In addition to its effects and rewards in the hereafter, Hajj also has many political, social and spiritual effects in this world. These effects and benefits can be presented as the philosophy or wisdom of Hajj. There have been many references to the effects of Hajj in the stories and speeches of the Imams (a.s.).
Imam Ali (a.s.) refers to one of the important spiritual effects of Hajj in one of his sermons in Nahjul Balagha; namely, humility and the elimination of the spirit of arrogance. The Imam says:
Do you not see that Allah, the Exalted, tested the previous people, from Adam (a.s.) to the future ones of this world, with stones in Mecca that neither harm nor benefit, neither see nor hear? He made these stones His honorable home and made them a factor of stability for the people.
Then He placed the Kaaba in the most rocky places, the most barren lands, and the shortest valleys, among rugged mountains, many pebbles, and shallow springs, and distant settlements, where neither camels, nor horses, nor cows, nor sheep, have peace in that land. Then He ordered Adam (peace be upon him) and his descendants to return to the Kaaba, and make it the center of gathering, their destination, and their burden, so that people, with love in their hearts, would quickly turn to Mecca from distant plateaus and plains, and from cities, villages, deep valleys, and islands scattered across the seas, shaking their shoulders, and saying around the Kaaba, La ilaha illallah, on their tongues, and circumambulating the House, and moving with disheveled hair and dusty bodies.
They should take off their clothes, which are the sign of each person's personality, and change their appearance by not shaving their hair, which is a great test, a difficult test, and a clear test for purification and purity, which God made a mercy and a means of reaching Paradise. If God had placed His honorable house, and the places where the Hajj rituals were performed, among gardens and rivers, and green and flat lands, and full of trees and fruits, and prosperous areas with many houses and palaces, and interconnected settlements, among wheat fields and orchards full of flowers and plants, with beautiful views and abundant water, in the middle of a joyful garden, and well-developed roads, the reward would have been lighter as the test was simple.
If the foundations and foundations of the Kaaba, and the stones used in its construction were of green emeralds and red rubies, and had light and brightness, hearts would have been slower to doubt and doubt, and Satan's efforts would have had less effect on hearts, and his hidden temptations would not have worked in people. Whereas God tests His servants with all kinds of hardships, and calls them to worship with great hardships, and afflicts them with all kinds of afflictions, in order to remove arrogance and self-importance from their hearts, and replace them with humility, and open the doors of His grace and mercy to them, and make the means of forgiveness and forgiveness easily available to them.
