The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. This is currently the largest pilgrimage in the world. Hajj is the fifth Pillar in Islam, and a Muslim who can afford it should perform this holy pilgrimage at least once in their life time. This is recognized as the highest point of their serving God (Almighty Allah).
The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to the 12th day of the month Zul Hajj, which is the last month of the Islamic Calender.
The Hajj is associated with the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Makkah is considered by Muslims to go back thousands of years during the time of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham).
Pilgrims arrive from every corner of the globe, of all nationalities and ages. As per the Saudi Arabian Immigration statistics in 2009 (last year) alone, pilgrim arrivals reached 2, 521,000, and a record high gathering at the Holy Kaaba in Makkah was witnessed. The Masjid al Haram, the mosque which was built around the Kaaba can now accommodate between 2.5 million to 3 million people at the same time. The Saudi government is making all efforts to expand the mosque to accommodate more pilgrims.
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| Muslim pilgrims perform the walk around the Kaaba (Tawaf) at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca early morning on November 9. AFP |
According to the Quran and Hadees, Allah ordered Prophet Ibrahim to leave his wife Hajara (Hagar) and his infant son Ismail (Ishmael) alone in the desert. While he was away the infant son Ismail became thirsty, and Hajara ran back and forth seven times in the hills of Safa and Marwah searching for water for her son.
The baby was crying and suddenly hit the ground with his foot and the water miraculously sprang forth. This holy water is today called the well of Zam zam. Since then this holy water has been used for drinking, and now it is consumed in gallons by all the pilgrims who visit the Kaaba.
During Prophet Ibrahim’s time the Kaaba was surrounded by idols of each tribe - all these were destroyed by Ibrahim, because idol worshipping was prohibited in Islam.
And during the time of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, he regularly performed the Umrah, even before he began receiving revelations.
In 631 CE, Muhammad led his followers from Madinah to Makkah. It was the first Hajj to be performed by Muslims alone, and the only Hajj ever performed by Muhammad. He cleansed the Kaaba, destroyed the balance idols which were left behind during the time of Ibrahim and re-ordained the building as the house of Allah. It was from this point that Hajj became one of the pillars of Islam. Therefore every year pilgrims follow the rituals of Prophet Muhammad.
Upon arrival in Makkah a pilgrim will be called a Hajji. Perfoming the series of rituals, the male pilgrims are required to dress only in the Ihram, a garment consisting of two sheets of white unhemmed cloth, with the top draped over the torso and the bottom secured by a white sash, plus a pair of sandals.
Women are simply required to wear their hijab (white), which does not cover the hands or face. Ihram is meant to show equality of all pilgrims in the eyes of Allah that there is no difference between a king and a pauper. On arrival at Makkah the Hajjees perform a series of ritual acts symbolic of the lives of prophet Ibrahim and his wife Hajara.
On the 8th day of Zul Hajj, the pilgrims leave Makkah for the nearby town of Mina where they spend the rest of the day. Here the Saudi Government has put up thousands of large white tents, to provide accommodation for the pilgrims to spend the night in prayer.
On the next day (9th day) the pilgrims leave Mina for Mt.Arafat where they stand in vigil and pray and recite the Holy Quran near the hill called Jabal Al Rahmah (The hill of forgiveness).This is where Prophet Muhammad gave his last sermon and this is an important aspect of Hajj.
A pilgrim’s Hajj is considered invalid if they do not spend the afternoon at Arafath.
As soon as the sun sets, pilgrims leave Arafath for Muzdalifa, a place between Arafath and Mina, where they collect pebbles for the next day’s stoning of the Devil(Shaitan). Many pilgrims spend the night sleeping on the ground or at their tents at Muzdalifa. The next day after dawn (fajr) prayers, the pilgrims return to Mina and perform the throwing of pebbles (stones) to signify their defiance of the Devil.
This symbolizes the trials experienced by Prophet Ibrahim while he decided whether to sacrifice his son Ismaeel as demanded by Almighty Allah. The devil challenged him three times and Ibrahim refused.And now each pillar marks the location of one of these refusals.
All the three pillars are stoned by every pilgrim during the rituals.
After the stoning of the devil the pilgrims perform the Qurban (animal sacrifices) to symbolize Allah having mercy on Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, and miraculously replacing him with a lamb, which Ibrahim later sacrificed.
The following day (10th day) the pilgrims revisit the Masjid Al Haram Mosque in Makkah and perform another Tawaf (a walk around the Kaaba). This is called Tawaf al Ifadah. They return to Mina to spend the night.
On the 11th day, after noon prayers the pilgrims revisit the three pillars to perform the stoning rituals, seven pebbles at each of the jamrat.
On the 12th day the pilgrims prepare to leave Mina to Makkah before sunset.
On arrival at Makkah the pilgrims perform the farewell tawaf (walking arround the Kaaba) which is called the Tawaf Al Wida.
Then in batches the Hajjees leave for Madinah, the mosque of Prophet Muhammad, which contains the tomb of the Prophet. This is also an important aspect for every Muslim, to visit this mosque and the sacred shrine. Later the pilgrims visit the graves of the companions of the Prophet, and his family members which are in the surroundings of the Mosque in Madinah.
May Almighty Allah forgive our sins and inshaallah invite all of us to perform Hajj and visit the Holy Prophet’s Mosque at Madina during the coming years. Aameen. |
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