The Ghanaian Minaret

Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

It is a mandatory religious duty and considered a sacred journey for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in a lifetime by all adult Muslims.

This normally applies to Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey and supporting their families during their absence from home.

The last of the five pillars

It is the last of the Five Pillars of Islam and occurs within the first 10 days of the 12th month of the Islamic lunar calendar, called Dhul-Hijjah.

Among these ten days, the 9th Dhul-Hijjah is known as the Day of Arafah, also called the Day of Hajj.

As the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year.

This year, the Hajj falls between the evening of Monday, June 26, 2023, and the evening of Saturday, July 1, 2023.

It is also when Muslim brotherhood is on display, solidarity with fellow Muslims is displayed, and submission to Allah is fulfilled.

It is a long, pious journey to cleanse their souls of all worldly sins. Going more than once during your lifetime is permitted as long as the person has the means and has sincerity of intention.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “Whoever performs Hajj for the sake of Allah and does not utter any obscene speech or do any evil deed, will go back (free of sin) as his mother bore him.”

Beginning

The Hajj is associated with the life of Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century AD, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca stretches back to the time of Abraham.

During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of millions of Muslims, who simultaneously converge in Mecca for the week of the Hajj and perform a series of pre-Islamic rituals (reformed by Muhammad).

The pilgrimage starts and ends in the holy city of Mecca and recreates Prophet Muhammad’s own path as the native son returns to his tribal home as the leader of a vibrant new religion.

The Hajj pilgrimage is a test of patience and temperament and can be spiritually, emotionally, and physically challenging.

However, the sanctity of this occasion provides an experience and opportunity like no other for drawing closer to Allah (SWT), and many Muslims around the world strive their whole lives for the opportunity to perform Hajj.

Each year, millions of Muslims from across the world travel by land, sea, and air to Mecca to perform hajj. Approximately two to three million people attend Hajj each year.

According to the official published statistics between 2000 and 2019, the average number of pilgrims is 2,269,145 per year, of which 1,564,710 come from outside Saudi Arabia and 671,983 are locals.

2012 statistics

The year 2012 marked the highest number of participants with 3,161,573, while in June 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only a limited number of pilgrims who were residents of Saudi Arabia were admitted.

While Hajj is a spiritual duty and also physically demanding, preparing for it is greatly encouraged.

As pilgrims walk on average between 5km and 15km per day, it is encouraged for Muslims to physically prepare for Hajj weeks in advance, for the travel that is required between locations across the five-six-day pilgrimage is not a shock to the system.

Being physically prepared provides an aid to the emotionally and spiritually demanding aspects of Hajj.

Muslims who perform the sacred pilgrimage of Hajj are required to undergo a series of rites and rituals that each offer their own unique purpose and wisdom.

First rites

The first rite of Hajj is to enter Ihram, a pilgrim’s sacred state of holiness and purity, and it is initiated upon the arrival of the Miqat or when crossing the outer boundaries of Mecca, called the Miqat, depending on where pilgrims have come from.

Entering the state of Ihram requires pilgrims to abstain from certain acts.“ While 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 fulfils the Islamic condition of public dress with hands and face uncovered.

They must refrain 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 for 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.

Ihram clothing is also a reminder of shrouds worn after death.

On the first day of Hajj, that is, the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah, the pilgrims enter Mecca and begin by performing Tawaf, which is to circumambulate the Kaaba Kaaba seven times as a salutation to the House of God.

At the completion of the Tawaf is the Sa’i, where the pilgrims run seven times between the two mountains, al-Safa and al-Marwah, in memory of the story of Prophet Ibrahim’s wife Hajar and her son Ismail.

The completion of Tawaf is followed by two Rakaat prayers at the Place of Abraham (Muqam Ibrahim), a site near the Kaaba Kaaba inside the mosque.

After prayer, pilgrims also drink water from the Zamzam well, which is made available in coolers throughout the mosque.

This rite is said to be the manifestation of Tawhid, the Oneness of God, and represents Muslims’ unity. “During Tawah, everyone encircles Kaaba collectively.”

Pilgrims, still in their Ihram, then travel to Mina, five miles away from Mecca, in a route laid out by Prophet Muhammad (SAW), where they spend the rest of the first day and night in prayer, remembrance of God, and contemplation in tents erected for pilgrimages.

Second day

The second day, which is the 9th Dhul-Hijjah, is known as the Day of Arafah, and this day is called the Day of Hajj.

Before noon, pilgrims arrive at Arafat, a barren and plain land some 20 kilometres east of Mecca, for the single most important event of the pilgrimage, where they stand in contemplative vigil, offer supplications, repent of and atone for their past sins, seek the mercy of God, and listen to the sermon from Islamic scholars.

Muslims believe that on this day, Allah descends to the lower heavens to listen to worshippers’ requests for forgiveness.

It was on the Plain of Arafat on the Mount of Mercy that Prophet Muhammad gave his farewell sermon just months before he died.

Over there, pilgrims offer noon and afternoon prayers together at noontime. A pilgrim’s Hajj is considered invalid if they do not spend that afternoon on Arafat.

Pilgrims must leave Arafat for Muzdalifah, an area between Arafat and Mina, after sunset without performing their maghrib (sunset) prayer at Arafat.

They perform the Maghrib and Isha prayers jointly, spend the night there on the ground under the open sky, and collect pebbles for stoning shaitan the next day.

Third day

The third day of Hajj is the day of Eid al-Adha, the Day of Sacrifice. God singled out this day in the Quran as “The Greatest Hajj Day” because the pilgrim performs several important rituals, including sacrifice, stoning, and Tawaf.

Eid al-Adha is celebrated in memory of the story of Ibrahim when he had a dream that God commanded him to sacrifice his son, and upon executing the command, God then commanded him to sacrifice a sheep instead of his son, so Muslims approach God on this day by sacrificing a sheep, a cow, or a camel and distributing the meat to the poor.

Stoning

The stoning of Shaitan is based on the Islamic belief that when God commanded Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as proof of faith, it was at this spot in Mina that the devil appeared and tried to dissuade him from heeding the command. Ibrahim responded by throwing stones at the devil.

Millions of pilgrims converge at the Jamarat al-Aqaba, which houses the three columns representing the devil, to re-enact the story.

Pilgrims throw seven pebbles in succession for three days, the 10th, 11th, and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah.

After the completion of the ritual, the men shave or shorten their hair. Women cut a little from their hair.

The pilgrims then proceed to perform Tawaf al-Ifadah and Sa’i. Pilgrims before returning to Mina at the end of the third day spend the night in prayer.

Finally, before leaving Mecca, pilgrims perform a farewell tawaf called the Tawaf al-Wadaa.

After completing the Hajj, most pilgrims go to Medina to visit the mosque of the Prophet, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, and the tomb of the Prophet.

The Quba Mosque and Masjid al-Qiblatayn are also usually visited, though all these are technically not part of the Hajj pilgrimage.

Religiosity

Sheikh Ahmed Adjei Adjetey, Deputy Greater Accra Regional Imam, of the Ghana Muslim Mission, said to Muslims, Hajj is associated with religious as well as social significance, and the obligation for performing this pilgrimage is only fulfilled if it is done on the 8th to 12th day of the last month of the Islamic calendar.

He said if an adult Muslim is in good health, wealth, and safety, he or she must perform the Hajj in the same year, as delaying it is considered sinful unless the delay is caused by reasons beyond their control.

He said apart from being an obligatory religious duty, Hajj is seen to have a spiritual merit that provides Muslims with an opportunity of self-renewal; it washes away all of their sins, as reported by Abu Hurairah. May Allah be pleased with him that he heard the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) say, “Whoever performs Hajj for the sake of Allah and does not utter any obscene speech or do any evil deed will go back free of sin as his mother bore him.”

Sheikh Adjetey said Hajj purifies one’s soul; it instructs Muslims to do good deeds by polishing their consciousness and enhancing their moral senses and plays a vital role in rebuilding the foundation of purity, honesty, and integrity in the hearts of every individual, encouraging a righteous and positive Muslim society.

Reward

He said the reward of Hajj is paradise, as promised by Allah (SWT) that whoever performs Hajj with pure hearts will be rewarded with paradise.

And this is from an authentic hadith of Prophet Mohammed: “an accepted Hajj has no reward except paradise.”

“Every year, people of all races, colours, and backgrounds come to perform hajj as guests of Allah from around the world. These people have countless differences, but the only thing that binds them together is Islam. Regardless of their financial and physical differences, everyone performs Hajj in the same manner, exhibiting equality, unity, purity, and hope.”

He urged all pilgrims to endeavour to go through all the rites, make the best out of the pilgrimage, and come back refined for the betterment of the entire Muslim Ummah.