For the pilgrims, it’s a profound religious expertise that wipes away sins, brings them nearer to God and highlights Muslim unity.
For the Saudi royal household, which captured Mecca within the Twenties, organising the pilgrimage is a significant supply of satisfaction and legitimacy.
Authorities have invested billions of {dollars} in fashionable infrastructure, however the Hajj has often been marred by tragedy, as in 2015, when over 2400 pilgrims died in a stampede.
Here’s a take a look at the pilgrimage, which begins at this time, and its which means.
What is the historical past of the Hajj pilgrimage in Islam?
The pilgrimage attracts Muslims from all over the world to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, the place they stroll within the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad and retrace the journey of Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they’re recognized within the Christian and Jewish traditions.
As associated within the Quran, Ibrahim is known as upon to sacrifice his son Ismail as a check of religion, however God stays his hand on the final second.
Ibrahim and Ismail later are stated to have constructed the Kaaba collectively. In the Christian and Jewish traditions, Abraham practically sacrifices his different son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah, which is related to a significant holy web site in Jerusalem.
The Kaaba was a centre for polytheistic worship amongst pagan Arabs till the arrival of Islam within the seventh century, when the Prophet Muhammad consecrated the location and inaugurated the Hajj.
Muslims don’t worship the Kaaba, a cube-shaped construction lined in a black, gold-embroidered fabric, however view it as their most sacred place and a strong image of unity and monotheism.
No matter the place they’re on the earth, Muslims face towards the Kaaba throughout their each day prayers.
The Hajj has been held yearly for the reason that time of the prophet, even by means of wars, plagues and different turmoil.
In the Middle Ages, Muslim rulers organised huge caravans with armed escorts that will depart from Cairo, Damascus and different cities.
It was an arduous journey by means of deserts the place Bedouin tribes carried out raids and demanded tribute.
A infamous Bedouin raid in 1757 worn out a complete Hajj caravan, killing hundreds of pilgrims.
In 2020, amid worldwide coronavirus lockdowns, Saudi Arabia restricted the pilgrimage to a couple thousand residents and native residents.
This is the primary yr it returns to full capability.
How do Muslims put together for the Hajj?
Some pilgrims spend their entire lives saving up for the journey or wait years earlier than getting a allow, which Saudi authorities distribute to nations based mostly on a quota system.
Travel brokers supply packages catering to all earnings ranges, and charities help needy pilgrims.
Pilgrims start by coming into a state of religious purity often known as “ihram.”
Women forgo make-up and fragrance and canopy their hair, whereas males turn into seamless terrycloth robes.
The clothes can’t comprise any stitching, a rule supposed to advertise unity amongst wealthy and poor.
Pilgrims are forbidden from reducing their hair, trimming their nails or participating in sexual activity whereas within the state of ihram.
They are usually not purported to argue or battle, however the warmth, crowds and issue of the journey inevitably check individuals’s persistence.
Many Muslims go to Medina, the place the Prophet Muhammad is buried and the place he constructed the primary mosque, earlier than heading to Mecca.
What occurs in the course of the Hajj?
The Hajj begins with Muslims circling the Kaaba in Mecca counter-clockwise seven occasions whereas reciting prayers.
Then they stroll between two hills in a reenactment of Hagar’s seek for water for her son, Ismail, a narrative that happens in several types in Muslim, Christian and Jewish traditions.
All of this takes place inside Mecca’s Grand Mosque — the world’s largest — which encompasses the Kaaba and the 2 hills.
The subsequent day, pilgrims head to Mount Arafat, some 20kms east of Mecca, the place the Prophet Muhammad delivered his closing sermon.
Here, they stand in prayer all through the day asking God for forgiveness of their sins in what many view because the religious excessive level of the pilgrimage.
Around sundown, pilgrims stroll or take buses to an space referred to as Muzdalifa, 9kms west of Arafat.
They decide up pebbles to make use of the subsequent day in a symbolic stoning of the satan within the valley of Mina, the place Muslims consider Ibrahim was tempted to disregard God’s command to sacrifice his son.
The pilgrims keep for a number of nights in Mina in one of many largest tent camps on the earth.
The pilgrimage ends with a closing circling of the Kaaba and additional casting of stones at Mina.
Men typically shave their heads and ladies clip a lock of hair, signalling renewal. Many will assume the title of “hajj” or “hajja” — an awesome honour, significantly in additional conventional communities.
Some paint murals on their properties with photographs of airplanes, ships and the Kaaba to commemorate the journey.
The closing days of Hajj coincide with Eid al-Adha, or the pageant of sacrifice, a joyous event celebrated by Muslims all over the world to commemorate Ibrahim’s check of religion.
During the three-day Eid, Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor.
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Source: www.9news.com.au
