Some believe that if you perform the rituals of Hajj in the right manner, your Hajj is done. This is not the correct meaning.  Every ritual that you perform there has an inner spirit. When you reach the Miqat, you remove your clothes and wear the ihram. What is the ihram? It is made of two unstitched pieces of white cloth. They are two sheets of cloth. One sheet for the lower body and the other for the upper body. What does this mean? This is a symbol of a simple life. There you take a pledge and promise that you will lead a very simple life.

The hadith says: البزازة من الايمان (Musnad Ahmad 58) Simplicity is part of faith. Ihram is a demonstration of simplicity. When you remove your expensive clothes and wrap two plain sheets around your body, you are saying to God: God, I will lead a simple life. What does this mean? These days people spend a lot of money on clothes, extravagant shopping and expenditure on other luxury items of life. Ihram is a pledge to save yourself from such unnecessary spending.  Ihram is a pledge to save yourself from waste of money and time. This is the meaning of ihram. It is not merely a ritual. You don’t just wear the clothes and then remove it after Hajj.