From The Two Holy Sanctuaries

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 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).

REVIEWS
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
Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti, Fellow in Islamic Theology, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford University.