The Hajj - A Holy Pilgrimage

The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.    

It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside Shahada (oneness of Allah), Salah (prayer), Zakat (alms-giving), and Sawm (fasting). The Hajj is considered the largest annual gathering of people in the world. The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istita'ah, and a Muslim who fulfills this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah (God). The word Hajj means "to intend a journey", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions.    

Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state in which pilgrims wear two white sheets of seamless cloth and abstain from certain actions, such as:  

> Hunting is prohibited during Hajj.

[Quran 5:1] - You shall not permit hunting throughout Hajj pilgrimage. God decrees whatever He wills.

> All warfare is prohibited in the Sacred months of Hajj except in self defense.

[Quran 2:217] - They ask you about the Sacred Months and fighting therein: say, ‘Fighting therein is a sacrilege.

> Sexual intercourse, misconduct and arguments prohibited.

[Quran 2:197] - Whoever sets out to observe Hajj shall refrain from sexual intercourse, misconduct, and arguments throughout Hajj."

> During Hajj, abstaining from cutting one’s hair is a requirement.

[Quran 2:196] - You shall observe the complete rites of Hajj and `Umrah for God. If you are prevented, you shall send an offering, and do not resume cutting your hair until your offering has reached its destination."

The Hajj is associated with the life of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, from the 7th century, but the actual ritual of a pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham. 

During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: 

• each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka'bah (the cube-shaped building and the direction of prayer for the Muslims) - [Quran 22:29]

• each person runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah (this is symbolic of Hagar running between the hills looking for water for her son, Ishmael, to drink) - [Quran 2:158]

• each person drinks from the Zamzam Well (a famous water well in al-Masjid al-Haraam [the Sacred Mosque in Makkah], which is near the Ka’bah) - [Hadith of Abu Dhar al-Ghifari: the Prophet said concerning the water of Zamzam, “It is a blessing, and it is food that satisfies.” Haidth of Abu Dawood Al-Tayalisi added, “and a cure for the sick."]

• each person goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil and spends a night in the plain of Muzdalifa - [Quran 2:198] 

• each person performs symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing stones at three pillars - [Quran 15:34]

• The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three-day global festival of Eid al-Adha. [Quran 22:36]

Pilgrims can also go to Mecca to perform the rituals at other times of the year. This is sometimes called the "lesser pilgrimage", or Umrah. However, even if they choose to perform the Umrah, they are still obligated to perform the Hajj at some other point in their lifetime if they have the means to do so.

History of the First Modern Pilgrimage

Journey of Muhammad
(from "Composition of Histories)
 c/1425, Afghanistan
(Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Muhammad, a Meccan merchant, had reported that from the age of 40 he was receiving revelations from God. He and his followers, called Muslims, were persecuted by the ruling clan of Mecca, the Quraysh, and forced to flee to the northern city of Medina. 

Several armed confrontations followed, along with the Muslims attempting a return pilgrimage to Mecca in 628 A.D., as directed by one of the revelations. 

They were rejected by the Quraysh, but the Meccans did agree to a truce, and the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah had a provision that the Muslims could return peacefully to Mecca for a pilgrimage in 629 A.D. The entire event was three days long.

Note: A pilgrimage that occurs during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah is named a "major pilgrimage", or just "pilgrimage" (Arabic: Hajj), while pilgrimages of all other months are called "minor pilgrimage" (Arabic: Umrah).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Close to 3 Million Pilgrims Observe Arafat Today

by Dr. Hafiz Bilal  (Sunday, September 11, 2016)

Over 2 million Muslims have moved en-mass to Arafat ground today, Sunday, to observe the climax of 2016 Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia - The Arafat standing. 

The pilgrims started trooping to Arafat before dawn this morning.   

They are following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W. who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago.

“It’s an indescribable feeling. You have to live it to understand. This is my sixth hajj and I still cannot express how happy I am to be in Mecca,” said Hassan Mohammed, 60, from Egypt.

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives.

“People come from every country of the world, talk every language of the world, and meet here in one place under one banner, the profession of the Muslim faith,” said Ashraf Zalat, 43, also from Egypt.

The first day of hajj was traditionally the chance for pilgrims to let their animals drink and to stock up on water.

Then they proceed to Mount Arafat, several kilometres further, for the peak of the hajj on Sunday.

Meanwhile, for the first time in 35 years, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric will not give a traditional hajj sermon to pilgrims from around the world, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh has annually addressed the faithful from the Namira mosque in Mount Arafat for the peak of hajj, which this year falls on Sunday.

Okaz newspaper, citing anonymous sources, said Sheikh, “will step down from delivering the sermon on the day of Arafat, due to health reasons.”

He was appointed Grand Mufti in 1999 after the death of his predecessor, Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Baz. But Okaz said Sheikh had for about two decades prior to that, given the annual address to the hajj throng at the site where Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his farewell sermon. Okaz said the mufti spent about two months preparing for each address.

Sheikh Abdulaziz is a descendant of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, the 18th-century fundamentalist preacher who co-founded the Saudi state.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th (or in some cases 13th) of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year.