18th August, 2017
A Muslim cleric, Prof. Abdulraheem Lawal, has admonished Muslim faithful to proceed on holy pilgrimage to Mecca without delay, whenever they have the capacity.
Lawal, who is Chief Iman of Isashi Central Mosque, Lagos, gave the admonition during his jumaat sermon at the mosque on Friday.
He said that the pilgrimage was a very important pillar of Islam which served as an important way of gaining Allah’s pleasure.
“Let us hold fast to our religion and seek the pleasure of Allah, and one important way of doing so is by embarking on the hajj.
“We should not procrastinate on hajj when we have the ability to perform it; rather, we should embark on it without delay.
“The only reward for hajj is Paradise; all Muslim Pilgrims should, therefore, ensure that they strictly observe all the obligatory rites of hajj to achieve its full benefits,” he said.
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The cleric cautioned pilgrims on the need to be cautious when observing some aspects of the hajj, so as not to commit sin.
“Part of the hajj rites is to visit the Prophet Mohammed’s Mosque and his graveside in Medina.
“Pilgrims are expected to pray for the prophet, not pray to him for any blessings as that will amount to equating the prophet to Allah.
“Only Allah can answer our prayers and bless us, the prophet is only a messenger of Allah and we should not make the mistake of equating him with Allah,’’ he said.