The Pilgrimage to Mecca:The Religious Significance of the Journey

The Pilgrimage to Mecca

The pilgrimage to Mecca or Hajj in Arabic, is an annual Islamic pilgrimage as well as mandatory religious duty of a Muslim. It is to be carried out at least once in the adult life of a Muslim, who is financially and physically capable of undertaking such journey and who is capable of supporting their family during their leave of absence. It is beneficial to visit Mecca at any time during the year, the pilgrimage must be done during the month of Dhu al-Hijja, which is the last month of the Islamic year, in order to fulfill the requirements of the hajj. Together with the fasting, those who are unable to make the pilgrimage due to physical or financial obligations, one is commanded not to make the hajj yet those who are unable to make it themselves, someone else from the family is to fulfill the duty.

The pilgrimage itself takes part between 8th and 12th of the Dhua Hijjra, the last month of the Islamic calendar. As the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is 11 days short than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian dates of the hajj change every year. Hajj is linked to the life of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet from the 7th century, however many believe that this sacrament dates back thousands of years to the era of Abraham. Pilgrims join marches together with hundreds of thousands of believers, who meet in Mecca and perform a sequence of rituals. According to the Quran – “ And pilgrimage to the house is a duty upon God for mankind, for him who can find the way either”.

Pilgrimage is made to the Ka’aba or the “House of God”, located in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Its sanctity rests in that the Prophet Abraham built it for the worship of God. As a reward, God rewarded Abraham by attributing the house to himself in essence of honouring it and by making it the devotional epicenter where all Muslims face when offering the prayers – salah. Until today, the rites of pilgrimage are performed exactly as did Prophet Abrahm and after him, by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The pilgrimage is viewed as meritorious activity as well as penance – the ultimate forgiveness for sins, devotion and intense spirituality. The rites begin a few months after Ramadan with its beginnings on the 8th day opf the last month of Islamic year and ends on the 13th day. As for Mecca, it is considered to be the center towards which the Muslims coverage once a year, meet and refresh themselves in faith of being equal and deserve the love and sympathy of others, irrespective of their race or ethnic origin.

As for the rituals, when the muslims approach the boundary of Mecca, which is about six miles from the Ka’ba, they are supposed to enter the state of “ihram” or the state of purity in which they remain throughout the whole of hajj. The male part of the pilgrims enter this state wearing the ihram garments - two white, seamless sheets wrapped around their body and sandals. These garments during the rite not only signifies the state of holiness but also the contribution to a sense of contribution to equality and unity by removing visual indicators of class, wealth and culture. The requirement for women are less stringent yet they usually dress in white, with hands and faces uncovered. During the whole period of ihram, pilgrims must not cut their nails or hair, engage in any sexual relations as well as avoid fighting or hunting.

When one enters the city of Mecca, he or she must walk around the Ka’ba seven times – a ritual called “tawaf” or circumambulation. During this rite, the pilgrim must recite the verses of talbiya, followed by the kissing of the Black Stone situated inside the Ka’ba. This is followed by prayers towards the station of Abraha and the Ka’ba itself and then runs seven times between the small mountains of Safa and Marwa.

The second stage of the Hajj takes place between the 8th and 12th day of Dhu al-Hiija, which is followed with a sermon or “Khutba” at the mosque on the seventh day. On the eight day and night, the pilgrim stays at Mina or Arafat mountains. As the ninth day approaches, “wuquf” or standing takes place at the small hill of Jabal al-Rahma in Arafat and then returns to a small town within the Meccan boundaries to stay the night. The tenth day is called Eid al-Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice, a major holiday observed by all Muslims. For those muslims participating in Hajj, the day is spent in Mina, where the pilgrim must sacrifice an animal as an honour to Abraham’s sacrifes. This is followed by throwing seven small stones at each of the three of the pillars, which represent sins and devils, on three consecutive days. The pilgrim then returns to Mecca, where he or she performs the tawaf once more. This ritual is finalized by having their head shaved or at least having the hair trimmed as it marks the end of the state of ihram.

At least 2 million muslims complete the hajj every year and with such a large number of pilgrims, which leads to numerous accidents and deaths due to overcrowding. The very first accident during Hajj in the modern days occurred in 1990, when a tunnel stampede has led to death of over 1400 people. Since then, various crowd-control techniques were adopted in order to insude safety. Because of a large number of crowds, some of the rituals have become more of a symbolic matter. Nowadays, it is no longer necessary to kiss the Black Stone. Instead, pilgrims point at it as they make each round around the Ka’ba. Also, the pillars that were used for pebble throwing have been changed into long walls in 2004 and basins have been placed below in order to catch the stones. As for animal sacrifice – nowadays, a Saudi authority is appointed to perform the job without pilgrims being present there.

Unfortunately, even with these crowd control techniques, there are still many incidents during the Hajj, with pilgrims being trampled or ramps collapsing under the weight of many visitors. According to the Saudi authorities, during the 2015 Hajj, a stampede resulted in 769 deaths and 964 injured. In a report from Associated Press, the total numer of 1470 fatalities have occurred, making it the most deadly Hajj of all tears.