A Must Do for Muslims: Pilgrimage to Mecca

Jan. 12, 2006 — -- For many Muslims, participating in the annual pilgrimage, or hajj, is a lifelong ambition, something no one ever wants to miss.

Six-Day Pilgrimage

Every year about 2 million Muslims from more than 70 countries converge on the holiest city in Islam, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to take part in the hajj -- one of Islam's five pillars that every adult and able-bodied Muslim must undertake at least once in their life.

Pilgrims -- young and old -- assemble in the city on the eighth day of Dhul-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic year, to hear sermons at Mount Arafat, as a testament of their faith in God, family and the physical and spiritual self. The event lasts six days and is considered one of the biggest mass movements of people on the planet.

"This is my first hajj and at first I was scared of the crowds," Umm Saad, a Saudi Arabian woman, told Reuters. "Then I let faith take over my fear, and everything was fine. It has been a good hajj."

The event has pilgrims follow in the footsteps of Mohammed, to the barren plain of Mina and the slopes of Mount Arafat. This year, like the ones before, there were mile-long traffic jams as buses left Mecca, some with pilgrims riding on top after days spent waiting in the scorching Saudi sun.

Arriving pilgrims also faced stringent security checks, including digital eye scans as they entered Saudi Arabia on their way to Mecca.

All In White

As a sign of consecration, the participants wear very simple white clothes. The men wear seamless, long, white robes while the women wear plain white dresses with scarves. The white symbolizes the equality of all people in the eyes of Allah.

Part of the weeklong ritual includes pilgrims standing on the Jamarat Bridge as they hurl stones at three thick walls in a symbolic casting out of the devil and rejection of temptation.

Many women delegate someone else to cast their stones for them rather than pile into the melee of pilgrims and pebbles.

"I'm proud that I managed to do the stoning myself," said Maha, another Saudi Arabian woman to Reuters. "I'm still healthy and young."

The economic benefits of this annual pilgrimage are not lost on anyone. Every year, the owners of buildings in Mecca pump up their rents in an attempt to cash in on the hordes of Hajis who want to stay as close as possible to the holy site.

Pilgrims will start heading home late Thursday, though many stay on for days in Mecca, considered the birthplace of Islam.

Saudi Arabia has revamped the Jamarat area, expanding the stoning targets, and has beefed up its security operation to control the huge crowd and avert possible attacks by Islamist militants.

Difficult Crowd Control

The concentration of so many people in a relatively small area has also proved a recipe for disaster.

Fire and stampedes have claimed the lives of hundreds of people over the years.

This year is no exception.

Thousands of Muslim pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual tripped over luggage, causing a crush in which at least 345 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured.

Despite the stampede, believers continued to line up to complete the ritual to cleanse their soul.

Sources: Wire reports and BBC Religion and Ethics website.