He often forgot his Lord. He disobeyed Him for a long time. He was obstinate and had overwhelming pride with the One who was ever watchful of him until he went and saw the (Sacred) House and found himself coming to life again. He stood on Mount ‘Arafah invoking and supplicating his Lord. He slaughtered his Hady (sacrificial animal) and slaughtered his evil desires along with it. He stoned the devil at the Jamaraat, straining his back and humbling himself. Hence, he finally returned to his Lord shedding tears of joy.
Stir your longing for Allah The Almighty, for it is the motive that will make you hasten to Him that He might be pleased with you. So, try to live today in this slavery (the slavery of longing) so that you may attain with your heart what you cannot realize physically.
Imagine that you will visit the Lord of the House, not the House itself; and that you seek closeness to Allah the Oft-Forgiving not to the stones of the House. Imagine the extent of deprivation if you are among those who do not come to Him.
Allah The Almighty Says in a Qudsi Hadeeth (sacred narration): "A person whose body I make healthy and to whom I grant ample provision but five years go by and he does not come to Me is indeed deprived."[Narrated by Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri and Abu Hurayrah; Al-Albaani: Saheeh] Yes, indeed! The pilgrim travels to Allah The Almighty.
When you visit Him, you will not see Him. So, stand in the same manner as Moosa (Moses), may Allah exalt his mention, when he stood trembling and aspiring:{My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You.}[Quran 7: 143]
You should know that you will see Allah The Almighty when He lifts the veil. The Prophet, , said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah will say, ‘Do you want anything more?’ They will say, ‘Have You not brightened our faces, admitted us to Paradise and saved us from Hell?’ Then the veil will be lifted and they will not have been given anything more dear to them than looking upon their Lord.” [Muslim]
Do you not long to visit the House of your Lord that he made {A place of return for the people and [a place of] security.}[Quran 2: 125]
Sufyaan bin ‘Uyaynah performed Hajj eighty times and due to his intense yearning to perform Hajj he used to invoke his Lord every year saying, “O My Lord! Do not make this the last time to visit You.” He continued until the year of his death and only then he did not say that, and when he was asked about that, he said, “I was shy of my Lord.”
Once Umm Ayman, the wife of Abu ‘Ali Ar-Roothbaari, left Egypt at the time when the pilgrims were travelling. Upon seeing their caravan, she let out a shrill scream saying, “O My weakness! O My inability! O My grief!” Then her weeping became louder as she said, “This is the grief of the one who did not have the chance to visit the House, then what about the grief of the one who severed his relationship with the Lord of the House?”
Other people burst into tears when they saw the caravan of the pilgrims, and said: If we were worthy to have this honor, we would be among this company. (O Our Lord! Do not deny us the pleasure of being near to You.)
1. Through listening to the call of Al-Khaleel Ibraaheem: {And proclaim to the people theHajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass. }[Quran 22: 27]
2. Through imagining the situation of looking at Allah The Almighty on the Day of Resurrection and that you would not bear to be denied it. It is enough that we are denied that in this world. Do you bear {You will not see Me} [Quran 7:143] and the punishment of{Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned.} [Quran 83: 15]
3. Remember Him a great deal and repeat your supplication to Him with the two words that He loves most, ‘Subhaan Allahi wa bi hamdihi, Subhaan Allahi Al-‘Atheem’ (Glory and praise be to Allah. Glory be to Allah the Most Great) so that you may instill love and aspiration in you heart.
4. Completely recite the Noble Quran starting now before the end of the month of Shawwaal with the intention of deepening such love in your heart. The Prophet, , said: "Whoever is pleased that he loves Allah and His Messenger, then let him recite (Quran) from the Mus-haf." [Narrated by ‘Abdullaah bin Mas‘ood; Al-Albaani: As-Silsilah As-Saheehah page or no. 2342 and it is deemed to be Hasan]