“Time and events are passing us swiftly with reports of thrones lost, dissolution or formation of governments in quick succession or deaths of great men. So use your time to strive hard to achieve a lofty state in the Hereafter,” Al-Sudais said in his sermon at the Grand Mosque on the first Friday after the annual Haj.
The mosque and its courtyards were overflowing with pilgrims who remained in Makkah after completing Haj rites.
The imam said Haj was a rite that instilled sentiments of tolerance, desire for dialogue, consultation and solidarity.
“The annual pilgrimage brings out the sublime image of a single Ummah with a single goal. The season of pilgrimage dictates to the faithful the noble lessons of tolerance, mutual assistance and the significance of maintaining security and peace. It also charges the pilgrims with a unique energy derived from the blessed gathering in the blessed land,” Sheikh Al-Sudais said.
He added that disputes in society would only lead to disunity and erosion of stability.
He exhorted pilgrims to continue to be virtuous in their life — that they adopted in Makkah with steadfastness and straightforwardness  — until their last breath.
“A sincere pilgrimage lifts up a man to the heights of spiritual joy. But, he will have to stay on the path of Allah, distancing himself from disputes and sinful deeds, adorning himself with every humanitarian quality,” the sheikh said.
He told the pilgrims to arm themselves with firm belief, heartfelt repentance, noble intentions and to follow the Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) model in order to overcome worldly challenges.
“Devotion to Almighty Allah fills the hearts with light and heals illness of minds and is the best defense against sins,” he said.
Sheikh Al-Sudais concluded the sermon reminding them to pray for the rulers of the Kingdom, who organized and supervised the services to pilgrims, and those workers who have been toiling day and night to make the Haj safe and comfortable.
Sheikh Husain Al-Asheikh, imam and khatib at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, said in his sermon that the greatest jihad in the life of a Muslim was to fight against one’s own self to obey Allah and His messenger. He added that a true believer would have to try hard to control his or her words and deeds that might harm others.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who arrived in the holy city after performing Haj in Makkah attended the congregational prayer at the Prophet’s Mosque. They also visited a number of historical locations in the city and its outskirts, such as the Quba Mosque, Shuhada Mosque, Uhud, Al-Qiblatain Mosque and Khandaq Mosque.
Large numbers of pilgrims have already left the Kingdom after performing Haj, which concluded on Wednesday.
The first batch comprising 262 Tunisian pilgrims returned home Thursday night. The plane also carried Tunisian Haj Mission headed by Minister of Religious Affairs Laroussi Almizori.
As many as 10,000 Tunisian pilgrims who performed Haj this year will be flown back home on board 40 Tunisian Airways flights until Nov. 28.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, has been distributing 20 million copies of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Gift of the Holy Qur’an and religious books to pilgrims returning home at exit points in the Kingdom.
Sheikh Talal bin Ahmed Al-Aqeel, adviser to the minister of Islamic affairs, endowments, call and guidance and chairman of information committee for Islamic awareness in Haj, said the daily distribution stands at 250,000 copies of the Holy Qur’an and translation of its meanings in various languages as well as religious books and tapes.