Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) said,

“Hadhrat Makhdoom Mohammad Hashim Tathtawi’s (may Allah have mercy on him) book, ‘Hayat al-qalub fi ziyarat al-mahbub‘ is the most authentic text regarding the Hanafi fiqh rulings on Hajj. My respected father, Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Mohammad Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) used to praise it a lot. It was because of this that he obtained its manuscript with much effort and had it published by Maktaba Darul Uloom, Karachi. He used to say that the methodical study (tehqiq) of some of the Hajj rulings (masail) in it is superior to most of the the other established text.”

Hayat al-qalub fi ziyarat al-mahbub, page 3

The original book is in Persian. It was translated in to Urdu by Mawlana Khalilur Rehman Nomani al-Mazaheri (may Allah have mercy on him).

Hajj is a unique act of worship (‘ibada). 

As per Sayyidi wa sanadi Hadhrat Mawlana Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) it is a worship of an ardent lover (‘ashiq) .

It is done only once in lifetime. That is, the fardh Hajj.

In other worships that are repeated daily or yearly there are chances to reach the zentih of sincerity, devotion and perfection (sidiq) eventually over time.  But this is not possible in Hajj. Hence, all effort has to be made to make sure that it is done as required by the Shariah in the first go.

The wealth of information given in this book is remarkable. All the faraidh, wajibat, sunna and mustehebbat are mentioned in detail.

It is a must reference to be available on Hajj journey, especially for individuals or if your group does not have qualified Hanafi scholar to guide you step by step.

May Allah help all those intending for Hajj this year, making each and every step easy. May He give them utmost sincerity, devotion and conformation to the Sunna in it. And finally accept it as a ‘perfect Hajj’. Ameen!