A Simple Guide to ISLAM
Hajj – The Pilgrimage
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— to perform the casting of the stones at three pillars symbolizing
the devil.
— to shave the head or shorten their hair after the pilgrimage is
over. Females only trim their hair;
— finally an animal is sacrificed and the pilgrim returns to perform
the farewell
tawaf
of the Ka‘bah. Now the pilgrimage is
complete.
The pilgrimage ends with the Feast of Sacrifice,
Eid al Adha.
The
pilgrim then visits the Prophet’s mosque in Madinah.
Among all Muslim acts of worship,
Hajj
holds a prominent
position. In one Hadith, the Prophet called it “the supreme act of
worship.” But it is not just the rites of pilgrimage that constitute
this importance, it is the spirit in which Hajj is performed. Let us
put this another way and say that it is not merely a matter of going
to Makkah and returning. There is much more to
hajj
than that.
Hajj
has been prescribed so that it may inspire us with a new
religious fervour. To return from
Hajj
with one’s faith in God
strengthened and rekindled— that is the hallmark of a true pilgrim.
Hajj
assumes a supreme act of worship when it is undertaken in its
true spirit, and performed in the proper manner. It will then be the
greatest act in a pilgrim’s life: he will never be the same again.
To go on the Hajj is to meet God. When the pilgrim reaches
Meeqat,
the border of the Sacred Territory, he is filled with awe of
God: he feels that he is leaving his own world, and entering God’s.
Now he is touching the Lord, revolving around Him, running
