From the Two Holy Sanctuaries :
A Hajj Journal,[A5] Hardback with dustjacket - 86 pages,
by Gibril F. Haddad.
[with extensive footnotes].
by Amal Press.
Back in Stock July 2020
Description :
While
Hajj books are usually about the rituals of pilgrimage, few, if any, address the loss of voluntary spiritual practices that had been carried out for centuries in
Makka and
Madina up until the time the
Hajj was overseen by the Ottoman Sultans.
In this personal account of his
Hajj journey, the author laments the loss of the celebration and joy of visiting the Blessed Holy Prophet,
May Allah bless him and grant him peace, in
Medina and the consequent impoverishment of grace that once accompanied the pilgrim in his heavenly journey to the House of God. His hunt for blessings while on this sacred journey culminates with a chapter that addresses some of the most controversial topics that confront the pilgrims in the Two Holy Sanctuaries.
Complemented by scholarly footnotes, this moving narrative revives the classical tradition that is missing more and more from modern texts and even rebuked when practised, due to the formalism that now affects part of the Muslim world.
Containing over 20 rare images, photographs and manuscripts,
From the Two Holy Sanctuaries is the first publication of its kind and will serve as an essential reference for anyone about to embark upon the
Hajj wishing to connect themselves with the spirit of the early generations (
salaf).
Review: al-Hajj Gibril Haddad's
From the Two Holy Sanctuaries is a new
rihla of the
Haramayn that is faithful to the classical tradition, and a
Hajj Journal that is full of lessons for the intelligent reader. Its pertinent stories--none made up-- stand as a witness to what has happened in the Muslim Holy Land today and bring to life the age-old inherited practices of the great
Hajj. They make the heart firm in the spiritual benefits of the sacred pilgrimage.
---Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti, Fellow in Islamic Theology, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford University.