This is why Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra) said to his disciples,
‘O Muslims, before you perform the pilgrimage of Hajj, present yourselves before me otherwise your Hajj will be futile.
What was the secret behind it?
The very same thing that I have explained to you today.
Who is the Esoteric Kaaba?
There is no esoteric aspect of Hajj, there is only the apparent.
In fact, even the Hajj we deem ‘esoteric Hajj’, that too is apparent.
Because even this ‘esoteric Hajj’ is performed by the lower self.
And the lower self is an apparent entity [as opposed to being a celestial entity].
The reason why Hajj must be performed is the presence of the Holy Black Stone;
it is a must for you to kiss the Holy Black Stone once with love and reverence.
For it to bear witness [to you], this is of utmost necessity and this is why Hajj is an obligation.
The verse in regards to Hajj in the holy Qur’an states:
‘the one who is capable must perform the pilgrimage of Hajj’.
Now, we [Muslims] are dispersed throughout the world.
Some begin their journey to perform Hajj from Pakistan, some from India, some from Bangladesh,
some from Europe, some from Australia, some from America and Canada.
So the clergymen look at the present geography of the world and translated [the aforementioned verse] as follows:
‘’those who can afford/ those who have the means should perform Hajj’’.
Now, this causes great confusion which perhaps the clergy did not realise.
And the confusion caused by this is that if the verse was indicating financial capabilities,
then the poverty-stricken, who do not have sufficient funds to perform the pilgrimage of Hajj,
would take up their grievances with God and say,
‘Why have you not provided us with financial ability?’
So this would have been unjust. That’s one thing.
Secondly, when this verse was revealed upon Prophet Muhammad (s), the Prophet (s) resided in the vicinity of the Kaaba, right?
And when we examine the old photographs of the Kaaba, we see that there was no boundary wall around the Kaaba at the time.
There was the Kaaba and it was surrounded by houses.
So [the people of the era] in which this verse was revealed did not depend on financial ability to simply come out of their house and visit the Kaaba.
So then which capability is being referred to here?
It is the esoteric capability.
Those who have become capable - those who have traversed the entire journey of Islam and their last stop is Hajj,
and they have completed all other obligations;
they’ve acquired ‘iqrar ul bil lissan (declaration of the tongue)’, they’ve surpassed ‘tasdeequn bil qalb (verification of the spiritual heart)’,
they’ve united their apparent and ethereal selves,
they’ve rid themselves - their hearts and souls - of everything non-God,
they’ve purified their lower selves and attained the stage of Contented Self.
They’ve acquired all the stages and the final one is Hajj, and then they go to perform Hajj - now that would make sense.
However, those who don’t know the reality of fasting and offering salah, those who don’t know about the presence of the spiritual heart,
those who don’t know about the verification of the spiritual heart,
those whose prayers and fasts are not reaching the divine court, such people are performing Hajj.
So this is cause for disturbance [in the religion].
But who shall explain this to them?
Whoever teaches people the right thing is considered a kafir.
Someone said, ‘Recite the motto of love and the entire world will declare you a kafir’.
When we tell people the reality they issue fatwas on us.
This tells us that people are content with being misguided.
They are not inclined towards guidance.
The same goes for the holy Qur’an.
The Qur’an states: ‘zaalikal kitaabu laa raiba feeh; hudal lil muttaqeen allazeena yu minoona bil ghaibi
Which means: ‘that book is free from doubts’. Why did God say that?
Because the one reciting it did not have it in his hands.
It has been compiled recently.
This was neither the command of God nor the Messenger of God’s.
When God felt a reservation in Prophet Muhammad (s)’s heart regarding the state of the Qur’an in the future,
that’s when God revealed the following verse:
‘We have descended [the Qur’an] and we shall protect it’.
Despite this, Umar bin Khattab and Abu Bakr Siddiq compiled the Qur’an together. This clearly suggests that they did not trust God.
When God had guaranteed it [by saying]
‘nahnu nazalna (We have descended it)’.
‘Nahnu nazalna al zikr wa inna lahu lahafizoon (and we shall protect it)’.
So, there is no ‘esoteric Hajj’ per se.
There are just two things:
the Kaaba and the saints of God.
A saint of God is one upon whom befall the divine theophanies.
And the theophanies of Bait ul Mamoor are always falling upon the Kaaba.
Now, how many theophanies of Bait ul Mamoor fall upon the Kaaba?
It all depends on the era in which you go on Hajj or Umrah,
on whose ethereal reign is over the entire world.
The Kaaba comes under the same number of theophanies as those that fall upon that Accomplished Personality.
Now, what is the reason for the Kaaba to receive the same number of theophanies as a saint?
The difference being, the saint receives them from God and the Kaaba receives them from Bait ul Mamoor.
The reason behind this is that if someone doesn’t believe in that saint, then he/she is deprived of the Kaaba’s theophanies.
However, if someone believes in the saint, even if they do not go to the Kaaba, they still reap the benefits of the theophanies of the Kaaba. This is a divine secret. Write it down.
When Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra) was appointed on duty,
he would be under 500 divine theophanies a day, whereas a common saint would be under 360 theophanies.
However, Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra) was of greater stature, therefore, he would come under 500 theophanies every day and the Kaaba would receive the same.
This is why someone said, ‘The visualisation of my Master is greater than a hundred thousand performances of Hajj’.
If you then do not believe in Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra),
then it is pointless for you to go to the Kaaba because the control of the Kaaba is in the hands of the Accomplished Personality
The one who rules the realms at the time. If you oppose him then it’s useless for you to go to the Kaaba.
This is why Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani said in his lectures, ‘O Muslims, before you perform the pilgrimage of Hajj, present yourselves before me,
otherwise your Hajj will be futile’. What was the secret behind this? The very same that I have explained to you today.
The same number of divine theophanies that befall a saint from God befall the Kaaba from Bait ul Mamoor.
So the one who does not believe in and accept the saint of the time,
not only would their Hajj or Umrah not be accepted by God but for them to go to the Kaaba would be considered an act of shirk.
In fact, they shall come under God’s radar. He shall ask them, ‘Why do you come to the Kaaba having rejected the one I have made the authority of the Kaaba?’
If you go to my house and say, ‘I have come here to meet Mr Younus’.
My household will be hospitable to you and offer you food.
However, if you go to my house and you do not let them know that you know me, that you’re a friend but a complete stranger, do you think anyone will let you in? No, right?
The same goes for the Kaaba. God resides in the chest of the Accomplished Personality, and the Kaaba is the House of God.
So if you go to the House of God but you don’t believe in the one appointed [as the authority of Kaaba], then who will let you in?
You may have entered the building of Kaaba but you shall not attain the benevolence of Kaaba because [the acquisition of] that is conditioned.