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Hajj: the Pilgrimage To Makkah (Mecca)

Hajj or the pilgrimage to Makkah is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith. The other four pillars or fundamental commandments are declaration of faith (Shahadah), performing the five daily prayers (Salat), fasting in the month of Ramadan and giving charity on wealth accumulated(Zakat).

<a data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="https://www.shughal.com/9-beautiful-pictures-show-hajj-performed/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://www.shughal.com/9-beautiful-pictures-show-hajj-performed/</a>

It is obligatory for every Muslim, man and woman to make perform Hajj once in a lifetime, if they are physically and financially able to make the journey to Makkah (Saudi Arabia).

It is stated in the Holy Quran:

“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 -“

And one can see the proof of this ayat being fulfilled as almost three million Muslims from all over the world arrive In Saudi Arabia in the last Islamic month of Dhul Hajj to perform this religious duty.

<a data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="http://www.askislampedia.com/wiki/-/wiki/English_wiki/Safaa+and+Marwah" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">http://www.askislampedia.com/wiki/-/wiki/English_wiki/Safaa+and+Marwah</a>

During the Hajj, all pilgrims wear simple white clothes in a state of Ihram which represents equality before God. Hajj 2017 will begin in the evening of Wednesday 30th August, 2017 and will end in the evening of Monday 4th September. the gathering of millions of people at a single place, wearing a similar dress shows that in Islam, all people are equal regardless of their social or financial status  and the only difference between people is their level of piety and God consciousness.

Tent City in Mina

<a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/956611/saudi-arabia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>

The diversity and enormity of the crowds of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj is something that needs to be seen to be believed.

After Hajj, Muslims celebrate Eid Ul Adha around the world on 10th Dhu al-Hijjah which continues for three days. On this Eid sacrifice of animals is performed and meat is distributed among family members, the neighbors and the poor people of the society

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What do you think?

Written by Dawnwriter

10 Comments

  1. Interesting article. I know a little about Islam but I would like to know more. I live in an area where there are a lot of Muslims. There are two mosques within a half mile of my house.

    • Thank you. If you want to know about advent of Islam, you might enjoy the movie The Message. It is not a complete depiction but still a great way to know about Islam.

      Second thing that I can suggest is the book Muhammad by Martin Lings. Very well written.

      Third thing is short lectures in English by a Muslim speaker Noman Ali Khan who runs Bayyinah Institute for Arabic and Quran Studies in Texas. Easily available o You Tube

      The fourth thing would be to but a copy of Quran and read it for yourself. You can read it from a religious, historical, literary, comparative study or any perspective that you like.

      Any questions that you might have, I will be honoured to answer them to the best of my ability 🙂

  2. Very informative. Those numbers of pilgrims are hard to imagine, but the photos do give a sense of the occasion’s vastness! I hope everything goes well this year. Thanks for sharing this 🙂

    • Thank you. Yes, the Hajj gatherings have had their share of tragedies. A stampede can be really catastrophic though the Saudi government has built immense infrastructure to cope with the millions of people that gather here.