence of those victories.
For instance, it was narrated that Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas said: “We were with the
Messenger of Allah between Makkah and Madinah, and we passed through a valley. He said:
‘What valley is this?’ They said: ‘Azraq Valley.’ He said: ‘It is as if I can see Prophet Musa
putting his fingers in his ears and raising his voice to Allah reciting talbiyah, passing through
this valley.’ Then we travelled on until we came to a narrow pass, and he said: ‘What pass is
this?’ They said: ‘Thaniyyat Harsha’ or ‘Laft.’ He said: ‘It is as if I can see Prophet Yunus,
on a red she-camel, wearing a woollen cloak and holding the reins of his she-camel, woven
from palm fibres, passing through this valley, reciting talbiyah.”9
Talbiya is an intimate communication between a pilgrim and his Creator and Master.
A pilgrim refers to himself as “I”, the singular first-person pronoun, and to God as “You”, the
second-person pronoun. This means that there should be nothing standing between a person
and God in his prayers, yet in the rest of the communication modes and the whole life.
Hurdles of all sorts are to be promptly recognized and conquered. Regardless of how much
each pilgrim succeeds in actualizing this admittedly profound proviso, it nevertheless ought
to be the goal not just of Hajj, but also of other spiritual endeavours of a person.

9
Ibn Majah, Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 25, Hadith No. 10.
 As a result, Hajj is not as much about “coming” and “being”, as it is about
“becoming”. The words of talbiya: “Here I am, O You (Allah), here I am…” - together with
the implication of ihram - represent the starting point and the first phase of the
transformation.
Muhammad Asad often touched on this transformational sentiment, weaving it subtly
through a variety of topics and subtopics. For example, at one point he drew attention to the
condition of a ship that transported the Egyptian and North-African pilgrims across the Red
Sea to the port-city of Jeddah, the gateway to Makkah, and in which Muhammad Asad also
was a passenger for his first Hajj. He said that the condition was terrible, bordering on
inhumane, because the shipping company, greedy for the profits of the short Hajj season, had
literally filled the ship to the brim without caring for the safety, comfort and amenities of the
passengers.
However, the pilgrims did not care. In great humility, with only the goal of the voyage
before their eyes, they bore uncomplainingly all that unnecessary hardship. They were
immune, as it were, to the suffering and were ecstatic. Muhammad Asad added: “Whoever
saw this had to recognize the power of faith which was in these pilgrims. For they did not
really seem to feel their suffering, so consumed were they with the thought of Makkah. They
spoke only of their Hajj, and the emotion with which they looked toward the near future
made their faces shine. The women often sang in chorus songs about the Holy City
(Makkah), and again and again came the refrain (of talbiyah): 'Labbayk, Allahumma,
Labbayk!’ (“Here I am, O Allah, here I am)”.10
(To be continued...)

10
Muhammad Asad, The Road to Makkah, p. 357.