IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL

"The first temple ever built for men was that at Beccah, a blessed place, a beacon for the nations. In it there are veritable signs and the spot where Abraham stood. Whoever enters it is safe". Holy Quran (3:96-97) Ka'ba is the divine peaceful sanctuary and Mecca the alighting place of angels and place of descent of Gabriel, the trustworthy. It was on this sacred land that an orphan from the progeny of Prophet Abraham, the friend of Allah, was assigned the mission of publicizing the universal and eternal religion of Islam, received the command: "ARISE AND GIVE WARNING", struck down the idols, those ever wronged of human history, rose in rebellion. His slogan was: "SAY THERE IS NO GOD BUT ALLAH, YOU SHALL BE SALVAGED", and he fought for the salvation of his nation all his life. As a result of his rise, emigration (Hejira), and crusade (jihad), fortification and promotion of the religion came to fruition. The Prophet (pbuh) enlivened the prayers, the alms

(Zakat), the crusade (jihad) and other monotheistic rituals including the “Abrahamian Hajj”, thus turning the Hajj rituals into manifestation of dignity and powerfulness of the followers of Islam, demonstration of Islamic unity and fraternity and the meeting point of monotheism and centers for crying out against polytheism and idolatry.

Hajj with its marvelous rituals is but a salient manifestation of the superiority of the truthful religion of Islam and demonstration of comprehensiveness of the pure Mohammedan Islam.

But, Alas! Tyrant governments, in the course of history, especially the domination of Wahhabism in recent years along with the pervert propagation and anti-political sermons of courtier preachers and akhunds have caused the real essence of Hajj to fall into oblivion, and of the many features of Hajj, its devotional feature only, and that too, without the real essence of devotion, be propagated.

The genesis of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and its victory, a movement that aimed essentially at restoration of the dignity and grandeur of the nation, return to its own identity and revival of pure Islamic thought prepared the ground for the divine rites to be observed throughout Islamic communities. Once more, fighting in the cause of God (jihad), became prevalent, the mosques turned into centers for self-fortification and places for mobilization of the army of Islam.

Friday Mass Prayers were reinstituted to demonstrate the unity and will full attendance of people in the arenas of defending Islam; and Hajj, once more became the gathering center for the believers in this pure religion and proclaimers of monotheism and a center for crying out against all symbols of polytheism and arrogance, after being abandoned for centuries.

All this has been due to the overwhelming endeavor, continuous enlightenings and guidance of a man of the descendants of the saints, yes, great Khomeini, architect of revival of the true Islam and proclaimer of unity of the Muslim peoples, had always tried to wipe off the superfluities and verdigris formed over the essence of Islamic rituals and meanings by joint plots of the enemies of the religion as well as the petrified and the Mammonists, and to present to the justice thirsty generation the pure Islam, as was drawn by the noble Prophet (pbuh).

Undoubtedly, one of the most important gains of Imam Khomeini’s movement is the revival of Abrahamian Hajj.

Certainly, the enemies on the opposite front have not sat idle, but utilized all their available means, under the banner of their “Americanized Islam”, to prevent the stirring and animating message of Imam Khomeini (pbuh) from being communicated and spread around. We were witnessing the conflict between the two fronts during the sanguinary Hajj of year 1366

Now, at the threshold of the grand universal Islamic congress, the Hajj ritual, and while observing the third yearly memorial of the heavenly demise of Imam Khomeini (pbuh) it is most appropriate that his followers review and study his stances, guidelines and thoughts regarding the philosophy of Hajj, its spiritual secrets and mysteries and its social and political effects and outcomes as well as the duties that the Hajjis, as messengers of the Islamic Revolution are undertaking, and then in accordance with the words of advice of the Grand Leader of the Islamic Revolution, perform the Hajj ritual gloriously, as before, on the merits of Islam and the Islamic Revolution.

The Institute for Compilation and Publication of the Works of Imam Khomeini (pbuh), in its endeavor to publicize the Imam’s Cultural   heritage to benefit the researchers and to facilitate access to various materials, has classified by subject, all the works of Imam Khomeini (pbuh). The present work is a compendium of the guidelines of Imam Khomeini with respect to Hajj, that have been drawn up through speeches and messages on various occasions before and after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. The table of contents indicates the chapters, the titles and sub-titles of discourses on Hajj, compiled in this compendium.

The chapters are arranged in numerical order and a list of references is given at the end of the book which shows the dates and sources of references.

                   Our esteemed knowledgeable readers are kindly requested to send their critical points of view, if any, to the mailing address of the Institute for consideration and revision in future prints

The Institute for compilation and Publication   of the Works of Imam Khomeini (pbuh).