My brothers and sisters I want to remind myself and you that the meaning of being Muslim is to submit to Allahﷻ without question, without argument, without reservation or hesitation. To submit joyfully and eagerly. That is the symbol of our trust in Him. And that trust is what earns His pleasure and His help. That is why the iconic symbol of Islam is the Sajda – a state of total submission and helplessness, a symbol of total unhesitating obedience, a symbol of total trust and faith. A Muslim is one who submits. That is why there is no such thing as a non-practicing Muslim. The word ‘Muslim’ is a verb. Like the word ‘Musalli’, one who prays. Not one who knows how to pray or knows about the prayer but doesn’t pray. Or the word, ‘Sa’aim’, one who fasts. Not someone who knows about fasting but doesn’t fast. Or the word, Haaji, one who has done or is doing Hajj. Not someone who went there to help the Hujjaj or to make a movie about Hajj or a journalist who is reporting about the Hajj or the driver of the bus, transporting Hujjaj. All of them go to all the places that the Haaji goes to, but they are not considered to have performed the Hajj because they didn’t fulfill the rituals of Hajj. To be a Muslim, we must practice Islam. And that means to submit our will to the Will of Allahﷻ.

An immediate topic that is before us is that of women going for Hajj on their own without a Mahram. This is not restricted to Hajj but to women traveling without a Mahram. Is this permissible or not? Let me share with you what our scholars have said and leave you to take your own decisions. I ask Allahﷻ to guide us to what pleases Him.

I remind myself and you about the basic principle in Islam, that whatever Allahﷻ commanded directly in the Qur’an or through His Messengerﷺ is good for all time, because Allahﷻ’s knowledge is perfect and not based on the times. That is what makes the Qur’an and the Ahadith of Rasoolullahﷺ timeless and relevant across the centuries. I must remind myself and you that to open the door of expediency, or modernity, or present circumstances, is to open the door for the eventual destruction of Islam. This is nothing new. We have seen it happen in other faiths which also have the same Divine origin but where the leaders decided to change the Law which the Messengers brought and substituted it with their own understanding and desire. Every time and age will be faced with the same dilemma and challenge. The answer is also the same. Allahﷻ knows and I don’t know. So, I do what Allahﷻ and His Messengerﷺ told me to do whether I understand it or not, whether it ‘makes sense’ to me or not with my limited knowledge. I do that not because I am obeying blindly. But because I am obeying with knowledge, that Allahﷻ knows more than I do, knows the future, to Him is my return and because I trust Him totally, without any reservations and know in the depth of my soul that whatever He ordered, without qualification, is good for me. So, I obey and ask Allahﷻ to be my witness and to forgive my shortcomings.

وَمَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَىٰكُمْ عَنْهُ فَٱنتَهُوا۟ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

Hashr 59:7   Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment.

Let me remind you that we apply this principle in our lives every day with respect to any expert or specialist we deal with. We obey without question. Not blindly, but because we respect his superior knowledge and trust his judgement and believe that he has our best interests at heart in suggesting what he did. I ask, do we have the same trust in Allahﷻ?

There are two opinions regarding a woman traveling without a Mahram (husband or male relative she is not permitted...