Hajj

The Hajj (Arabic: حج‎ Ḥaǧǧ "pilgrimage") is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims which must be carried out at least once in lifetime by every adult Muslim who is physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support his family during his absence. It is one of the five pillars of Islam.
The gathering during Hajj is considered the largest annual gathering of people in the world.The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istita'ah, and a Muslim who fulfils this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah).^[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 of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar one which is eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, 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 unstitched cloth and abstain from certain things.^[9]

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 (Ibrahim). During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on 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 throws stones at symbolic pillars of Satan at Jamarat in a ritual Stoning of the Devil. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three day global festival of Eid al-Adha.^{[10][11][12][13]}

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. 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.

History

The present pattern of Hajj was established by Muhammad.^[14] However, elements of Hajj trace back to the time of Abraham (Ibrahim), around 2000 BCE. According to Islamic tradition, Abraham was ordered by God to leave his wife Hagar (Hājar) and his son Ishmael (ʼIsmāʻīl) alone in the desert of ancient Mecca. Looking for shelter, food and water, Hagar ran back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwa seven times with her son. In desperation, she laid the baby on the sand and begged for God's assistance. The baby cried and hit the ground with his heel, and the Zamzam Wellmiraculously sprang forth. Later, Abraham was commanded to build Kaaba (which he did with the help of Ishmael) and to invite people to perform pilgrimage there.^[15] The Quran refers to these incidents in verses 2:124-127 and 22:27-30.^{[n 1]} It is said that the arch-angel Gabriel brought theBlack Stone from Heaven to be attached to Kaaba.^[16]

In pre-Islamic Arabia, a time known as jahiliyyah, Kaaba became surrounded by pagan idols.^[17] In 630 CE, Muhammad led his followers from Medina to Mecca in what was the first Hajj to be performed by Muslims alone, and the only one Muhammad attended. He cleansed the Kaaba by destroying all the pagan idols, and then reconsecrated the building to Allah.^[18] It was from this point that the Hajj became one of the five pillars of Islam.

During the medieval times, pilgrims would gather in big cities of Syria, Egypt, and Iraq to go to Mecca in groups and caravans comprising tens of thousands of pilgrims,^[19] often under state patronage.^[20] Some Hajj caravans were to be guarded by soldiers because there were risks of robbery or attack or natural hazards.^{[20][n 2]} Muslim travelers like Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Battuta have recorded detailed accounts of Hajj-travels of medieval time.^[21]