Islam the way of life

Pilgrimage (Hajj)

The act of Hajj

Hajj means making a religious pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) once in a lifetime. All Muslims should try their best to save up enough money to travel, at least once in their life, to the city of Makkah in which the holy Ka’bah is found. In and around Makkah they follow certain rituals. These were initiated by Prophet Abraham (pbuh), and completed by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), according to guidance from God. Some are in memory of particularly important events in the lives of Abraham (pbuh), his eldest son Ishmael (pbuh) and Hagar (Abraham’s second wife). All parts of the Hajj have lessons or reminders of significance for those taking part.

Hajj is not obligatory in some situations

It is only obligatory for most Muslims to do Hajj once in the lifetime, after reaching adulthood. Hajj is not obligatory for those who cannot afford it, who cannot travel to Hajj safely, or who are too ill or old to complete it, but all Muslims of adolescent age and above should make their best efforts to save up for Hajj, to be healthy, and to perform it while they are young and able. Before making Hajj pilgrims must pay all their debts, ask forgiveness from people they feel that they may have wronged or hurt in some way, and make amends where possible.

The time of Hajj

The Hajj is performed only at one particular time of year during the 8th-10th of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul Hijjah. As the lunar calendar is 10 days shorter than the usual solar or Christian calendar, each year the date of Hajj moves 10 days earlier in the solar year.

The lesser pilgrimage or Umrah

If Muslims wish to visit the holy places at times of year other than Hajj, they can, do a minor pilgrimage (Umrah), which is much shorter. It can be performed voluntarily at any time of year, including just before or after the Hajj.

The lessons or reminders provided by the rituals of Hajj and Umrah

All humans are equal in the sight of God, and are one community, only having different degrees according to God’s judgement of their level of piety and God-consciousness, which nobody knows in this life.

As all pilgrims of all races, genders and backgrounds dress in the same humble and simple way, have to perform the same rituals and follow the same manners, and experience the same conditions as each other, they are reminded that humanity is one and that all humans are equal in the eyes of God. The only way one person can be better than another is by through their higher level of piety or God-consciousness which influences their everyday living. As gifts to humans, God gives riches, power, status, intelligence, beauty, talents, skills, children and so on, for which they should be grateful, using them wisely and to please God. These gifts should not become a source of pride for them and a reason for treating people differently, or in any other way be used wrongly.

All humans should try to remember, frequently and deeply, that they will be judged by God for the use they made of their lives.

Associated with this are the scenes of an apparently endless sea of human beings peacefully praying while standing and sitting on, and walking between, the plains of Arafat, and Muzdalifah and at Mina, which can remind pilgrims of the scene of the Plain of Resurrection. This is where all human beings will be raised up to life after their death, and their souls collected and brought before God to be judged for the use that they made of this (earthly) life. This should cause the Muslim pilgrims to become more conscious of the need to please God in their daily lives, and to frequently seek God’s forgiveness.

Humans should realise that Satan is their greatest enemy, only interested ultimately in the suffering and destruction of their souls, and so they should do their best to reject his suggestions and temptations.

At one point in the Hajj pilgrims throw stones at some large, stone pillars, in Mina. This symbolises their rejection of Satan and his temptations and suggestions, in remembrance of Abraham's (pbuh) rejection of Satan's efforts to stop him attempting to follow what he had been informed by a vision was God's Will - to sacrifice his first born, teenage son - Ishmael (pbuh).

To please God and to do what is right and just, we need to love him more than anything else, and we have to be willing to sacrifice that which we love.

Abraham (pbuh) continued with preparing to sacrifice his son (pbuh), until he was stopped by an angel, who informed him that this had been a test from God of the willingness of Abraham and Ishmael (put) to sacrifice what they loved to please God. Abraham (pbuh) was then given a ram to sacrifice in place of his son, which he did. Pilgrims also sacrifice a sheep at the end of the Hajj, as do all Muslims at home who can afford it, in remembrance and celebration of Abraham and Ishmael’s (pbut) overriding love for God, and their submission and self-sacrifice. In the same spirit of love, submission, self-sacrifice and humility, men have their head shaved at the end of the Hajj, and women trim their hair.

The meat from the sheep is distributed to the poor and needy, and at home partly to family, neighbours and friends - making it an act of charity, as well as a way of bringing the community together with good-will.

The general difficulties associated with performing a pilgrimage under the hot Arabian sun, and with so many people of all kinds, should help the pilgrim to learn self-restraint, tolerance, sympathy for and empathy with those that suffer, self-sacrifice and patience. Ideally a pilgrim should also learn the value of contentedness and gratefulness for any relief, for small mercies and relative blessings, and for the lessons learned during Hajj.

One part of the pilgrimage for pilgrims to particularly reflect upon is the Sa’y which is a period of repeated walking between two hillocks near the Ka’bah in remembrance of Hagar who did this in search of water, or people with water, out of love and concern for her baby Ishmael. She was an example of love, patient perseverance and of faith and trust in God's mercy and wisdom, as she was following instructions given to Abraham by God to settle near the Ka’bah in the valley of what was called Bakkah, and is now Makkah, despite the fact that it was desolate, uninhabited desert.

Another example of patient devotion to God is the Tawaf or walking in a circle around the Ka’bah seven times, while making many different supplications to God
If humans try their best to love and please God, they will be forgiven, purified, revived, blessed and rewarded abundantly.

Hagar’s goodness was rewarded when the foot of Ishmael (pbuh) kicking the sand resulted in the powerful gushing forth of a spring. The spring was named 'Zam Zam' and continues to flow abundantly today. The water from it has been found to have healing properties, sometimes in a miraculous way, for example one woman whose upper body was covered in painful, oozing sores was completely cured of them within only a few days of having prayed and applied zamzam water (an account found on the internet). ZamZam is now used for both drinking and for ritual washing (wudu or ghusl) by the millions of pilgrrims who visit the Ka’bah every year, and containers of the water are taken by pilgrims as gifts for those back at home.

In the Qur'an water is often a symbol for blessings and purification given by God 'bringing life to a land that was dead', or spiritual life to the heart and soul of human beings. Zam Zam water could be seen as a symbol of the purifying blessings of Hajj. Pilgrims pray to God that He accepts their Hajj, and that He therefore rewards them for it by forgiving all their sins. It is important for pilgrims to remember that in order for the Hajj to be accepted and rewarded by God, the pilgrims have to make a lot of effort to make it pleasing to God. During Hajj a pilgrim should constantly be trying to keep his/her intentions, attitudes, thoughts, words and deeds pure and pleasing to God, while asking Him for forgiveness as much as possible.

Therefore the whole process of Hajj is seen as a way of purification from past sins, and from repeating the sins of the past, or being tempted to new sins when returning to normal everyday life.

As Hajj is also a symbol for the struggles and tests of life, Zam Zam can also be seen as a general symbol for the blessings, reward, relief, healing, purification, revival and eternal life of the soul given by God in return for following Islam and being true Muslims.