[One Ummah] - Hajj

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Topic:               Hajj

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Hajj
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It is a time where the unity of Muslims with each other is most fully
expressed, writes Leila Al-Habbal. 

The Haj, or pilgrimage to Makkah, the centre of the Islamic world, during
the twelfth holy month of Dhul Hajjah, is a means of purification. As the
fifth and most important pillar of Islam, Haj is compulsory once in each
Muslim's lifetime if he /she is physically and financially capable. 

During this journey, Muslims ask pardon for their sins and get purified
through their repentance and the performance of the rites. The Haj is also
a remarkable way of achieving social integration by unifying the Muslim
community and spreading the Islamic values. 

The focus of the pilgrimage is the Ka'abah, the cube-shaped house of Allah,
in which the sacred black stone is embedded. One of the central ceremonies
of the Haj is the circumambulation of the Ka'abah, known as tawaf, seven
times in a an anti-clockwise direction. This is performed three times
during the Haj. 

Muslim tradition teaches that the Ka'abah was originally built by the
Prophet Ibrahim (Pbuh), the father of monotheism, and his son Prophet
Ismail. 

One of the first things, Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) did when he marched into
Makkah was to cleanse the Ka'abah of the tribal idols that it housed, thus
restoring it to the worship of the one true God. 

As with prayer, the pilgrimage requires ritual purification, symbolised by
the wearing of white garments. Men shave their heads or have a symbolic
tuft of hair cut, and don two seamless sheets; this two-piece seamless
garment reduces its wearer to an essential oneness of status erasing
distinctions based on wealth, education, class, language and ethnicity.
Women may wear simple, national dresses that are native of their home
country, although many wear a long white dress and head covering. 

"There is no lewdness, nor wickedness, nor wrangling during the
pilgrimage," says the Qur'an. These and other measures underscore the unity
and equality of all believers, as well as the total attention and devotion
required for performing the Haj rituals. 

The male pilgrims' clothes symbolise Islam's unity and egalitarianism, and
the women with their great variety of dress symbolise the diverse and
creative character of Islam as a global community of faith. What all real
believers share with each other is infinitely more important than the
transitory distinctions that so often divide them. 

Upon entering Makkah, the pilgrims voice: "God, we have answered your
call," and then proceed to the Grand Mosque where the Ka'abah is located. 

During the following days, a variety of rituals take place: Praying at the
spot where Abraham stood; running between Safa and Marwa in commemoration
of Hajarah's frantic search for water for her son Ismail, which symbolises
humanity's desperate need of God's ready response; and stoning the devil
(i.e. evil) represented by three stone pillars at Mina, on the road back to
Makkah, which symbolises the resistance to temptation. 

The culmination of the Haj does not take place at Makkah but at the plain
of Arafat, fourteen miles east of Makkah, where from noon to sunset the
pilgrims stand on the Mount of Arafat seeking God's forgiveness and
blessings for themselves as well as for all Muslims throughout the world.
It was here, from a hill called the Mount of Mercy, that the Prophet
Muhammad (Pbuh), during his farewell pilgrimage, preached his last sermon. 

Standing on the plain of Arafat, Muslims experience the underlying unity
and equality of a worldwide Muslim community that transcends national,
racial, economic and sexual differences. 

A group of Muslim men and women remember Haj when they were children. Most
pilgrims travelled in large companies. Whether by camels in caravans, or
ships by sea, the journey could last up to two months. 

Over the years there were many epidemics and deaths. Some never returned to
their homelands. One who dies while performing the Haj is considered a
martyr and earns entrance into paradise. 

One Saudi man states, "the Muslims perform Haj in response to God's order
and the Muslims respond no matter what hardships they must have endured." 

Another man comments, "our parents drew up their wills before setting off
to Makkah, expressing the acceptance of death in total submission to God's
will, whatever it may be." 

"With all the conveniences available today, there are hardly any hardship
or burden experienced during Haj any more. This takes away from the
struggle to achieve oneness with God and the meaning of sacrifice. 

Thankfully, there are still Muslims who practise the old traditions, the
true religion like the man who walked on foot from Maghrib to Makkah, or
the camel caravan filled with devout Muslims arriving from London. 

Only by enduring and tolerating some adversity can a Muslim earn the title
'Haji'" said Huda Masri, a Syrian woman. She points out that Haji (one who
has performed the Haj) is the only title earned by performing one of the
five pillars thus demonstrating its magnitude. 

Today, with modern technology, medicine and conveniences, Makkah is easily
approached via air-conditioned aeroplanes or automobiles. The Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques, King Fadh, has provided for excellent highways and an
expansion of the Mosque that allows for a larger number of pilgrims to
safely perform their rites. 

Although pilgrims are still susceptible to illness, death or theft during
Haj, to a much lesser degree, they continue to obey the fifth pillar, God's
command. 

The Haj today, as in early Islam, is one of the great unifiers of the
Islamic community or Ummah. 

Muslims by the thousands from all over the world continue to go to Makkah
in order to achieve a great renewal of interest in Islamic unity. 

After the Haj is performed, Muslims try to live a devout life bringing
purity and the grace (barakah) of the house of God back to their homeland. 

For all Muslims, the pilgrimage, in many ways, remains the central event of
the year, perhaps of a whole lifetime. It is a time when the unity of all
Muslims with each other is most fully expressed. 


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