Just about every religion has one thing that a person must do in their lifetime in order to go on after death and Islam is one of those religions. It is required of a Muslim to make the pilgrimage to Mecca and perform the given tasks at least once in their lifetime. It is said that the Prophet Muhammad had rid the Ka’ba of its idols and re-established it as a shrine dedicated to the one God (Hofe 96). Now it is the duty of every Muslim to make a trip to that very place. About 2 million Muslims from just over 70 different countries will journey to the holy city of Mecca each year.
The pilgrimage begins during an important month in the Muslim calendar called the Dhu al-Hijah. At this time Muslims will travel from all over to make the trip to the sacred land of Mecca. Many will die young and old, but there couldn’t be a better way of dieing for a devout Muslim. On the journey they must walk and wear only a roab type outfit so that you can not distinguish between the rich and the poor. During the Hajj, pilgrims must abstain from intercourse and eating and drinking during the day light hours. During the journey, pilgrims will visit the Well of Zamzam, which was established by Hager and Ishmael (Shariat 99).
They will take seven trips around the Ka’ba and kiss the black stone. A sacrifice is offered on the tenth day to celebrate Abraham’s unselfishness to sacrifice his son to God. Then they must visit Medina to pay respect to the Prophet Muhammad. Then they will all make their way home and put the word Hajj on their name to show they have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Before a Muslim arrives at the holy city, they will go into a state of consecration known as Ihram. In preparation for Ihram, but not after, they will comb their hair, hape the beard, trim their nails, and remove all unwanted body hair. Next is the purification stage.
There are two purifications, one is the Wudu, which is taking a bath or shower to cleanse the body and the other is internal purification. This is done by repeating “O Allah, I sincerely repent on my sins and seek your forgiveness. When purification is complete, men will put on two seamless white sheets, one for the upper and one for the lower body. Women will wear a simple white dress with a scarf covering their face. At this point, they will now be able to begin the journey. When the Muslims reach the imaginary boundary around Makkah, called Miqat, they must pronoun their intention to perform Hajj.
They do this by saying the words of Talbiyah,“ O Allah, I intend to perform Umrah. Please make it easy for me and accept it from me. Amen”. This is to be said three times in a row. When this is done they will now be in the status of Ihram. At this point Muslims may not do acts forbidden in Iham. Things such as shave, cut hair, wear perfume, or engage in intercourse. When they arrive at their destination, they are to proceed to Haram Sharif. When they reach Haram Sharif, pilgrims perform the initial Tawaf, which is a circular, counter-clockwise procession around the Ka’ba.
All while they state Labbayka Allahmma Labbayk, which means “Here I am at your service, O God, here I am! ”(Peters 127) The Tawat is meant to awaken the belief that God is the center of their reality and the source of all the meanings of life, and that each persons higher self-identity derives from being part of the community of Muslim believers, called Ummah (Peters 129 ). At no point during the Tawaf are the pilgrims to face away from the Ka’ba, unless they are kissing or pointing towards the Hajar-E-Aswad. After the seven round s of the Ka’ba the Muslims are to perform the Sa’ey.
The literal meaning of the word Sa’ey is to run or make an effort to. As a Hajj term, Sa’ey is the walking back and fourth between Marwah and the hills of Safa, which are located to the north and south of the Ka’bah. This act is to try and recreate the footsteps of Hajar, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim, during her desperate search for life giving food and water for her young son Ismail. This happened after they were left in the desert by Prophet Ibrahim, in response to a vision that he had received at an earlier time.
After performing the acts of Sa’ey, about 2 million pilgrims will travel to the city of Mina, which is a desert location approximately three miles from Makkah where the Hajj rituals began. The pilgrims will set up camp and stay overnight. Here they will pray the Fajr prayer and depart after sunrise on the 9th of Thul-Hijjah. Upon leaving the pilgrims chant “O Allah! To thee I turn to approach thy Bounteous Countenance. Let my sins be forgiven and the Hajj be acceptable, and have mercy on me. Allow me not to be disappointed, for thou haste power over all things”.
From Mina the pilgrims will travel to Arafat, which is about nine miles from Makkah. Many of the pilgrims will stay on the Mount of Rahmah (Mountain of Mercy), while others will stay within the boundaries of Arafat. After settling down in their tents, the pilgrims must offer the Zuhur and Ars prayers. They will stay in Arafat until sunset, from there the will travel to the city of Muzdalifah. When arriving in Muzadlifah the pilgrims offer Maghrib and Isha prayers. After praying they will walk to the nearby hills and collect about 70 pea-size pebbles for throwing at a later time.
The pilgrims stay under the open sky in Muzdalifah, and only women, elderly and the weak can leave after midnight. Before sunrise, they will leave to return to Mina on the 10th of Thul-hajjah. Once in Mina, the pilgrims must stone the Jamrat al-Kubra, which symbolizes the devil. The throwing of the seven pebbles at the pillar represents Abraham throwing stones at Satan when he tried to get Abraham not to sacrifice his son. When their last stone is thrown they must sacrifice an animal. This is to reenact the story of Abraham, who, in place of his son, he killed a sheep that God had given to him as a substitute.
The pilgrims have the choice of sacrificing either a sheep, or 1/7th of a cow or camel. The meat from the slaughtered animal is to be shared with family, friends, and the poor and needy people of the community. They may now cut their hair, shower, and change into their everyday clothes for the trip back to Makkah. When the pilgrims arrive in Makkah, they perform the Tawaf al-Ifadah and Sa’ee after taking off their Ihram and changing into their street clothes and before returning to Mina for the throwing of pebbles. They will stay there until the 12th and 13th of Thul-Hijjah. Once back in Mina, the pilgrims perform all of their daily prayers.
The minimum stay allowed in Mina should exceed most of the night. If a pilgrim leaves earlier then that, they must make another sacrifice. On the 11th of Thul-Hijjah, they will travel to throw pebbles at the Jamrahs. There are three stone pillars that the pilgrims will throw the stones at. They stone the first, which is known as the small one, then the middle one, which is known as the middle one, then last is the third stone, which is known as the big one and the al-Aqaba. They will throw seven pebbles at each, while reciting Allahu Akbar. On the 12th of Thul-Hijjah, the same process is performed as on the 11th.
Th pilgrims stone the first Jamrah, then the middle and then the last the big one, in the same order. This is all to be done before midday. They will now return to Makkah before Maghrib time after the stoning is completed, to perform Tawafal-Wada. They now perform the farewell Tawaf just before leaving. This is the same Tawaf as the other, going in seven circuits, starting from the black stone line. Though its not related to the Hajj, many pilgrims will visit the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Madina. It is recommended that the pilgrims leave Makkah as soon as the pilgrimage is completed.
The pilrim also asks Allah to accept the rituals and promise to abide by the divine commands. When the pilgrims return to their homes throughout the world, they may have the title Haji attached to their name to show that they have taken part in this mandatory Islamic ritual. Muslims believe the rites of Hajj were designed by God and taught to the people of faith through Prophet Muhammad. They believe from the time of Adam, there have been many prophets, which include such figures as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and that Muhammad was the last of the Prophets of God.
The Hajj was designed to help to develop Gods consciousness and spirituality. It is also an opportunity for people to find forgiveness for their sins, which have accumulated throughout their lives. The Prophet Muhammad once said, “A person who performs the Hajj properly will return as a newly born baby free from all sins”(Shariat 178). The Hajj also brings together Muslims from all around the world, of different races, languages, and ethic groups, to come together as one to worship God.
