What is Hajj?

            The Hajj, Arabic for “pilgrimage”, is a religious pilgrimage consists of five days to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and nearby holy sites that all Muslims perform, who are financially and physically able, at least once in their lives (Porter and Museum 2012). The Hajj is one of the five duties or pillars of Islam along with the:

The profession of faith in the one Creator and Mohammad (S.A.W.W) as His last Prophet.

 Five times prayers a day

 Yearly charitable giving

Fasting during the complete holy month of Ramadan

        The Hajj happens in the 12th and last month of an Islamic lunar calendar i.e. only once a year; pilgrimages made at other times of the year to Mecca are also encouraged in Islam but these pilgrimages do not count as the Hajj. The Hajj timing and schedule move backwards every year because the Islamic lunar calendar, as compare to the 365 days standard Gregorian calendar, is about 11 days shorter. Pilgrims perform the series of rituals, over the five days of the Hajj, meant to symbolize the unity with their faith fellows and to pay tribute to the God (Tagliacozzo and Toorawa 2015).

        Pilgrims on the last three days of the Hajj along with the other Muslim fellows around the world celebrate Festival of Sacrifice or the Eid al Adha. This Festival of Sacrifice is one of the two main religious holidays celebrated by Muslims every year, the other one is Eid al Fitr celebrated at the end of holy month of Ramadan. Pilgrims return to their homes at the end of the Hajj and are given the honorific “Hajji” often, referred to as the person who has performed the Hajj. During the Iraq War, one interesting note here, the term “Hajji” was used by the US troops frequently for an Arab, Iraqi, or another person of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent as a derogatory term. Although they did not actually mean it, and it was not taken in the same way as well by a person on the slur’s receiving end, inadvertently a term of honour and respect was being applied by the US troops to these individuals (Tagliacozzo and Toorawa 2015).

Religious Significance of Hajj

        It would be surprised to people learning that the Hajj has not much to do with Prophet Mohammad (S.A.A.W). It pretty much commemorates events in the Prophet Ibrahim’s life, famously known as Abraham, a venerated patriarchal figure in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and a Baha’i faith. In Islam its son of Abraham named Ismail, almost sacrificed. Hence, both Abraham and Ismail are considered to the God’s prophet by Muslims, and ancestry of Mohammad is considered to be traced back to Ismail (Porter and Museum 2012).

        Furthermore, another event is there involving Ismail and Hagar, his mother, which largely looms in the Hajj. This is exactly how the story goes: Abraham was commanded by God to take his wife and infant Ismail, as a test of faith, out to the area of barren desert located between in Mecca between Safa and Marwah’s two hills, and leave them alone with only basic necessities. The water eventually ran out and Hagar ran back and forth due to increase anxiety seven times from hill to hill searching for water for infant Ismail. A miracle then occurred: A well sprang from the ground, now famously known as Zamzam well, and saved both of them. However, the well-discovering story differs. Eventually, Abraham came back and retrieved his wife and son from the desert (Wehbe 2017).

        Later, Ibrahim and Ismail went to build the black cuboid structure, famously known as Kaaba, in Mecca that Muslims face while offering their prayers. Soon after the Kaaba was built, Abraham was commanded by God to proclaim the pilgrimage, tradition holds, to the sites to all mankind, famously called the Hajj, so that mankind can get together to show their devotion to God at one place (Porter and Museum 2012).

Main Rituals Performed During Hajj

        Tawaf, literally “circumambulation”, is a most well-known ritual during which the Kaaba is counterclockwise circled by the pilgrims seven times at both the very end of as well as the very beginning of the Hajj. Although the reason of exact seven times is not very clear, it is believed by many people it is concerned with the celestial bodies’ motion. Seven is an as prominent number as well associated with the divine in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. A ceremony is included in other rituals where small pebbles are thrown by pilgrims at three big stone walls known as jamarat that symbolize the stoning a Satan (devil) who tempted Abraham to disobey God, and the animal is slaughtered to honour the animal slaughtered by Abraham (Tagliacozzo and Toorawa 2015).

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ranawehbe/2017/08/29/hajj-the-annual-muslim-pilgrimage-to-mecca-explained/#75b42b1e37a8

        Then, the meat is given to the poor and needy to feed them. Pilgrims, these days, elect frequently to buy tokens to have an animal slaughtered for them. A ritual called Sa’ee is also there in which pilgrims walk back seven times between Safa and Marwah’s two hills to commemorate frantic search of Hagar for her infant son for water. Both hills i.e. Safa and Marwah, today, are enclosed within the Sacred Mosque i.e. Masjid al-Haram that houses the Kaaba as well, and there is a long path between the hills, beautiful indoor gallery with air conditioning and marble floors. Many pilgrims drink from the Zamzam well as well located there (Wehbe 2017).

        Furthermore, one ritual is solely related to Mohammad that is climbing of Mount Arafat that is the place where Mohammad spent His last sermon while preaching. Pilgrims wake at dawn, on the second day of Hajj, and walk the small distance to Mount Arafat and spend their remainder of the day in quite contemplations and worship of God (Wehbe 2017).

Cost and Duration of Hajj

        Most of the Muslims today tend to sign up with some company take to look after the major and different aspects of the Hajj, such as transportation to Arafat, accommodations during the Hajj, and food during the pilgrimage. There are different costs for different Hajj packages that range from 2600 dollars up to 4300 dollars or more. It takes years for most of the developing nations to save up the money to perform Hajj. The pilgrimage, starting from the 8th of holy month Dhu al Hijjah, can be performed between five to six days. The day of Arafah arrived at the ninth of Dhu al Hijjah, whereas the holiest festival of Islam i.e. Eid al Adha is celebrated on the third day of Hajj (Porter and Museum 2012).

Conclusion of Hajj

            In a nutshell, the Hajj is one of the five duties or pillars of Islam. The Hajj happens in the 12th and last month of an Islamic lunar calendar i.e. only once a year; pilgrimages made at other times of the year to Mecca are also encouraged in Islam but these pilgrimages do not count as the Hajj. Pilgrims return to their homes at the end of the Hajj are given the honorific "Hajji" often, referred to as the person who has performed the Hajj. Ibrahim and Ismail went to build the black cuboid structure, famously known as Kaaba, in Mecca that Muslims face while offering their prayers.

        After the Kaaba was built, Abraham was commanded by God to proclaim the pilgrimage, tradition holds. Tawaf, literally "circumambulation", is a most well-known ritual during which the Kaaba is counterclockwise circled by the pilgrims seven times at both the very end of as well as the very beginning of the Hajj. A ceremony is included in other rituals where small pebbles are thrown by pilgrims at three big stone walls known as jamarat. A ritual called Sa’ee is also there in which pilgrims walk back seven times between Safa and Marwah’s two hills. There are different costs for different Hajj packages that range from 2600 dollars up to 4300 dollars or more. It takes years for most of the developing nations to save up the money to perform Hajj.