حج — تیاری کی فہرست

## The Checklist That Matters Most

Every حج guide includes a packing checklist, but the checklist that truly determines the quality of your حج is spiritual. You can perform every physical ritual perfectly and still return unchanged if your heart was not prepared. Conversely, a حاجی who arrives with a prepared heart finds profound meaning in every step, every crowd, every hardship. This checklist covers the spiritual preparations that scholars throughout the centuries have identified as essential for a حج Mabrur — an accepted, transformative حج.

## Repentance and Purification

Make sincere tawbah (repentance) for all known sins — both major and minor. Tawbah requires four conditions: stopping the sin, feeling genuine remorse, resolving firmly not to return to it, and (for sins against others) restoring their rights or seeking their forgiveness. Go through your life systematically and identify patterns of sin you want to leave behind permanently. Write them down privately and make specific دعا for each. Perform two rak'ahs of Salat al-Tawbah (the نماز of repentance) with full sincerity. The scholars say that حج is meant to be a complete reset — but the reset is most effective when you have consciously identified what needs resetting.

## Settling Debts and Rights

Return all borrowed items and money. If you owe debts you cannot immediately pay, arrange a clear repayment plan and get your creditor's agreement. Return any trusts (amanat) held on behalf of others. If you have been given something that does not belong to you, return it. This extends beyond financial matters: if you hold a position of authority, ensure your responsibilities are delegated properly during your absence. If you have knowledge that others need, share it before you leave. نبی کریم (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) emphasized settling affairs before travel, and حج is the most significant journey a Muslim undertakes.

## Seeking Forgiveness from Others

This is often the hardest item on the checklist. Identify every person you may have wronged through backbiting, lying, cheating, breaking promises, causing emotional harm, or any other interpersonal transgression. Reach out to each one personally and ask their forgiveness. Be specific about what you did wrong without making excuses. Accept that some people may not forgive you — that is their right, and your obligation is to sincerely try. For people you cannot reach (deceased, lost contact), make دعا for them and give charity on their behalf. Some scholars recommend gathering close family and friends for a general request for forgiveness in case you have unknowingly wronged anyone.

## Writing a Will

نبی کریم (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) said, 'It is not right for a Muslim who has something to be given as a bequest to sleep two nights without having his will written' (Bukhari). Write or update your will before حج. This is not morbidity — it is prophetic wisdom and practical responsibility. Include instructions for your debts, assets, dependents, funeral preferences, and any specific bequests. Inform a trusted person where to find your will. This act of preparation also serves a spiritual purpose: it confronts you with your mortality and intensifies your sincerity during حج.

## Knowledge and Memorization

Study the حج rituals thoroughly from reliable scholarly sources following your madhab. Understand not just what to do but why you are doing it. Memorize at minimum: the تلبیہ with its meaning, the دعا for entering احرام, the دعا between the Yemeni Corner and the حجر اسود during طواف, the دعا at Safa and Marwah, the opening of the Arafah دعا from نبی کریم, and several personal دعائیں from قرآن مجید. Practice reciting these until they flow naturally. Learn the rules of احرام: what is prohibited, what requires fidyah (compensation), and what invalidates حج.

## Increasing Worship Gradually

Begin increasing your daily worship 2-3 months before حج. Add two rak'ahs of Duha نماز. Pray Tahajjud at least two nights per week. Recite one juz (part) of قرآن daily. Make dhikr after every واجب نماز. Fast Mondays and Thursdays if your health permits. Give regular sadaqah (charity). The purpose is not to exhaust yourself but to arrive at حج already in a state of spiritual momentum. A حاجی who suddenly tries to be intensely devout after months of spiritual inactivity finds the transition jarring and unsustainable. Gradual increase creates sustainable devotion.

## Preparing Your Dua List

Create a comprehensive, written list of every دعا you want to make during حج, especially at Arafah. Include categories: forgiveness, guidance, health, family, provision, community, Ummah, and specific personal requests. Include دعائیں for your parents (whether living or deceased), your children, your spouse, and anyone who asked you to pray for them. Include دعائیں from قرآن مجید and Sunnah alongside your personal requests. Print or write this list on waterproof paper or laminated cards. Your Arafah experience will be immeasurably richer with a prepared list than without one.

## Final Spiritual Actions Before Departure

Pray two rak'ahs of Salat al-Istikhara, asking Allah to bless your journey. Pray Salat al-Safar (travel نماز) upon departure. Bid farewell to your family with دعا and ask them to make دعا for you. Give sadaqah on the day of departure. Read Ayat al-Kursi and the Mu'awwidhat (last three surahs of قرآن مجید) for protection. Begin reciting the تلبیہ in your heart even before reaching the Miqat. You are ready — not because you are perfect, but because you have prepared sincerely. And sincerity, the scholars tell us, is the key that opens every door with Allah.