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12No. 293 | May 2025Qur%u2019an to provide man with the proper mindset saying, %u201cAllah bears witness that there is no God but He, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining His creation with justice; there is no god but He, the Mighty, the wise%u201d. He likewise reminds man of his reality stating in Chapter 2, verse 156 that, %u201cIndeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.%u201d While the whole of creation is predicated on justice, making it innately wired into the system of man, Allah (s.w.t.) nonetheless reinforces its significance by giving the direct command in Chapter 5, verse 8 for man to be upholders of justice saying, %u201cO you who believe, be upright for God, and be bearers of witness with justice!%u201d Aware of the internal makeup of man and the potential dangers within him, Allah ordained Hajj to be among the pillars of faith, instructing Prophet Abraham in Chapter 22, verse 27 to %u201ccall upon the people for Hajj. They will come to you on their bare feet or riding any weak camel, and they come to you from every far desert.%u201d As among the requisites for the preservation of justice, Hajj is a summation of rituals that accentuate the Oneness of Allah and the need for the denial of any false gods or attributing partners to Him. As such, every capable man is mandated to take part in it, making it obligatory for him to visit the Kaaba or the House of God at least once in his lifetime. Thus, Allah (s.w.t.) perfected the system to ensure man%u2019s staying on the course that leads back to Him. However, with man%u2019s denial of the ordained guardianship of the Infallible Imams, what could have been the establishment of a just and orderly system gave way to the unjust interlacement of %u201cdespotism, exploitation and brain-washing techniques%u201d that led many to stray off the course in ignorance and confusion. An Empty Life in Circles The advancements in science and technology have brought implements able to provide the contemporary man with better facilities for life. These also ushered in the period of accessibility to information to help man achieve progress. However, these also inundated him with a variety of distractions that inadvertently contribute to more confusion than clarity as to the purpose and meaning of life. Instead of being equipped with the proper guidance and right direction for having a fulfilling life, the avalanche of information, mainly infused with erroneous and distorted philosophies, has left the modern man preoccupied with a myriad of things that leave him exhausted chasing phantoms. For the many, life has become an idle cyclical action, a movement with no goal! It has become a meaningless pendulum action that starts with the day only to end at night, and night starts only to disappear at dawn. Many a man is left preoccupied filling in the time of these two alternating phenomena, hoping to find meaning in life, only to end up finding a nagging emptiness inside.Having no direction in his daily living, man ends up aiming for mere existence but oblivious to the true essence of living. What exists is a dead spirit in a living body. Alienated from his real self, man thus becomes vulnerable to the temptations and cunning designs of unscrupulous quarters. How did man end up in this predicament when within him supposedly is the light from the Divine that gives direction? Is there a way out of this predicament? Did Allah not send help to save man from drowning in the cesspool of untruth and perversion? Journey towards life Hajj occurs during the highly respected month of Dhul-Hijjah. It is an invitation from Allah for man to level up his human existence through a pilgrimage that gives life, direction, and meaning. It is a journey that resets human trajectory, recalibrating man%u2019s system setting and focus. It is a migration that liberates man%u2019s heart from the myopic confines of the self to the expansive vision of the greatness of the Architect of creaAware of the internal makeup of man and the potential dangers within him, Allah ordained Hajj to be among the pillars of faith, instructing Prophet Abraham in Chapter 22, verse 27 to %u201ccall upon the people for Hajj. They will come to you on their bare feet or riding any weak camel, and they come to you from every far desert.%u201d