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Hajj - The Journey of a Lifetime (part 1 of 2): The Day of Arafah
and its Preparation
Description: One fifth of humankind shares a
single aspiration: to complete, at least once in a lifetime, the spiritual
journey called the Hajj. Part
One: An Introduction to the Hajj and some of the rites leading up to the
actual day of Hajj.
The hajj, or pilgrimage to
Mecca, a central duty of Islam whose origins date back to the Prophet
Abraham, brings together Muslims of all races and tongues for one of life’s
most moving spiritual experiences.
For 14 centuries, countless
millions of Muslims, men and women from the four corners of the earth, have
made the pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam. In carrying out this obligation,
they fulfill one of the five “pillars” of Islam, or central religious
duties of the believer.
Muslims trace the recorded
origins of the divinely prescribed pilgrimage to the Prophet Abraham. According to the Quran, it was
Abraham who, together with Ishmael built the Kabah, “the House of God”, the
direction toward which Muslims turn in their worship five times each
day. It was Abraham, too who
established the rituals of the hajj, which recall events or practices in
his life and that of Hagar and their son Ishmael.
In the chapter entitled
“The Pilgrimage”, the Quran speaks of the divine command to perform the
hajj and prophesies the permanence of this institution:
“And when We assigned for Abraham the place of the House,
saying ‘Do not associate Anything with Me, and purify My House for those
who go around it and for those who stand and bow and prostrate themselves
in worship. And proclaim the
Pilgrimage among humankind: They will come to you on foot and on every
camel made lean By traveling deep, distant ravines.’” (Quran 22:26-27)
By the time the Prophet
Muhammad, may God praise him, received the divine call, however, pagan
practices had come to muddy some of the original observances of the
hajj. The Prophet, as ordained
by God, continued the Abrahamic hajj after restoring its rituals to their
original purity.
Furthermore, Muhammad
himself instructed the believers in the rituals of the hajj. He did this in two ways: by his own
practice, or by approving the practices of his Companions. This added some complexity to the
rituals, but also provided increased flexibility in carrying them out, much
to the benefit of pilgrims ever since. It is lawful, for instance, to have some variation in
the order in which the several rites are carried out, because the Prophet
himself is recorded as having approved such actions. Thus, the rites of the hajj are
elaborate, numerous and varied; aspects of some of them are highlighted
below.
The hajj to Mecca is a
once-in-a-lifetime obligation upon male and female adults whose health and
means permit it, or, in the words of the Quran, upon “those who can make
their way there.” It is not an
obligation on children, though some children do accompany their parents on
this journey.
Before setting out, a
pilgrim should redress all wrongs, pay all debts, plan to have enough funds
for his own journey and for the maintenance of his family while he is away,
and prepare himself for good conduct throughout the hajj.
When pilgrims undertake the
hajj journey, they follow in the footsteps of millions before them. Nowadays hundreds of thousands of
believers from over 70 nations arrive in the Mecca by road, sea and air
every year, completing a journey now much shorter and in some ways less
arduous than it often was in the past.
Till the 19th century,
traveling the long distance to Mecca usually meant being part of a
caravan. There were three main
caravans: the Egyptian one, which formed in Cairo; the Iraqi one, which set
out from Baghdad; and the Syrian, which, after 1453, started at Istanbul,
gathered pilgrims along the way, and proceeded to Mecca from Damascus.
As the hajj journey took
months if all went well, pilgrims carried with them the provisions they
needed to sustain them on their trip.
The caravans were elaborately supplied with amenities and security
if the persons traveling were rich, but the poor often ran out of
provisions and had to interrupt their journey in order to work, save up
their earnings, and then go on their way. This resulted in long journeys which, in some cases,
spanned ten years or more.
Travel in earlier days was filled with adventure. The roads were often unsafe due to
bandit raids. The terrain the
pilgrims passed through was also dangerous, and natural hazards and
diseases often claimed many lives along the way. Thus, the successful return of pilgrims to their
families was the occasion of joyous celebration and thanksgiving for their
safe arrival.
Lured by the mystique of
Mecca and Medina, many Westerners have visited these two holy cities, on
which the pilgrims converge, since the 15th century. Some of them disguised themselves
as Muslims; others, who had genuinely converted, came to fulfill their
duty. But all seem to have
been moved by their experience, and many recorded their impressions of the
journey and the rituals of the hajj in fascinating accounts. Many hajj travelogues exist,
written in languages as diverse as the pilgrims themselves.
The pilgrimage takes place
each year between the 8th and the 13th days of Dhul-Hijjah, the 12th month
of the Muslim lunar calendar.
Its first rite is the donning of the ihram.
The ihram, worn by men, is
a white seamless garment made up of two pieces of cloth or toweling; one
covers the body from waist down past the knees, and the other is thrown
over the shoulder. This garb was
worn by both Abraham and Muhammad.
Women dress as they usually do. Men’s heads must be uncovered; both men and women may
use an umbrella.
The ihram is a symbol of
purity and of the renunciation of evil and mundane matters. It also indicates the equality of
all people in the eyes of God.
When the pilgrim wears his white apparel, he or she enters into a
state of purity that prohibits quarreling, committing violence to man or
animal and having conjugal relations.
Once he puts on his hajj clothes the pilgrim cannot shave, cut his
nails or wear any jewelry, and he will keep his unsown garment on till he
completes the pilgrimage.
A pilgrim who is already in
Mecca starts his hajj from the moment he puts on the ihram. Some pilgrims coming from a
distance may have entered Mecca earlier with their ihram on and may still
be wearing it. The donning of
the ihram is accompanied by the primary invocation of the hajj, the
talbiyah:
“Here I am, O God, at Thy Command! Here I am at Thy Command! Thou art without associate; Here I am at Thy
Command! Thine are praise and
grace and dominion! Thou art
without associate.”
The thunderous, melodious
chants of the talbiyah ring out not only in Mecca but also at other nearby
sacred locations connected with the hajj.
On the first day of the
hajj, pilgrims sweep out of Mecca toward Mina, a small uninhabited village
east of the city. As their
throngs spread through Mina, the pilgrims generally spend their time
meditating and praying, as the Prophet did on his pilgrimage.
During the second day, the
9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, pilgrims leave Mina for the plain of Arafat where
they rest. This is the central
rite of the hajj. As they
congregate there, the pilgrims’ stance and gathering reminds them of the
Day of Judgment. Some of them
gather at the Mount of Mercy, where the Prophet delivered his unforgettable
Farewell Sermon, enunciating far-reaching religious, economic, social and
political reforms. These are
emotionally charged hours, which the pilgrims spend in worship and
supplication. Many shed tears
as they ask God to forgive them.
On this sacred spot, they reach the culmination of their religious
lives as they feel the presence and closeness of a merciful God.
The first Englishwoman to
perform the hajj, Lady Evelyn Cobbold, described in 1934 the feelings
pilgrims experience at Arafat.
“It would require a master pen to describe the scene,
poignant in its intensity, of that great concourse of humanity of which I
was one small unit, completely lost to their surroundings in a fervor of
religious enthusiasm. Many of
the pilgrims had tears streaming down their cheeks; others raised their
faces to the starlit sky that had witnessed this drama so often in the past
centuries. The shining eyes,
the passionate appeals, the pitiful hands outstretched in prayer moved me
in a way that nothing had ever done before, and I felt caught up in a
strong wave of spiritual exaltation.
I was one with the rest of the pilgrims in a sublime act of complete
surrender to the Supreme Will which is Islam.”
She goes on to describe the
closeness pilgrims feel to the Prophet while standing in Arafat:
“...as I stand beside the granite pillar, I feel I am on
Sacred ground. I see with my
mind’s eye the Prophet delivering that last address, over thirteen hundred
years ago, to the weeping multitudes.
I visualize the many preachers who have spoken to countless millions
who have assembled on the vast plain below; for this is the culminating
scene of the Great Pilgrimage.”
The Prophet is reported to
have asked God to pardon the sins of pilgrims who gathered at Arafat, and
was granted his wish. Thus,
the hopeful pilgrims prepare to leave this plain joyfully, feeling reborn
without sin and intending to turn over a new leaf.
Hajj - The Journey of a Lifetime (part 2 of 2): The Rites of Abraham
Description: One fifth of humankind shares a
single aspiration: to complete, at least once in a lifetime, the spiritual
journey called the Hajj. Part
Two: The procession from Arafah until the last of the Rites, and a Hajj
accepted by the Almighty.
Just after sunset, the mass
of pilgrims proceeds to Muzdalifah, an open plain about halfway between
Arafat and Mina. There they
first pray and then collect a fixed number of chickpea-sized pebbles to use
on the following days.
Before daybreak on the
third day, pilgrims move en masse from Muzdalifah to Mina. There they cast at white pillars
the pebbles they have previously collected, a practice associated with the
Prophet Abraham. As pilgrims
throw seven pebbles at each of these pillars, they remember the story of
Satan’s attempt to persuade Abraham to disregard God’s command to sacrifice
his son.
Throwing the pebbles is
symbolic of humans’ attempt to cast away evil and vice, not once but seven
times - the number seven symbolizing infinity.
Following the casting of
the pebbles, most pilgrims sacrifice a goat, sheep or some other
animal. They give the meat to
the poor after, in some cases, keeping a small portion for themselves.
This rite is associated
with Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son in accordance with God’s
wish. It symbolizes the
Muslim’s willingness to part with what is precious to him, and reminds us
of the spirit of Islam, in which submission to God’s will plays a leading
role. This act also reminds
the pilgrim to share worldly goods with those who are less fortunate, and
serves as an offer of thanksgiving to God.
As the pilgrims have, at
this stage, finished a major part of the hajj, they are now allowed to shed
their ihram and put on everyday clothes. On this day Muslims around the world share the happiness
the pilgrims feel and join them by performing identical, individual
sacrifices in a worldwide celebration of ‘Eid al-Adha, “the Festival of Sacrifice.” Men either shave their heads or clip
their hair, and women cut off a symbolic lock, to mark their partial
deconsecration. This is done
as a symbol of humility. All
proscriptions, save the one of conjugal relations, are now lifted.
Still so journing in Mina,
pilgrims visit Mecca to perform another essential rite of the hajj: the
tawaf, the seven-fold circling of the Kaaba, with a prayer recited during
each circuit. Their
circumambulation of the Kaaba, the symbol of God’s oneness, implies that
all human activity must have God at its center. It also symbolizes the unity of God and man.
Thomas Abercrombie, a
convert to Islam and a writer and photographer for National Geographic
Magazine, performed the hajj in the 1970’s and described the sense of unity
and harmony pilgrims feel during the circling:
“Seven times we circled the shrine repeating the ritual
devotions in Arabic: ‘Lord God, from such a distant land I have come unto
Thee.... Grant me shelter
under Thy throne.’ Caught up
in the whirling scene, lifted by the poetry of the prayers, we orbited
God’s house in accord with the atoms, in harmony with the planets.”
While making their circuits
pilgrims may kiss or touch the Black Stone. This oval stone, first mounted in a silver frame late in
the seventh century, has a special place in the hearts of Muslims as,
according to some hadeeth, it is the sole remnant of the original structure
built by Abraham and Ishmael.
But perhaps the single most important reason for kissing the stone
is that the Prophet did so.
No devotional significance
whatsoever is attached to the stone, for it is not, nor has ever been, an
object of worship. The second
caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, made this crystal clear when, on kissing the
stone himself in emulation of the Prophet, he proclaimed:
“I know that you are but a stone, incapable of doing good or
harm. Had I not seen the
Messenger of God kiss you - may God’s blessing and peace be upon him - I
would not kiss you.”
After completing the tawaf,
pilgrims pray, preferably at the Station of Abraham, the site where Abraham
stood while he built the Kaaba.
Then they drink of the water of Zamzam.
Another, and sometimes
final, rite is the sa’y, or “exerting.” This is a reenactment of a memorable episode in the life
of Hagar, who was taken into what the Quran calls the “uncultivable valley”
of Mecca, with her infant son Ishmael, to settle there.
The sa’y commemorates
Hagar’s frantic search for water to quench Ishmael’s thirst. She ran back and forth seven times
between two rocky hillocks, al-Safa and al-Marwah, until she found the
sacred water known as Zamzam.
This water, which sprang forth miraculously under Ishmael’s tiny
feet, is springs from the same well from which pilgrims drink today
These rites performed, the
pilgrims are completely deconsecrated: They may resume all normal
activities. They now return to
Mina, where they stay up to the 12th or 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah. There they throw their remaining
pebbles at each of the pillars in the manner practiced or approved by the
Prophet. They then take leave
of the friends they have made during the Hajj. Before leaving Mecca, however, pilgrims make a final
tawaf round the Kaaba to bid farewell to the Holy City.
Usually pilgrims either
precede or follow the hajj, “the greater pilgrimage,” with the umrah, “the
lesser pilgrimage,” which is sanctioned by the Quran and was performed by
the Prophet. The umrah, unlike
the hajj, takes place only in Mecca itself and can be performed at any time
of the year. The ihram,
talbiyah and the restrictions required by the state of consecration are
equally essential in the umrah, which also shares three other rituals with
the hajj: the tawaf, sa’y and shaving or clipping the hair. The observance of the umrah by
pilgrims and visitors symbolizes veneration for the unique sanctity of
Mecca.
Before or after going to
Mecca, pilgrims also avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the
hajj or the umrah to visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the second
holiest city in Islam. Here,
the Prophet lies buried in a simple grave. The visit to Medina is not obligatory, as it is not part
of the hajj or umrah, but the city - which welcomed Muhammad when he
migrated there from Mecca - is rich in moving memories and historical sites
that are evocative of him as a Prophet and statesman.
In this city, loved by
Muslims for centuries, people still feel the effect of the Prophet’s
life. Muhammad Asad, an
Austrian Jew who converted to Islam in 1926 and made five pilgrimages
between 1927 and 1932, comments on this aspect of the city:
“Even after thirteen centuries [the Prophet’s] spiritual
presence is almost as alive here as it was then. It was only because of him that the scattered group of
villages once called Yathrib became a city and has been loved by all
Muslims down to this day as no city anywhere else in the world has ever
been loved. It has not even a
name of its own: for more than thirteen hundred years it has been called
Madinat an-Nabi, ‘the City of the Prophet.’ For more than thirteen hundred years, so much love has
converged here that all shapes and movements have acquired a kind of family
resemblance, and all differences of appearance find a tonal transition into
a common harmony.”
As pilgrims of diverse
races and tongues return to their homes, they carry with them cherished
memories of Abraham, Ishmael, Hagar, and Muhammad. They will always remember that
universal concourse, where poor and rich, black and white, young and old,
met on equal footing.
They return with a sense of
awe and serenity: awe for their experience at Arafat, when they felt
closest to God as they stood on the site where the Prophet delivered his
sermon during his first and last pilgrimage; serenity for having shed their
sins on that plain, and being thus relieved of such a heavy burden. They also return with a better
understanding of the conditions of their brothers in Islam. Thus is born a spirit of caring for
others and an understanding of their own rich heritage that will last
throughout their lives.
The pilgrims go back
radiant with hope and joy, for they have fulfilled God’s ancient injunction
to humankind to undertake the pilgrimage. Above all, they return with a prayer on their lips: May
it please God, they pray, to find their hajj acceptable, and may what the
Prophet said be true of their own individual journey:
“There is no reward for a pious pilgrimage but Paradise.”
(Al-Tirmidhi)
Location: www.IslamReligion.com
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