SURVEY: You're Back from Hajj...Now What?

Then when you pour down from Arafat, celebrate the praises of Allah at the Sacred Monument, and celebrate His praises as He has directed you, even though, before this, you were astray.” Al-Baqarah 2:198. Assalamu Alaikum! So, you're back from Hajj! Mabrook! Congratulations! Hajj Mabrour! May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept! Amin. Okay...now what?!? *scratches head* It is taught that in order for our hajj to be accepted, we should strive to meet the following criteria:

• It should be paid for from halal funds.
• We should keep away from evil, sin and unjust disputes during Hajj.
• We should do our best to observe all rituals according to the Sunnah.
• Our Hajj should be performed purely for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and not for show.
• We should not follow it with acts of disobedience and sin.

And if we fulfill these obligations successfully? Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever does Hajj for the sake of Allaah and does not have sexual relations (with his wife), commit sin, or dispute unjustly (during the Hajj), will come back like the day his mother gave birth to him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 1449; Muslim, 1350) ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Hajj wipes out whatever (sins) came before it.” (Narrated by Muslim, 121) The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “…There is no reward for Hajj mabroor [accepted] except Paradise.” (Al-Bukhari) Okay, review: for those who have, insha'Allah, successfully completed their hajj, according to hadith we return as though newly born, free from our past sins, and insha'Allah with the promise of Paradise. But can anyone who has completed this journey honestly think that's all there is to it? We simply return home and carry on with our lives as we did before making Hajj? Do we think at all about what we might have to do differently in order to maintain that clean slate status? Is it even possible? What should we say, do or think differently than we did before making Hajj? Bottom line: What is your plan for keeping the slate clean? Please share your thoughts, experiences and ideas! Also, if you're interested in five-minutes of fame *smile* your comments or suggestions could be used for a magazine article I am in the process of writing. If your name is used together with your comment or suggestion, I will do my best to arrange for a copy of the magazine to be sent to you, insha'Allah, on publication. Please send your Hajj experiences, comments, or suggestions to: hajjsurvey@sisteraishah.com, or you can post a comment here on the blog (below). Hope to hear from you soon, insha'Allah! Ma'Salaama, ~Aishah Image compliments of "SoulAdvisor" (Jazakallahu khayran Ukht!)