The
Kaaba
in
Mecca
is the
direction of prayer
and destination of pilgrimage for
Muslims
all over the world.
The
Hajj
("
pilgrimage
") is an annual
Islamic
pilgrimage
to
Mecca
, the most holy city of the Muslims. It is a Fard, a 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.
[1]
[2]
[3]
It is one of the
five pillars of Islam
, alongside
Shahadah
,
Salat
,
Zakat
, and
Sawm
. The Hajj is the largest annual gathering of people in the world.
[4]
[5]
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 God (
Allah
).
[6]
[7]
The word Hajj means "to intend a journey", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions.
[8]
The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th (or in some cases 13th
[9]
) 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.
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.
[6]
[10]
[11]
The Hajj is associated with the life of
Islamic prophet
Muhammad
from the 7th century, but the ritual of 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 all go to Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the
Ka'aba
(the cube-shaped building and the
direction of prayer
for the Muslims), runs back and forth between the hills of
Al-Safa and Al-Marwah
, drinks from the
Zamzam Well
, goes to the plains of
Mount Arafat
to stand in vigil, spends a night in the plain of
Muzdalifa
, and performs symbolic
stoning of the devil
by throwing stones at three pillars. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three-day global festival of
Eid al-Adha
.
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
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
.
[16]
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, because Umrah is not a substitute for Hajj.
[17]
Saudi Arabia's economy greatly benefits from Hajj tourism and has invested in hotel businesses as well as infrastructure to accommodate and profit from Hajj and Ummrah tourism.
[18]
- ↑
Long, Matthew (2011).
Islamic Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures
. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 86.
ISBN
978-0-7614-7926-0
. Retrieved
2 September
2014
.
- ↑
Nigosian, S. A. (2004).
Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices
.
Indiana
: Indiana University Press. p. 110.
ISBN
978-0-253-21627-4
.
- ↑
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs - Islam
Archived
2011-10-02 at the
Wayback Machine
See drop-down essay on "Islamic Practices"
- ↑
Mosher, Lucinda (2005).
Praying: The Rituals of Faith
. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 155.
ISBN
978-1-59627-016-9
. Retrieved
18 September
2014
.
- ↑
Katz, Andrew (16 October 2013).
"As the Hajj Unfolds in Saudi Arabia, A Deep Look Inside the Battle Against MERS"
.
Time
. Retrieved
17 October
2013
.
- ↑
6.0
6.1
Nigosian, S. A. (2004).
Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices
.
Indiana
: Indiana University Press. p. 111.
ISBN
978-0-253-21627-4
.
- ↑
Hooker, M. B. (2008).
Indonesian Syariah: Defining a National School of Islamic Law
. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 228.
ISBN
978-981-230-802-3
. Retrieved
6 October
2014
.
- ↑
Adelowo, E. Dada, ed. (2014).
Perspectives in Religious Studies: Volume III
. Ibadan: HEBN Publishers Plc. p. 395.
ISBN
978-978-081-447-2
.
- ↑
"13th of Zil Hajj"
.
heliohost.org
. Archived from
the original
on 2019-10-28
. Retrieved
2016-11-30
.
- ↑
"ihram"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. 2014
. Retrieved
6 October
2014
.
- ↑
"Ihram - Summary"
.
Hajj Portal
. Archived from
the original
on 21 July 2008
. Retrieved
20 November
2013
.
- ↑
Armstrong, Karen (2002).
Islam: A Short History
. Modern Library Chronicles (Revised Updated ed.). Modern Library. pp.
10
?12.
ISBN
978-0-8129-6618-3
.
- ↑
Anisa Mehdi; John Bredar (2003). "Inside Makkah (video documentary)".
National Geographic Society
.
- ↑
"Eid ul Adha"
. BBC. 7 September 2009
. Retrieved
30 December
2012
.
- ↑
Sahih Bukhari-hadith No-732-733
- ↑
"Saudi Arabia to move from oil, earn more from Hajj"
. RussiaToday. 25 March 2016.
- ↑
Matt Stefon, ed. (2010).
Islamic Beliefs and Practices
.
New York
:
Britannica Educational Publishing
. p.
73
.
ISBN
978-1-61530-060-0
.
- ↑
"Saudi Arabia's multibillion-dollar hajj industry is getting smarter than ever"
.