A Simple Guide to ISLAM
Hajj – The Pilgrimage
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HAJJ – THE PILGRIMAGE
Hajj,
pilgrimage, is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Prophet
observed: “There are five basic pillars of Islam. To bear testimony
that there is no deity save Allah, and that Muhammad is His
Prophet; to say prayers regularly and pay the poor-due; to make a
pilgrimage to the house of God, and fast during Ramadan.”
The root meaning of the word
“Hajj”
is “to set out” or to make a
pilgrimage. Canonically it has come to refer to a Muslim act of
worship, performed annually in the month of Zul Hijjah, the twelfth
month of the lunar calendar.
To perform
Hajj
is incumbent at least once in a lifetime, upon every
Muslim, who is an adult, free, in good health and has sufficient
money for the expenses of the journey. Women have to be
accompanied by a close relative (
maharam
) like a husband, father,
son or brother.
There are two types of pilgrimage—
Umrah
and
Hajj.
Umrah
is
called the lesser pilgrimage. To perform
Umrah,
one visits the
Ka‘bah at any time of the year other than
Hajj
time.
But the performance of
Hajj
has to be made during the dates fixed
for it. Three months, called the Hajj months, are —
Shawwal
,
Dhul
Qadah,
Dhul Hijjah
— the 10th, 11th and 12th months of the
Islamic calendar.
The pilgrims begin their journey in
Shawwal
but the rituals of
Hajj
are performed only from the 8th to the 12th
Dhul Hijjah.
