Not everyone is standing on the plains of ‘Arafah this year. Not everyone is walking between Safa and Marwah or repeating the Talbiyah among the crowds. But the days of Hajj still arrive.
Within them, a reminder for the heart– for those who reflect.
Because Hajj is not only something a person performs outwardly.
It is something that calls the heart back.
These days serve as a reminder for the believer to look inwardly.
To look at what the heart holds, what it is responding to, and where it is turning. One of the clearest reflections of that is found in the story of Hajar, the wife of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), who was left with her infant son in a barren valley by Allah ﷻ’s command.
When she was left in that valley, she asked, “Has Allah ordered you to do so?”
And when she knew that it was from Allah ﷻ, what her heart held became clear in her response: “Then He will not neglect us.”
And she moved. She climbed Safa, then Marwah, returning again and again.
Left in a barren land, with no visible means, no clear path, and a child depending on her, she did not stop. Not because she had certainty in what she could do on her own, but because she knew the One who placed her there.
She ran between Safa and Marwah, not knowing how relief would come. Yet she did not stop.
Her effort was real. Her reliance was real.
And Allah ﷻ responded.
But before relief came, there was already a response.
Not in words, but in the state of heart. She was placed where Allah ﷻ decreed, and she responded to Him within it. With her striving, her reliance, and certainty in Him. Her heart was saying: Here I am, my Lord.
Zamzam did not come from where she was looking. It came from where she could not have expected.
This is what these days carry.
A reminder that the heart is not asked to know how things will unfold, but to know its Lord– to respond with trust, to strive, and to place its neediness with Allah ﷻ alone.
This is the response Hajar lived. And in these days, that reality is brought back to the heart.
The pilgrim repeats:
Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk…
Here I am, O Allah, here I am.
Not simply as words, but as a return to the One we have always belonged to.
A response that traces back to the covenant taken long before this life, when Allah ﷻ asked, “Am I not your Lord?” and we answered, “Yes.”(Qur’an 7:172)
And a reminder of what the heart is always in need of:
To rely on Him.
To seek from Him, while striving with what is in our hands.
These days bring that response back, even for the one not performing Hajj.
Because this response is not limited to a physical place.
It is the return of the heart to Allah ﷻ in how it responds when things feel uncertain, how it strives when the path is not yet clear, and how it places its trust, even when it does not yet see.
Hajar did not stop, nor did she rely on herself to bring relief. Her heart was tied to Allah ﷻ.
She knew her Lord, and she acted from that knowing, while remaining in full need of Him.
And this is where the heart is invited to reflect:
How well do I know my Lord?
And how does what my heart hold about Him shape the way I respond?
Because the way a person responds reflects the state of their heart with their Lord.
Labbayk is not only spoken. It is the response of a heart that knows its Lord.
– Sakeenah In-Home Caseworker
Sakeenah Canada, a national charitable organization, was founded in 2018 in response to a gap in culturally and religiously sensitive services available for women and children facing domestic violence and homelessness. Since then, our services have expanded to include mental health therapy and counseling. Sakeenah has also started The People’s Market, a food program that helps combat food insecurity, and has become the first licensed foster care agency for Muslim children in all of North America. We currently operate 8 transitional homes across Canada: Toronto, Brampton, Milton, London, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Regina, in addition to the first long-term housing program for Muslim women and children in Canada, in Windsor.
Every night, thousands of women and children in Canada face homelessness, poverty, and trauma. We are on a mission to change that.
While Sakeenah functions at a national level, our head office and The People’s Market operate out of land that is part of the Treaty and Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Huron-Wendat and Wyandot Nations.
Sakeenah believes that while a land acknowledgement is the first step, we also understand that land acknowledgements alone are not sufficient to redress the harm caused by centuries of land theft, forced displacement and ongoing acts of settler colonialism. We recognize that this work is ongoing and complex, and we are dedicated to doing our part to create a better future for all.
© 2026 · Charitable Registration Number: 776013310RR0001