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at least once in their lifetime by
every able-bodied Muslim who can
afford to do so.The Hajj is a
demonstration of the solidarity of
the Muslim people, and their
submission to Almighty Allah. The
pilgrimage occurs from the 5th to
12th day of Dhu-al-Hijjah, the
12th and last month
of the Islamic
calendar. Because
the Islamic calendar
is a lunar calendar,
eleven days shorter
than the Gregorian
calendar used in the
Western world, the
Gregorian date of
the Hajj changes
from year to year.
In 2007, the Hajj
was from December
17–21; in 2008 from
December 6–10, and
in 2009 it was from
November 25–29.
Ehram is the name
given to the special
state in which
Muslims live whilst
on the pilgrimage. |
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The Hajj is
associated with the
life of Islamic
Last Holy Prophet Muhammad
صلی
علیہ و آلہ و سلم from the 7th
century, but the
ritual of pilgrimage
to Makkah is
considered by
Muslims to stretch
back thousands of
years to the time of
Prophet Ibrahim.
Pilgrims join
processions of
hundreds of
thousands of people,
who simultaneously
converge on Makkah
for the week of the
Hajj, and perform a
series of rituals:
Each person walks
counter-clockwise
seven times about
the Kabah, (the
cube-shaped building)
which acts as the
Muslim direction of
prayer, kisses the
Black Stone (Hajr-e-Aswad)
in the East corner of the Kabah, runs back and
forth between the
hills of Al-Safa and
Al-Marwah, drinks
from the Zam Zam
Well, goes to the
plains of Mount
Arafat to stand in
vigil, and throws
stones in a ritual
Stoning of the Devil
(Rammi). The
pilgrims then shave
their heads, perform
a ritual of animal
sacrifice (Qurbani), and
celebrate the global festival
of Eid-ul-Adha.
As of 2009, more
than three million pilgrims
participate in this
annual pilgrimage.
Crowd-control
techniques have
become critical, and
because of the large
numbers of people,
many of the rituals
have become more
stylized. It is not
necessary to kiss
the Black Stone, but
merely to point at
it on each circuit
around the Kabah.
Throwing pebbles was
done at large
pillars, which for
safety reasons in
2004 were changed to
long walls with
catch basins below
to catch the stones.
The slaughter of an
animal can be done
either personally,
or by appointing
someone else to do
it, and so forth.
But even with the
crowd control
techniques, there
are still many
incidents during the
Hajj, as pilgrims
are trampled in a
crush, or ramps
collapse under the
weight of the many
visitors, causing
hundreds of deaths.
The Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia's Ministry of
Hajj has a website,
with the message,
"Be peaceful,
orderly and kind. No
crushing."
Pilgrims can also go
to Makkah to perform
the rituals at other
times of the year.
This is sometimes
called Umrah. However, even
if they perform the
Umrah, they are
still obligated to
perform the Hajj at
some other point in
their lifetimes if
they have the means
to do so. |
