Hajj: The Fifth Pillar of Islam
Feb. 11, 2003 -- The annual hajj, or pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca, is one of the central obligations of Islam, the fifth and final pillar of the religion that rose out of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century A.D.
The pilgrimage to the birthplace of Islam is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation that every Muslim must make if he or she is physically able and can afford it.
But even those minimal qualifiers have been thrown to the winds every year for the past 14 centuries as elderly Muslims link up with thousands of impoverished believers spending their hard-earned lifesavings for the pilgrimage.
Joining this vast, frail, underprivileged mass of humanity, is a mix of wealthy, empowered, but highly divergent pilgrims — from Arab princes, to South Asian heads-of-state, to Southeast Asian businessmen and Indian film-stars.
Muslims trace the origins of the hajj to the Prophet Abraham, or Ibrahim as he is known in Arabic. According to the Koran, Abraham was instructed to bring his wife, Hagar, and their child Ishmael to Arabia from Palestine to protect them from the jealousy of Abraham's first wife, Sarah.
According to Allah's command, Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael on their own with food and water supplies. But in the harsh Arabian Desert, their food and water supplies ran out and both mother and son were close to dying due to dehydration and starvation.
Lifesaving Water
In her desperation, Hagar is believed to have prayed to Allah after which, Ishmael struck his foot on the ground causing a spring of water to erupt, which saved mother and her son from certain death.
Muslims across the world call the lifesaving fluid Zamzam water from the holy Zamzam well, which they believe, saved Hagar and Ishmael. Every year, millions of hajjis return home with plastic jerry cans containing the permitted amount of Zamzam.
Years later, when Abraham returned to the Arabian Desert from Palestine, according to the Koran, he was instructed to build a shrine to Allah. Muslims believe the Prophet Abraham constructed a small stone structure called the Kaaba, or cube, the earliest structure designed to be a symbolic gathering site of all believers.
The Kaaba today is located at the center of the Grand Mosque or the Masjid ul-Haram. Muslims believe a black oval stone, or the al-hajar al-aswad — which is built into the eastern wall of the Kaaba — is the remnant of the original structure built by Abraham and Ishmael.
Steps to God
The hajj pilgrimage takes place each year between the eighth and the 13th days of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Muslim lunar calendar, which is roughly two months after the holy month of Ramadan.
Most pilgrims arrive a few days before the actual hajj to make the umhra, or minor hajj, which can be done at anytime.
Pilgrims then wear the ihram, a white seamless robe symbolizing purity as well as the equality of all believers before Allah. The donning of the ihram marks the start of the hajj, after which pilgrims perform a precisely delineated list of rituals, including the tawaf, or walking around the Kaaba seven times.
The central ritual of the hajj is literally called the "standing at Mount Arafat," a rocky hill that pilgrims head to after a day of prayers in the Mina Valley.
Mount Arafat is the site where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon 14 centuries ago. "Standing at Mount Arafat" is a climactic, emotional ritual that Muslims believe cleanses them of their sins and brings them close to Allah. The time spent at Mount Arafat is believed to symbolize Judgment Day, when Islam says every person will stand before God and answer for his deeds.
Back from Arafat in the Mina Valley, pilgrims then throw the stones at pillars called Jamraat, a ritual symbolizing the stoning of Satan.
At the end of the hajj, Muslims from all over the world celebrate Eid ul-Adha — the feast marking Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son at God's request — slaughtering sheep in a symbolic commemoration of man's ultimate accidence to God's will.