Hajj ( ; also spelled Hadj or Haj) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city in Islam. Hajj is a one-time-required religious duty for all Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey and supporting their family during their absence from home.Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs - Islam See drop-down essay on "Islamic Practices"
In Islamic terminology, Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba—the "House of Allah"—in the sacred city of Mecca. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside the (oath that one believes there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), (prayer), (almsgiving), and (fasting during Ramadan). The Hajj is an annual practice when Muslim brotherhood is on display and their solidarity with fellow Muslims and submission to God (Allah) is fulfilled. The Hajj is taken by Muslims to cleanse their souls of all worldly sins, which connotes both the outward act of a journey after death and the inward act of good intentions. The rites of pilgrimage are performed over five to six days, extending from the 8th to the 12th or 13th of Dhu'l-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven or twelve days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year. In 2024 AD (1445 AH), Dhu'l-Hijja extended from 7 June to 6 July and in 2025 AD (1446 AH), Dhu'l-Hijja was from 28 May to 25 June. In 2026 AD (1447 AH), Dhu'l-Hijja extended from 18 May to 15 June; and in 2027 AD (1448 AH), Dhu'l-Hijja will extend from 8 May to 5 June.
The Hajj is associated with the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century AD, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca stated in Muslim sources stretches back to the time of Abraham. During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of millions of Muslims, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of pre-Islamic rituals (reformed by Muhammad): each person wears a single piece of unstitched white clothing (Ihram), walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba (Stone-made clothed building which is the direction of prayer for Muslims), kisses the Black Stone mounted on the corner wall of the Kaaba, walks briskly back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times, then drinks from the Zamzam Well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, spends a night in the plain of Muzdalifah, and performs symbolic Stoning of the Devil by throwing stones at three pillars. After the sacrifice of cattle (which can be accomplished by using a voucher), the pilgrims then are required to either shave or trim their heads (if male) or trim the ends of their hair (if female). A celebration of the four-day global festival of Eid al-Adha follows.Sahih Bukhari-hadith No-732-733 Muslims may also undertake an Umrah (), or "lesser pilgrimage" to Mecca at other times of the year. However, the Umrah is not a substitute for the Hajj and Muslims are still obliged to perform the Hajj at some other point in their lifetime if they have the means to do so.
According to the official published statistics between 2000 and 2019, the average number of attendees is 2,269,145 per year, of whom 1,564,710 come from outside Saudi Arabia and 671,983 are domestic pilgrims. The year 2012 marks the highest number of participants with 3,161,573. In June 2020, while not cancelling the Hajj outright, the Saudi Government announced that they would only welcome "very limited numbers" of pilgrims who are residents of Saudi Arabia due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Similar restrictions applied in 2021, but women were permitted to attend without a male guardian (mahram) provided they went in a trustworthy group.
Etymology The word in is similar to the , which means "festival", from the triliteral Semitic root ح-ج-ج. The term was used to refer to the three pilgrimage festivals Israelites would make to the Temple in Jerusalem each year. Similarly, the in Islam refers to act of traveling to Mecca to perform the various rituals associated with the pilgrimage.
History
The present pattern of Hajj was established by Muhammad. However, according to the Quran, elements of Hajj trace back to the time of Abraham. According to Islamic tradition, Abraham was ordered by God to leave his wife Hajar and his son Ishmael alone in the desert of ancient Mecca. In search of water, Hajar desperately ran seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah but found none. Returning in despair to Ishmael, she saw the baby scratching the ground with his leg and a water fountain sprang forth underneath his foot. Later, Abraham was commanded to build the Kaaba (which he did with the help of Ishmael) and to invite people to perform pilgrimage there. The Quran refers to these incidents in verses and .The verses read: "And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled.... Remember We made the House a place of assembly for men and a place of safety, and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; and We covenanted with Abraham and Ishmael, that they should sanctify My House for those who compass it round or use it as a retreat, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer).... And remember Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House (2:124–127)" and "And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, through deep and distant mountain highways, that they may witness the benefits (provided) for them, and celebrate the name of Allah, through the Days appointed, over the cattle which He has provided for them (for sacrifice): then eat ye thereof and feed the distressed one, the needy. Then let them complete the rites prescribed for them, perform their vows, and (again) circumambulate the Ancient House." (22:27–29) According to the tafsir of Zamakhshari (d. 1144 C.E.), the archangel Gabriel brought the Black Stone from Heaven to be attached to the Kaaba when it was built by the Prophet Abraham.F.E. Peters (1994), The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage To Mecca and The Holy Places, Princeton University Press, p.6
In pre-Islamic Arabia, a time known as Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyya), the Kaaba became surrounded by pagan idols. In AD 630, Muhammad led his followers from Medina to Mecca, cleansed the Kaaba by destroying all the pagan idols, and then consecrated the building to God. In AD 632 (9 Zil Hajj 10 AH = 9 March 632 AD, a Friday), Muhammad performed his first and last pilgrimage with a large number of followers, and instructed them on the rites of Hajj. From this point onward, the Hajj became one of the five pillars of Islam.
During medieval times, pilgrims would gather in the big cities of Syria, Egypt, and Iraq to go to Mecca in groups and caravans comprising tens of thousands of pilgrims, often under state patronage. Hajj caravans, particularly with the advent of the Mamluk Sultanate and its successor, the Ottoman Empire, were escorted by a military force accompanied by physicians under the command of an amir al-hajj. This was done to protect the caravan from Bedouin robbers or natural hazards,Ibn Jubayr noted the skeletons of the faithful who had died of thirst en route. In the 17th century, a group of Egyptian pilgrims lost over 1,500 people and 900 camels. In 1924 around one-fifth of a group of Syrian pilgrims died and two years later, 12,000 are thought to have died during the journey. [Islam in the World by Malise Ruthven. Granta Publications, 2006. p. 2. .] and to ensure that the pilgrims were supplied with the necessary provisions. Muslim travelers like Ibn Jubayr and Ibn Battuta have recorded detailed accounts of Hajj journeys in medieval times. The caravans followed well-established routes called in Arabic darb al-hajj (path of the hajj), literally: "pilgrimage road", which usually followed ancient routes such as the King's Highway. For more see History of the Hajj: Hajj routes.
Timing of Hajj The date of Hajj is determined by the Islamic calendar (known as the Hijri calendar or AH), which is based on the lunar year. Every year, the events of Hajj take place in a ten-day period, starting on 1 and ending on 10 Dhu'l-Hijja, the twelfth and last month of the Islamic calendar. Among these ten days, the 9th Dhu'l-Hijja is known as Day of Arafah, and this day is called the day of Hajj. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date for Hajj changes from year to year. Thus, each year in the Gregorian calendar, the pilgrimage starts eleven days (sometimes ten days) earlier. This makes it possible for the Hajj season to fall twice in one Gregorian year, and it does so every 33 years. The last time this phenomenon occurred was in 2006.
The table below shows the Gregorian dates of Hajj in recent years (the dates correspond to 9 Dhu'l-Hijja of the Hijri calendar). Prospective dates are approximate:
AHGregorian date14322011, 5 November14332012, 25 October14342013, 14 October14352014, 3 October14362015, 23 September14372016, 11 September14382017, 31 August14392018, 20 August14402019, 10 August14412020, 30 July14422021, 19 July14432022, 8 July14442023, 27 June14452024, 15 June14462025, 5 June14472026, 26 May14482027, 15 May14492028, 4 May14502029, 23 April
Rites
Fiqh literature describes in detail the manners of carrying out the rites of Hajj, and pilgrims generally follow handbooks and expert guides to successfully fulfill the requirements of Hajj. In performing the rites of Hajj, the pilgrims not only follow the model of Muhammad, but also commemorate the events associated with Abraham.
Ihram
Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state, state of holiness, which marks the start of the ritual of Hajj for each person. Ihram is initiated upon the arrival to the Miqat or prior to reaching it, depending on where they have come from.
When pilgrims enter into the state of Ihram, they are required to abstain from certain actions. In Ihram, males are required to wear two white seamless cloths, with one wrapped around the waist reaching below the knee and the other draped over the left shoulder and tied at the right side. For females this involves wearing ordinary dress that fulfills the Islamic condition of public dress, where the hands and face are uncovered. Other prohibitions include refraining from clipping nails, shaving any part of the body, having sexual relations; using perfumes, damaging plants, killing animals, covering the head (for men) or the face and hands (for women); getting married; or carrying weapons.
The Ihram is meant to show equality of all pilgrims in front of God, with no difference between the rich and the poor. Donning such unsewn white garments entirely is believed to distance man from material ostentation, and engross him in a world of purity and spirituality, since clothes are believed to show individuality and distinction and create superficial barriers that separate individuals. The garments of Ihram are seen as the antithesis of that individualism. Ihram clothing is also a reminder of shrouds worn after death.
Tawaf and sa'i