Hajj on August 1
The Hajj festival will be celebrated by Muslims around the world on the tenth day of the month of Zul Hajj. It is the culmination of the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. Still responding to that original call of Ibrahim and following the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad, over two million people from every corner of the globe gather in Mecca to perform Hajj every year.
Along with the profession (declaration) of faith, daily prayers, a month-long annual fast and charity to the poor, Hajj is one of the five tenets of Islam. Hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for every Muslim, male or female, provided he/she is healthy enough to travel and has the means to undertake the pilgrimage.
Muslims after attending special morning prayers will visit friends and family. During the visits many people like to wear their best clothes and special food will be served to guests. Exchanging Greetings of (Thakabal Allahu Minna Wa Minka) - O Allah accept us and others is customary.
After reaching the Holy City, it is most heartening to see the desert of Mecca, in the midst, the Holy Ka'aba where pilgrims make Tawaf (circuits) seven times reciting “O Allah! I beg of thee forgiveness and peace in the world and the next. O, Lord, give us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the fire”.
One important obligation during Hajj is wearing unstitched clothing comprising two sheets (women wear normal clothes with a scarf to cover the head).
All men, rich or poor, black or white, are dressed this way, so that all men of all countries look alike in identical simple garments, and no pilgrim may feel tempted to take pride of place over another.
The mosque in Mecca due to continuous expansion, can accommodate about one million pilgrims. Pilgrims encircle the Kabah seven times.
Near the Kabah, are two small hills called Safa and Marwah - 'Signs of Gold' as they are described in the Quran and pilgrims have to trek between the two hillocks as a ritual in memory of Lady Hajara, Abraham's wife, who ran between the two hillocks seven times looking for water when her son, Ishmael was crying out in thirst.
God was pleased and a miracle took place - a spring gushed forth from which the baby could drink water. The well, known as Zamzam, still quenches pilgrims’ thirst.
The hills, which were previously outside the precincts of the sacred mosque, have now been enclosed within its boundaries. The pilgrims walk briskly back and forth seven times between these hills, a distance of about 394 metres.
On the first day of Hajj, the pilgrims set out for Mina, a small town about three miles from Mecca.
Here the pilgrims stay three nights and three days.
As one of the rites of Hajj, the pilgrims throw small pebbles at stone pillars, which symbolise the devil within people. From Mina, the pilgrims go on to Arafat, where the climax of the pilgrimage - “the standing of Arafat” takes place. The centre of attention is the 200 foot high Mount of Mercy, Mount Arafa from which Prophet Muhammad preached his last sermon in 632 AD.
Text and pic: Ruzaik Farook