The pilgrimage attracts Muslims from all over the world to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — More than 2 million Muslims will take part in this week’s Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, as one of the world’s largest devout gatherings returns to complete the city after years of coronavirus restrictions.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims must adopt it at least once in their lifetime if they are physically and financially willing to do so. For pilgrims, it is a profound non-secular feast that erases sins, brings them closer to God and highlights Muslim unity.
For the Saudi royal family, which seized Mecca in the 1920s, organizing the pilgrimage is a major source of pride and legitimacy. Authorities have poured billions of dollars into fashionable infrastructure, but the Hajj has been marred by tragedies, such as the one in 2015, when more than 2,400 pilgrims died in a stampede.
Let’s go back to the pilgrimage, which begins on Monday, and its meaning.
The pilgrimage draws Muslims from around the world to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where they follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad and hint at the adventure of Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael, as they are called in Christian and Jewish traditions.
As recorded in the Qur’an, Ibrahim is called to sacrifice his son Ismail as a test of faith, but God takes his hand at the last moment. Ibrahim and Ismail would later build the Kaaba together. In Christian and Jewish traditions, Abraham simply talks about sacrificing his other son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah, which relates to a primary sacred in Jerusalem.
The Kaaba was a center of polytheistic worship among pagan Arabs until the arrival of Islam in the seventh century, when the Prophet Muhammad ordered the site and inaugurated the Hajj.
Muslims do not worship the Kaaba, a cube-shaped design covered with black cloth embroidered with gold, but it is their holiest position and a strong symbol of unity and monotheism. No matter where in the world they are, Muslims face the Kaaba in their daily prayer lives.
Hajj has taken place every year since the time of the prophet, including through wars, plagues and other disturbances.
In the Middle Ages, Muslim rulers organized large caravans with armed escorts that departed from Cairo, Damascus, and other cities. It was an arduous adventure through the deserts where Bedouin tribes raided and demanded tribute. An infamous Bedouin raid in 1757 wiped out an entire Hajj. caravan, killing thousands of pilgrims.
In 2020, amid global coronavirus lockdowns, Saudi Arabia limited the pilgrimage to a few thousand citizens and residents. This is the first year it has returned to full capacity.
Some pilgrims spend their entire lives saving for adventure or wait years to obtain a permit, which the Saudi government distributes to countries based on a quota system.
Pilgrims begin by entering a state of religious purity called “ihram. “Women forgo makeup and fragrance and cover their hair with canopy, while men are replaced with seamless plush robes. .
Pilgrims are forbidden to cut their hair, cut their nails or have sex during ihram. They are meant to argue or fight, but the heat, crowds, and difficulty of adventure inevitably test people’s patience.
Many Muslims Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad is buried and where he built the first mosque, before heading to Mecca.
The Hajj begins with Muslims circling the Kaaba in Mecca seven times counterclockwise while reciting prayers. Then, they walk between two hills in a reenactment of Hagar’s search for water for her son, Ismail, a story that happens in another Muslim, Christian and Jewish bureaucracy. traditions
All this occupies the Grand Mosque of Mecca, the largest in the world, encompassing the Kaaba and the two hills.
The next day, pilgrims head to Mount Arafat, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Mecca, where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon. Here they stand in prayer throughout the day asking God for forgiveness of their sins in what many of the non-lay culmination of the pilgrimage.
At dusk, pilgrims walk or take buses to a domain called Muzdalifa, nine kilometers (5. 5 miles) west of Arafat. They gather pebbles to use the next day in a symbolic stoning of Satan in the Mina Valley, where the Ibrahim Muslims were tempted to forget God’s command to sacrifice his son. Pilgrims stay several nights in Mina in one of the largest tent camps in the world.
The pilgrimage ends with one last excursion to the Kaaba and a new stone poured into Mina. Men shave their heads and women cut a lock of hair, indicating renewal. Many will take the name “hajj” or “hajja”, a wonderful honor, especially in more classical communities. Some paint artwork in their homes with photographs of planes, ships and the Kaaba to commemorate the journey.
The last days of the Hajj coincide with Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, a joyous time celebrated by Muslims around the world to commemorate Ibrahim’s test of faith. During the three days of Eid, Muslims slaughter farm animals and distribute meat to the poor.
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The post-Hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, takes a stand this week and made the first impression on TheGrio.
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