Islam – Hajj

Coursework

a)i)         Hajj is a sacred journey or pilgrimage that every Muslim with the health and money to complete must take part in at least once in their life. Hajj is the fifth of the five pillars of Islam, which shows its importance because the five pillars represent the duties of people of the Islamic faith and is what they base their way of life around. Hajj is a demonstration of solidarity of the Muslim people and an expression of their loyalty and submission to their God.

The event of Hajj takes place between the 8th and the 12th day of Dhul Hijjah (the 12th month in the Islamic calendar). This Islamic date cannot be directly converted into a western calendar but the next time Dhul Hijjah comes around will be on December 11th, with the week in which Hajj takes place starting on December 18th 2007.

Hajj originates from the original rituals believed to have been undertaken by Muhammad in the early 7th century, although many believe that it can be dated back as far as 2000 BC, the time of Abraham when tens of thousands would join in the Pilgrimage during the week of Hajj, and they would perform a series of rituals each of which with different meanings and purposes.

a)ii)        Islamic faith is defined by five pillars which guide Muslims in their lives and are the most important things in their faith, therfore the fact that Hajj is one of them highlights it’s importants to Muslims.  Probabally, the most important thing about Hajj to a Muslim is getting the forgiveness of Allah, this is believed to make the Hajji pure and innocent with all sins erased from their past and a new clean slate to start over with. This links with the history of Hajj, because it is believed that Adam and Eve, after their fall, went to the plain of Arafat where they prayed for forgiveness from God. The place where they are believed to have prayed is now known as the ‘mount of mercy’.  Other reasons for the Pilgimage are to seek help with matters such as death or illness, and to seek protection from temptation and sins.

a)ii) and b)i)         Hajj begins the evening before the first day when the Hajji must take a bath to symbolize their entrance into the state of Ihram start wearing their Ihram dress. The Ihram dress is worn by all on the pilgrimage to symbolize equality and how everyone is in the same position, this also release the Hajjis of their materialistic life style so, in Allah’s eyes, there is no difference between anyone while they are on their pilgrimage,’it’s away from materialism’ (Hallah Hassan, 1). The fact that they are living very simply on the Pilgrimage also allows them empathize with those who are not as well of as them, and also allows everyone, no matter how poor, to take part in the pilgrimage. The dress also helps the Hajjis concentrate on the pilgrimage and helps direct their thoughts to that of god.

On arriving the pilgrims make their way to Ka'bah, the shrine in the centre of the great mosque in Mecca, the spot considered by Muslims to be the holiest place on earth, they then encircle it at a fast pace, running if possible, to signify their love for god, this ritual is called  tawaf and the rotation around the shrine could signify the way their lives revolve around their god. When they are at the mosque, the Islamic pilgrims call out repeatedly, 'Labbaika, Allahumma, Labbaika!' which means 'at your command, our lord, at your command!', this ritual shows the Muslims dedication to their god and devotion of their lives to him. It is very crowded in the mosque so few people get close to the central shrine, but if they do they will touch or even kiss it to show their love to god. Most who are not within touching distance will just call out prayers and raise their arms in a salute.

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On the first day the Pilgrims travel to Mina. Here there are over 2 million muslims staying in huge tents shared with people of all nationalities, because of this extraordinarily high concentration of tents and people, Mina  has come to be known as ‘Tent City’. Once at Mina, the Muslims pray regulaly to bring themselves closer to their God. Later on in their pilgrimage they will retrurn here to throw stones at three walls called Jamarat, in Mina, east of Mecca. Pebbles to throw are usualy collected from Muzdalifah, the night before the ritual. The ritual originates from when Abraham ...

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