The 5 pillars of Islam for a poor person
1) Belief - La illah ila Allah Muhammad ur Rasul Allah | |
2) Prayer | |
3) Zakat | |
4) Fasting | |
5) Pilgrimage to the House of Allah (Hajj) |
There are 5 pillars in Islam - 5 basic duties that are an obligation for every Muslim to perform.
In most cases every Muslim rich or poor can observe the first 4 pillars without a problem.
The fifth pillar of peforming pilgrimage or Hajj, to the house of Allah (SWT) is no doubt the most difficult of the 5 pillars to perform. The reason for this is due to the high financial costs associated with the journey.
The journey of Hajj has evolved over the years. In the past any Muslim could travel to the house of Allah (SWT), on foot, by camel or by horse and set up camp in Mecca in order to peform their obligations to the almighty. The journey was no doubt difficult but the only real expense that the Muslims before us had when travelling to Mecca was the cost of food. Even shelter was cheap as most Muslims would set up make shift camps.
Times have now changed. We’re now living in the age of passports, visas, border restrictions, sky scrapers, 5 star hotels, air conditioned coaches, taxi’s, compulsory vaccinations, air fares, coach fares, train fares and many many other crippling expenses.
The average cost of visiting the House of Allah (SWT) to perform Hajj is around GBP4,000.00 / USD6,000.00
The average cost of visiting the House of Allah to perform Umrah is around GBP 1,000.00 / USD1,500.00
This is a huge amount of money. How can a poor person who can barely afford to feed himself and his family be expected to raise this amount of money to perform his basic obligations?
The world Muslim population in 2013 is estimated to be 2.04 billion. The majority of these Muslims live below the lines of poverty and will never have enough money to make pilgrimage to Mecca or pilgrimage to Medina.
Although Allah (SWT) through his mercy has stated clearly that the duty of performing Hajj is only obligatory for those who can afford it, we have to also remember that many Muslims have also been blessed with vast amounts of wealth. In particular those living in western countries such as the UK, USA, Europe and not to mention the gulf states states such as Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia etc.
Al Hajjaj has been set up with a basic vision: to offer free Hajj and Umrah to as many poor Muslims around the world as possible.
We do this by inviting those Muslims around the world who are blessed with wealth to pay or contribute towards cheap Hajj packages and cheap Umrah packages so that poor Muslims around the world can visit the House of Allah to perform Hajj or Umrah.
Zakat money and Sadaqah money can be paid towards the costs for a poor person to perform Hajj or Umrah.
Each poor person that we select to send for free Hajj or free Umrah is carefully selected and screened to ensure that they qualify as a genuine poor person.
Every person who pays for or makes a contribution towards a poor person performing Hajj or Umrah is given conclusive proof that the journey was completed by the poor person that they have selected.
We provide copies of passports, visas and photos of the person before and during their Hajj / Umrah visit.
We also ask the poor person to pose in Mecca / Medina holding a sign with a personal message for the person(s) who have paid for their trip (see sample photo as an example).
We can also arrange for you to call / speak to the poor person who you're paying for, for your own peace of mind should you wish to ensure that your contributions have been spent correctly or ask the person you are paying for to make any specific dua requests for you.