The Pilgrimage is the biggest yearly event in Islam.
In this series, I talked briefly about each of the Pillars of Islam. These are the Shahada (The Testimony,) Salat (The Daily Prayers,) Zakat (Almsgiving,) Fasting in Ramadan, and Hajj (The Pilgrimage.) I promised I'll talk more about each of them during the month of Ramadan.
In the previous articles, I talked about the first Pillar: Al-Shahada. then the second pillar: Al-Salat, Al-Zakat. and Al-Sawm.
Today, I'll talk about the final pillar: Al-Hajj. This article is long overdue, (Ramadan is already over but better late than never, right?) so let's begin:
Al-Hajj
(حجّ البيت - The Pilgrimage)
The 5th Pillar of Islam is the Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in the lifetime of a Muslim. Worshippers have to be physically and financially able to make the journey. Hajj is the hardest and most rewarding form of worship in Islam.
The Hajj is compromised of several rites, most of which can only be performed from the 8th to the 12th of Dhu al Hijjah, the final month of the Islamic Lunar year. The exact date for each rite makes Al-Hajj the biggest gathering of Muslims each year and it represents our unity in religion.
The House of Allah
A Hajj is about visiting Masjid Al-haram in Mecca which is considered the "House of God" and walking around Al-Kaaba as well as other rites including standing on Arafat.
Al-Kaaba is the Cube-like building at the center of the Mosque in Mecca. It's the place where Muslims over all the world pray in the direction of. We believe that it was built by Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) ﷺ and his son Ismail.
Pilgrims during Al-Hajj are to enter a sacred state called Al-Ihram in which they have to clean their bodies, wear certain attire, and some acts become forbidden while in the state including harming any living things like trees or insects.
After Al-Ihram, they'll make Al-Tawaf which is walking around the Kaaba (counter-clockwise) seven times in a row. Al-Sa'i which walking between the two hills (Safa and Marwah) seven times too. After standing around the mountain of Arafat, Pilgrims will have to do certain actions before making al-Tawaf and Sai'i one last time.
The rites of Al-Hajj must be done in order, but most of them can be spread out leisurely over multiple days except a few that must be done at a certain date, as I'll explain below.
Standing on Arafat
At the 9th of Dhu Al-Hijjah, all pilgrims must be present around the mountain of Arafat You must be present for at least a moment right there (before the Sunset) or you'll Pilgrimage is invalidated and becomes Umrah instead. (See below.) This makes standing on Arafat the most important rite of Al-Hajj.
During Arafat, Muslims hear the Sermon of Arafat by the leading Imam of the pilgrimage. (As far as I know, hearing the Sermon isn't as required as being at that place on that day.)
It's on the day of Arafat when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ delivered his "Farewell Sermon," one of the most final and beautiful speeches he delivered. I suggest you all look it up.
After the day of Arafar, the following rites of Al-Hajj are done, which take about 3-4 days to finish. These days in which Pilgrims finish their Hajj, are the days of the Islamic festival: Eid Al-Adha.
Eid Al-Adha
Roughly translated to "Festival of Sacrifice," is Eid is the second festival of Islam. In this Eid, Muslims who are able to, should sacrifice an animal and give some of its meat to the poor.
The act represents the story of Ibrahim ﷺ in which he was tested by Allah if he was willing to sacrifice his son Ismail ﷺ and when both accepted the sacrifice, Allah provided them with a Sheep to sacrifice instead. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ordered Muslims to sacrifice animals on that day following his guidance.
Allah says in the Qur'an, that neither the meat of animals nor their blood reaches Him, but it's the piety in the act itself that is important to God. (Surah Al-Hajj 22:37)
As you see from this article, both Al-Hajj and Eid are connected, not only in the time window they happen in but also with the actions of the Prophet Ibrahim and his family.
Al-Umrah
While Al-Hajj is an obligatory act of worship for those who are able to make it. A lesser version of this Pilgrimage is called Al-Umrah which isn't obligatory. It has fewer rites to perform and can be done at any time of the year. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ done both Al-Hajj and Al-Umrah at different times in his life, but Muslims can do both at the same time window.
Final Thoughts
I tried to be comprehensive in this article, but Al-Hajj is a very big topic in Islam. There are some rites I omitted for brevity's sake and I might've missed or I'm misinformed about. After all, I haven't done it myself yet. I know some people who performed Al-Hajj, though.
Saudi Arabia, the country in which Mecca is located has restricted how many people can go there in the season of Al-Hajj, (for a good reason,) so even if you have the money to go, people in Libya who want to go are screened in a waiting list and you might not get your turn in the year you want.
Something I didn't mention above is the Water of Zamzam. It's a spring of water that's considered Holy in Islam. It supposedly has healing abilities but I don't personally know anyone who can confirm if that's true.
As far as I know, the only way to get some of it is by performing Al-Hajj or Umrah. I drank (what I've been told is) the water of Zamzam a few times in my life from my relatives who went to Al-Hajj, and I can say it's delicious.
Thanks for Following this Series~
I had fun writing about the Pillars of Islam this year. While writing this series of articles, I learned a lot and confirmed some of the facts I used to know. I hope to write more about Islam for you guys, if you have any questions, comment away. I'll answer to the best of my ability. (إن شاء الله)
Thanks for reading.
Posts in This Series:
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[ * ] The featured image is created using ibisPaint. The 2nd & 3rd images are from Unsplash.
[ * ] This was very hard but rewarding to write. I really thank you if you read all of this.