HAJJ, THE SACRED JOURNEY OF LIFETIME

Hajj, or pilgrimage to sacred city Makkah, a central responsibility of Islam whose origins date back to Hazrat Ibraheem (AS), brings together Muslims of all tongues and races for one of life’s most affecting spiritual experiences.  For 14 centuries, innumerable millions of Muslims, women and men from the four corners of the world, have made the pilgrimage to city Makkah, the birthplace of Islam.  In carrying out this mandatory actions and obligation, they fulfil one of the basic five “pillars” of Islam, or essential religious responsibilities of the believer. Muslims traces the recorded origins of the exquisitely prescribed pilgrimage to the Prophet Ibraheem (AS).  According to  Holy Quran, it was Hazrat Ibraheem (AS) who, together  Hazrat Ismaeel (AS) built the Holy Kaabah, “the House of ALLAH”, the direction (qibla) toward which Muslims turn in their ibadah (worship) five times each day.  It was Hazrat Ibraheem (AS), too who recognized the rituals of the Hajj, which recall practices and events in His life and that of Bibi Hajra (AS) and their son Hazrat Ismaeel (AS). “The Pilgrimage”, the Holy Quran speaks of the heavenly command to perform the Hajj and prophesies the stability of this institution:


And [mention, O Muhammad], when We designated for Abraham the site of the House, [saying], “Do not associate anything with Me and purify My House for those who perform Tawaf and those who stand [in prayer] and those who bow and prostrate. And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass

The Hajj to sacred city Makkah is once-in-a-lifetime obligation on all Muslims either male or female adults whose health and financial condition permit it. Before setting out, a pilgrim must redress all the wrongs, pay all his or her amount overdue and debts, plan to have sufficient funds for his own sacred journey and for the maintenance of his family members and prepare himself for conducting good throughout the hajj. When pilgrims start the hajj journey, they follow in the path of millions before them. At the present time hundreds of thousands of believers or Muslims from over seventy nations arrive in the Makkah by sea, road and air every year, completing a sacred journey now much easy, shorter and in some ways less difficult than it often was in the past.

Till the 19th century, travelling the lengthy distance to city Makkah generally meant being part of a caravan. There were three chief caravans: the Egyptian, which formed in Cairo; the other one is Iraqi, which set out from Baghdad; and the third Syrian that after 1453, began at Istanbul met pilgrims along the way, and proceeded to city Makkah from Damascus. The pilgrimage Hajj takes place each year between the 8th Dhul-Hijjah to the 13th days of Dhul-Hijjah, it is the 12th month of the Muslim’s lunar calendar. Its first ritual is wearing the ihram. Therefore, the successful arrival of pilgrims back to their homes to their families is the occasion of happy celebration and blessing for their safe arrival.