Now that you have internalised the virtues of ḥajj, understood its goals, and set your intentions for this once-in-a-lifetime journey, take some time to focus on nurturing the following actions of the heart. These are essential in helping you achieve your goals for ḥajj.
Amongst the many duʿās of Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhis-salām) recorded by the Qur’ān is the special duʿā’ he made about Makkah:
رَّبَّنَآ إِنِّىٓ أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِى بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِى زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ ٱلْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَٱجْعَلْ أَفْـِٔدَةً مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ تَهْوِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ وَٱرْزُقْهُم مِّنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
“Our Lord! I have settled some of my offspring in a barren valley, near Your Sacred House, our Lord, so that they may establish prayer. So make the hearts of people yearn towards them, and provide them with fruits, so that they may be grateful” (14:37).
Allah ﷻ accepted his duʿā’. For centuries, millions have longed to travel to the Sacred City. Reflect on the word ‘hearts’ (أَفْـِٔدَةً) and realise that this journey is not merely one of bodies, but of hearts full of yearning and souls drawn in obedience to the Beloved’s House. Ḥajj is a journey of the heart before it is one of the body. That’s why it’s vital to prepare not just physically, but spiritually — for the most epic journey of your life.
1. Seek Help from Allah and Rely on Him
Turn to Allah (ʿazza wa jall) with humility and beg Him to grant you the ability to perform this great act of worship with excellence. Remember: you cannot take a single step in ḥajj — or in life — without His help. So keep asking and turning to Him throughout the entire journey. Let your duʿā’ be constant, because success comes only through His permission and mercy.
In every rakʿah, we repeat: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْن ‘You Alone we worship, You Alone we ask for help.’ The phrase إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِيْن teaches us humility — acknowledging our need, dependence, and complete trust (tawakkul) in Allah. He alone grants benefit and removes harm.
From the moment you start thinking of booking your trip until the point you return, arm yourself with tawakkul. No matter what you are going through, place your reliance on Him and know that He is the Best Protector and Guardian (al-Wakīl).
Take all the necessary physical means, but place your heart and reliance on Him Alone.
The Prophet ﷺ taught his beloved companion Muʿādh b. Jabal (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) a beautiful duʿāʾ that captures the essence of istiʿānah (seeking help):
اَللّٰهُمَّ أَعِنِّيْ عَلَىٰ ذِكْرِكَ ، وشُكْرِكَ ، وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ
O Allah, help me to remember You, be grateful to You and worship You in an excellent manner (Abū Dāwūd).
Act: Repeat the above duʿā’ at every moment and beg Allah for His help
Let this be your mindset as you prepare for Ḥajj — rely fully on Allah, seek His help constantly, and walk the path with a heart full of trust and devotion.
2. Sincerely Repent to Allah
Sins weigh the soul down and prevent it from tasting the sweetness of īmān and being accepted by Allah. Just as an aeroplane cannot take flight while overloaded, your ḥajj cannot rise and ascend if it is burdened by the weight of your sins. Therefore, before setting out for ḥajj, sincerely repent to Allah for your sins and regrets.
In order for tawbah (repentance) to be sincere, follow the steps below:
- Stop committing the sin;
- Feel a deep sense of regret and remorse over the sin;
- Firmly resolve to never return to that sin;
- Make amends if you have wronged another person (e.g. ask their forgiveness or supplicate for them).
Make repentance your constant companion. Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh) said, “The state of tawbah is at the beginning, the middle and the end of the slave’s journey to his Creator. The servant who seeks the pleasure of Allah never abandons tawbah. He remains in the state of tawbah until his death.”
3. Fill Your Heart With Gratitude
Out of billions, Allah chose you. He removed all obstacles — health, finances, responsibilities — and made the path smooth. Reflect on how many others, more powerful or wealthy, were not granted this honor. Some don’t even feel the longing for it. But you were chosen. Not because of status or effort, but purely by His mercy.
Remember to stay grateful at every step. Gratitude (shukr) opens the door to even more blessings. Allah ﷻ says, “And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more’” (14:7). If you wish to be blessed with the ability to do more good deeds and stay firm in worshipping Allah, thank Allah with your tongue, heart and body.
Reflect: Thank Allah for granting you the ease of air travel. Think of the pilgrims of the past who journeyed through deserts, seas and dangerous terrains. Many were robbed of their possessions during the arduous journey. Families were torn apart along the way. Many fell ill and lost their lives before ever laying eyes on the Kaʿbah.
4. Practise Your Patience
In order to complete your ḥajj with success, you will need a healthy dose of ṣabr (patience). From the moment you leave your home, you’ll be tested — waiting at airports, on buses, and in long queues. You’ll get tired, feel the heat, and perhaps even lose your luggage — just as the Prophet ﷺ did during his own ḥajj.
You will find yourself in a very confined space, often surrounded by hundreds of others with different personalities and (sometimes annoying) habits. There may be sleep-deprived individuals who are often exhausted, irritable, and far from their comfort zones. The schedule will be beyond your control — and everyone else’s too.
You will need not only patience with others, but also full control over your own emotions and reactions. Even in this testing environment, you must stay focused on the rites of ḥajj, constantly remembering Allah and begging Him for His forgiveness, love, and mercy.
In order to practise your patience:
- Remember the immense reward promised by Allah. Allah ﷻ says, “Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without measure” (39:10).
- Let go of the mindset of entitlement. Ḥajj is not about demanding your rights — it’s about surrendering to Allah and remembering Him at every turn.
- Protect your reward. You’ve sacrificed time, money, and comfort to be here — don’t lose that reward over something minor or insignificant.
- Focus on the positives. Don’t let small negatives cloud the bigger picture.
- Avoid complainers. Negativity is contagious; distance yourself from those who are complaining.
Reflect: Think of all of the things which really annoy you and push your patience. You’ll likely face them during ḥajj.
Act: Start to practise your patience from now.
Ṣabr should be cultivated until it becomes a natural part of your character — something you carry with you through every season of life.
We need patience in every act of obedience to Allah. These acts require effort, consistency, and sacrifice. Their weight rests firmly on the shoulders of patience.
We need it in committing to regular worship — whether it’s prayer, fasting, Qur’ān recitation, charity, or dhikr — until those acts become part of who we are. We need it to get rid of our bad habits and stop sinning.
“Imān consists of two parts: half patience and half gratitude.” – ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu)
5. Detach Your Heart from the World
Ḥajj is not just a physical journey, but is a reminder of your journey to the hereafter. It is the journey in which your material possessions hold little value. Your most valuable provision is your love of Allah and submission to Him.
This journey is an opportunity to detach yourself from the world (zuhd) and free your heart from everything but Allah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Detach from the world and Allah will love you; detach from what people possess and the people will love you” (Ibn Mājah).
Leave behind thoughts of family, wealth, and work. Let your heart be filled with one deep concern: meeting your Lord. Don’t carry the burdens of the world on a journey meant to prepare you for the Hereafter.
Give the world a break. Let your soul rest.
This could be your final trip — not back to your home, but to your grave. Your farewell ṭawāf might truly be your farewell to this world.
Reflect: What is your heart currently attached to? How much of your daily energy is spent preparing for the world vs. the hereafter?
6. Fight Your Nafs
Think of ḥajj as a battlefield. The enemy you are trying to defeat is your nafs. It is an enemy which has conquered you many times over in the past. However, with determination and the help of Allah, you are going to conquer it. You will be the winner, not the loser. This will require planning, effort, tonnes of duʿā’ and perhaps even a change in strategy.
One such strategy is to manoeuvre around your nafs, and subtly trick it. When you are struggling to keep momentum, say to yourself: just a little while longer. After ḥajj, you can go back to enjoying the ḥalāl pleasures. For now, just keep going for a little while longer. Once, Bishr al-Ḥāfī (raḥimahullāh) was walking with one of his companions towards a city. His companion wanted to drink water from a well. Bishr said to him, “We will drink from the next well that appears on the way.” Every time they would approach a well, Bishr would say, “From the next well.” When they finally reached their destination, Bishr said, “This is how we journey through the world.”
7. Fill Your Heart With Love and Longing
As you wait to reach the Kaʿbah, let your heart yearn not just for the sacred site, but for the One who made it sacred. True longing (shawq) for ḥajj is not just a desire to visit the House of Allah, but a deep yearning to draw closer to Allah ﷻ Himself.
Let your heart long to step on the very same ground that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once stepped. Let your heart long to breathe the same air that connects you to the legacy of the Prophets (ʿalayhimas-salām).
Increase your longing, not just for His house, but also for the day you will see Him. Just as your Lord has already granted you the immense honour of visiting His Sacred House, beg Him to bless you with the ultimate gift: seeing His Majestic Face.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “When the people of Paradise enter it, Allah will say: Would you like anything more? They will say: Have You not brightened our faces? Have You not admitted us into Paradise and saved us from Hellfire? Then, Allah will lift the veil and nothing they are given will be more beloved to them than looking at their Lord Almighty” (Muslim).
‘Abdullah, the son of the great Imām Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal (raḥimahullāh) said: “My father performed ḥajj five times — three times riding, and twice on foot. On one of his ḥajj journeys, he spent only twenty dirhams. Such was his longing that, when he could not afford provisions, he worked as a porter for the caravan to cover the cost — just so he would not be deprived of the journey.”
Reflect
- Is your heart really prepared for ḥajj or is there still work you need to do?
- Do you struggle with control or have traits of OCD?
- Can you worship and remember Allah even when you’re exhausted and overwhelmed?
- How long can you spend in continuous duʿā’?
- How do you react when a family member or someone close to you mistreats you?
- Are you able to control your emotions when things are tough?
- Are you able to patiently wait for a bus for five hours without complaining?
- Are you able to stay in 1-star accommodation without having an emotional breakdown?
5. Maximise Your Intentions for Hajj
