Hajj in Islam is the pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah in kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which every adult Muslim must perform at least once in his life if one has enough resources. It is an obligatory upon every Muslim at least once if he has enough resources. Hajj is the fifth of the basic pillar of Islam. It starts on the 7th of zul-Hijjah and ends on the 12th of zul-haj. Zul-haj is the last month of Islam.
Significance of Hajj in Islam
Hajj is obligatory upon all Muslims who are capable to perform Hajj, physically and financially, but only if their deficiency does not cause any difficulty to their siblings. The pattern of Hajj was recognized by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), but it has undergone variations time to time. Basic actions are almost same. People go there and perform actions according to Sunnah. Those who go to makkah also go for different places for ziarrat.
The Rituals of Hajj
When the pilgrim is about 10 kilometers away from Mecca, he enters a state of spiritual purity. Their heart starts vibrating vigorously and one thinks only about kaaba towards which he has been offering prayers. Before entering into limits of Haram, he or she has to wear Ihram. This limit is called as meeqat. Meeqat is different for different locations. There are five meeqat locations in makkah. Yalamlam is the place of meeqat for Pakistani Pilgrims for most of others, is meeqat taif.
Ihram cloths
Ihram cloths for men consist of two white plane unstitched cloth sheets wrapped around the body with one naked shoulder. While women can wear long hijab as an Ihram. Hajj has different types like Hajj-e-Kiran Hajj-e-tamatu. Hajj-e-kiran is that in which one makes decisions to perform both Umrah and hajj. It has more limitations than hajj e tamatu. Pilgrims do not cut their hair or nails until the Hajj is over. Pilgrim is not allowed to cut down trees while in the state of Ihram.
When they enter into Makkah they has to keep on watching the loveliest place in the world where we got reward of one nimaz equal to one lakh times. According to hadith. Previous sins are being removed when one watches the Kabah. Pilgrims walk seven times around the House of Allah Almighty, in the Great Mosque called Masjid-e-Haram. During tawaf one can touch the Black Stone if he finds space otherwise its enough to put your hands towards black stone. After completing tawaf they drink aab-e-zam zam and stars to run across the Mount of Safa and Marwah. On the seventh day of Dhul-Hijjah, the pilgrims are reminded of their mandatory duties.
Second phase of the ritual
In the second phase of the ritual, which takes place between the 8th and 12th day of the month, the pilgrims go to the holy places. These places include Mecca – Jabal-e-Rahmat, Muzdalifah and Mina. They sacrifice an animal in remembrance of Ibraham’s (as) sacrifice. After this, the heads of the male pilgrims are usually shaved their heads, half or full, and the female pilgrims remove small tip of hair by wrapping around the finger. After the ritual of stoning in Mina called Ramy-al-Jamarat, in which pilgrims throw seven stones on three columns for three days in a queue. These columns are the symbol of the devil.
Tawaf al-Wada
Farewell Tawaf of the Kaabah is performed before the pilgrim leaves the city. Usually, people go to different ziraats after performing hajj. People also go to Madinah for of Roza-e-Rasool PBUH. We being a Muslim think that hajj could not be completed without ziarat of Roza-e-Rasool PBUH.
As a conclusion about more than two million people perform the Hajj every year, and the rituals appear as a unifying force in Islam, bringing together followers from different backgrounds in religious actions. Once the believer completes the Hajj, he can add the title ḥajjī (for men) or ḥājjah(for women) to his name. Hajj, if performed properly, is rewarded to erase the past sins of the pilgrim.
