People used to prepare for hajj as if they might not come back. Many did not. Today the journey is safer, but the old wisdom still holds: settle your affairs before you go, so that you stand at Arafat with nothing left undone behind you.
Repentance with Allah
Repentance (tawbah) is not a feeling. Scholars describe it as three things: you stop the sin, you regret it, and you make a firm resolve not to return to it. If the sin involved another person, there is a fourth: you give them back their right.
Do not wait for Arafat to begin. Begin now, so that by the time you stand there your repentance has had weeks to settle.
۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿٥٣﴾
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
The rights of people
Allah may forgive what is between you and Him. What is between you and another person is different. It has to be made right with that person.
مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ مَظْلَمَةٌ لأَحَدٍ مِنْ عِرْضِهِ أَوْ شَىْءٍ فَلْيَتَحَلَّلْهُ مِنْهُ الْيَوْمَ، قَبْلَ أَنْ لاَ يَكُونَ دِينَارٌ وَلاَ دِرْهَمٌ، إِنْ كَانَ لَهُ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ أُخِذَ مِنْهُ بِقَدْرِ مَظْلَمَتِهِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ حَسَنَاتٌ أُخِذَ مِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ صَاحِبِهِ فَحُمِلَ عَلَيْهِ
Whoever has wronged someone, in their honour or in anything else, let him make it right with them today, before the day when there will be no dinar and no dirham. If he has good deeds, they will be taken from him in proportion to the wrong. If he has none, the bad deeds of the one he wronged will be taken and placed on him.
In Turkey this is called helalleşmek: before hajj, people visit relatives, neighbours and old colleagues and ask them, “Hakkını helal et”, “Forgive me anything I owe you.” Many cultures have the same custom under different names. It can feel awkward. Do it anyway. A short phone call now can save you from carrying a weight to the Day of Judgement.
Debts
The Prophet ﷺ said that even the martyr is forgiven everything except debt.3 Before you travel:
- Pay what you can.
- For anything you cannot pay yet, make an arrangement with the person you owe, and write it down.
- Tell your family what you owe and what others owe you.
Your will
مَا حَقُّ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ لَهُ شَىْءٌ يُوصِي فِيهِ، يَبِيتُ لَيْلَتَيْنِ، إِلاَّ وَوَصِيَّتُهُ مَكْتُوبَةٌ عِنْدَهُ
It is not right for a Muslim who has something to leave in a will to spend two nights without his will written down with him.
Writing a will (wasiyya) is not a sign of fear. It is a sunnah, and it is a kindness to the people you leave behind. Keep it simple, follow the Islamic rules of inheritance, and tell someone where it is.
This week
- Make a list of people you may have wronged, in word or in money. Be honest. Start with family.
- Call or visit three of them this week, and ask them to forgive you.
- Write down your debts and what is owed to you, and give the list to someone you trust.
- Write or update your will, and tell your family where to find it.
- Ask your parents (if they are alive) for their forgiveness and their du’a. If they have died, give charity on their behalf.