Why atonement for Hajj mistakes is so difficult?
Question:
Someone was having a discussion over the sacrifice which has to be given if a person in ahraam makes a mistake, the list of which is fairly long. The point of irritation for this person was based on a couple of reasons.
1- hajj is a one time act, its impossible for him to b trained not to make any mistake. if compared with salaat and syaam, muslims get the training
to perform these all their lives , still , any mistake is overlooked with a dua of forgiveness.
2- if a person makes say ten mistakes, this person who has already paid for his expenses, has to pay nearly as much or even more to make up his mistakes, or left with fasting for months to follow, for an act which will always be called a mistake not a sin .
jazakallah
Answer:
If you look at the Qur’an (2:196, 5:95) you will see that the Qur’an has not specified all possible mistakes (understandably) and has not limited the type of atonement to only one type (i.e. beside animal sacrifice, there are options of feeding the poor and fasting). Even for these acts of atonement the Qur’an has not specified their exact specifications and has left these to discretion.
I appreciate that in our books of fiqh, many of our jurists have attempted to expand the above and specify exact amounts of atonement for each and every mistake. I appreciate that in some books and websites long and detailed list of mistakes possible in Hajj and their atonement are given. These however are mostly based on ijtihad which generalises some of the very specific evidences to all other cases.
The reality however is that, as it is with many other directives of Shari’ah, the specifications both in terms of the type of mistake for which atonement is required and the type of atonement are left to the discretion of individuals (which is why scholars have different views about these specifications).
I should also say that what the question implies does not really happen in practice. There can always be exceptional cases but normally people do know how to perform their rituals and they do not make major mistakes that may require major atonement. You do not hear that this has become a major trouble for those who go to Hajj.
Also, Shari’ah never expects a person to offer more than what is within his capabilities. Atonement is meant to put the person in a reasonable level of engagement and consciousness but is not meant to put the person in difficulty. We know from the Sirah (way) of the prophet (pbuh) that a person who cannot afford the specified atonement can have discounted atonement, to the degree that it is affordable for him, even if it means saying three Istighfars (Asking Forgiveness).
Please also bear in mind that like any other act of worship, the atonement itself is an act of worship. We should not look at it as a burden, but as an opportunity to strengthen out our link with the Almighty.
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September 2015
Someone was having a discussion over the sacrifice which has to be given if a person in ahraam makes a mistake, the list of which is fairly long. The point of irritation for this person was based on a couple of reasons.
1- hajj is a one time act, its impossible for him to b trained not to make any mistake. if compared with salaat and syaam, muslims get the training
to perform these all their lives , still , any mistake is overlooked with a dua of forgiveness.
2- if a person makes say ten mistakes, this person who has already paid for his expenses, has to pay nearly as much or even more to make up his mistakes, or left with fasting for months to follow, for an act which will always be called a mistake not a sin .
jazakallah
Answer:
If you look at the Qur’an (2:196, 5:95) you will see that the Qur’an has not specified all possible mistakes (understandably) and has not limited the type of atonement to only one type (i.e. beside animal sacrifice, there are options of feeding the poor and fasting). Even for these acts of atonement the Qur’an has not specified their exact specifications and has left these to discretion.
I appreciate that in our books of fiqh, many of our jurists have attempted to expand the above and specify exact amounts of atonement for each and every mistake. I appreciate that in some books and websites long and detailed list of mistakes possible in Hajj and their atonement are given. These however are mostly based on ijtihad which generalises some of the very specific evidences to all other cases.
The reality however is that, as it is with many other directives of Shari’ah, the specifications both in terms of the type of mistake for which atonement is required and the type of atonement are left to the discretion of individuals (which is why scholars have different views about these specifications).
I should also say that what the question implies does not really happen in practice. There can always be exceptional cases but normally people do know how to perform their rituals and they do not make major mistakes that may require major atonement. You do not hear that this has become a major trouble for those who go to Hajj.
Also, Shari’ah never expects a person to offer more than what is within his capabilities. Atonement is meant to put the person in a reasonable level of engagement and consciousness but is not meant to put the person in difficulty. We know from the Sirah (way) of the prophet (pbuh) that a person who cannot afford the specified atonement can have discounted atonement, to the degree that it is affordable for him, even if it means saying three Istighfars (Asking Forgiveness).
Please also bear in mind that like any other act of worship, the atonement itself is an act of worship. We should not look at it as a burden, but as an opportunity to strengthen out our link with the Almighty.
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September 2015