The remembrance of Allah (swt) in all the Hajj pilgrimage rituals from Arafat to Muzdalifah to Mina to all the days of Tashreeq (The Eastern days): (remember Allah like your [previous] remembrance……), (remember Allah at al- Mash’ar al-Haram).

( وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْدُودَاتٍ ) (And remember Allah during [specific] numbered days..): And remember Allah (swt) in the three days of Tashreeq, which are the three days after the day of sacrifice.

( فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِي يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ) (Then whoever hastens [his departure] in two days – there is no sin upon him): So, remember Allah (swt) in the specific numbered days, which are the three days of Tashreeq. These days were called so (Eastern days) because in olden times, whenever the animals were slaughtered, the pilgrims would preserve the meat under the sun rays.

The origin in accepting any act of obedience and worship is the faithful intention, directing oneself to Allah (swt), and living in the rememberance of Him (swt). When you remember Allah (swt), you will be in the position as the prophet (saws) said in Hadith Qudsi:

” If My slave comes nearer to me for a span, I go nearer to him for a cubit; and if he comes nearer to Me for a cubit, I go nearer to him for the span of outstretched arms; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.”[1]

{ فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ }

(So remember Me; I will remember you.)  (Al-Baqarah: 152)

Meaning, remember Me by worship, I remember you by blessings. The remembrance of Allah (swt) is to thank Him (swt) for the blessings  He has given you and to worship Him. This is the remembrance of Allah (swt). Therefore, we find that when Allah (swt) addresses the believers, He says:

 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا * وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا * هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ ۚ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا * تَحِيَّتُهُمْ يَوْمَ يَلْقَوْنَهُ سَلَامٌ ۚ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَرِيمًا

(O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance % And exalt Him morning and afternoon% It is He who confers blessing upon you, and His angels [ask Him to do so] that He may bring you out from darknesses into the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful % Their greeting the Day they meet Him will be, “Peace.” And He has prepared for them a noble reward.)  (Al-Ahzab: 41-44)

Therefore, the remembrance of Allah (swt) is the mainstay of worship; because you remember Allah (swt) in all conditions, in all places and in all directions. Remembering Allah (swt) means to evoke Allah (swt) in your awareness and in your mind, that is as the Prophet (saws) said:

“To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you.”[2]

That is, to live with Allah (swt) in all your circumstances, to be always in a situation of remembering Him (swt). Hence, if you keep remember Allah (swt), you would be good with Allah’s creation, you would be modest with Allah’s creation, and you would love them as well. The Prophet (saws) said:

” All creatures are the family (dependents) of Allah. The most beloved of them to Allah is he who is most beneficial to his family (dependents).”[3]

Therefore, the remembrance of Allah (swt) brings all the goodness for humanity and all mankind.

( وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ لِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ ) (and whoever delays [until the third] – there is no sin upon him – for him who fears Allah..): No matter whether pilgrims stay two or three days at Mina, there is no sin upon him, they will earn their reward in full, what is issue is the true faith -piety, which is the main point that we started the verses of fasting with:

 {يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ }

(O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.)  (Al-Baqarah: 183)

And here Allah (swt) says:

( لِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ ) (for him who fears Allah. And fear Allah and know that unto Him you will be gathered.): Meaning, fear Allah (swt), that is, make a barrier between you and Allah’s wrath but how?  You can do this when you do not disobey Allah (swt), do not harm His creation and to do what Allah (swt) has commanded you to do.

Man must not forget that he will be resurrected and stand before Allah (swt), and that he will be held accountable for every small and big deed. It is narrated in the Hadith:

” There will be none among you but his Lord will talk to him, and there will be no interpreter between him and Allah. He will look to his right and see nothing but his deeds which he has sent forward, and will look to his left and see nothing but his deeds which he has sent forward, and will look in front of him and see nothing but the (Hell) Fire facing him. So save yourself from the (Hell) Fire even with half a date (given in charity).”[4]

The Man must feel the observing of Allah (swt) in his work, in his relationship with his homeland and his relationship with his neighbors, his family, his wife and his job. Let Man feel the observing of Allah (swt) in all his relations by the piety, pithiness of goodness, remembrance of Allah (swt), and all acts of worship. These verses come after the verses of fasting, verses of remembrance, and the verses of Hajj pilgrimage. These acts of worship give the picture of the truth of Islam, about which the Prophet (saws) said:

” The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the people are safe, the believer is the one who is trusted with the lives and wealth of people, the muhajir (emigrant) is one who emigrates away from sins and evil deeds, and the mujaahid (one striving in jihad in the way of Allah) is the one who wages jihad against himself in obedience to Allah. “[5]

The Prophet (saws) gave the real dimension of the meanings. Is the Muslim the one from whose tongue and hand the people are safe? Or is the Muslim the one who establishes prayer, pays zakat, fasts Ramadan, performs Hajj and witnesses the two testimonies? Who is the Muslim? The Prophet (saws) says that the Muslim is the one from whose harm the people are safe; from his tongue and hand. So, what about those who kill, destroy, blow up, and wreak havoc in the earth in the name of Islam?

The meaning of all kinds of worship; fasting, praying, performing Hajj, paying zakah and the two testimonies is to give fruits, which is that people would be safe from your tongue and from your hand. The believer is the one who is entrusted with the lives and wealth of people, who, all people should be at peace with him, who should always promote peace among people not the intimidation and terrorism, just the safety and peace.

[1] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of Oneness, Uniqueness of Allah (Tawheed), Chapter: What the Prophet mentioned and narrated of his Lord’s Sayings, no. 7098.

[2] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of Belief, Chapter: The asking of (angel) Jibril (Gabriel) from the Prophet (saws) about Iman, Islam, Ihsan and the knowledge of the Hour, no. 50.

[3] Shu‘abul-Imaan, Book: the obedience to the guardian, Chapter: the advice and preaching the governors. No. 7446

[4] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of Oneness, Uniqueness of Allah (Tawheed), Chapter: The Talk of the Lord to the Prophets and others on the Day of Resurrection, no. 7074.

[5] Musnad Al-Bazzar, Vol. 2, Musnad Fudhalah bin ‘Ubaid, no. 3752.