Why Is the Hajj Important?

If you’re going to promote yourself as a general knowledge site, you better touch upon Islam, a religion that has around 1.9 billion adherents. And that lands us on the hajj. Why is the hajj important? Here’s a brief answer, starting with some background.

 

The Absolute Basics

The prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca (modern-day Saudi Arabia) in about 570 CE. There, messages from God (Allah)—delivered by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel)—were revealed to the prophet, who recorded the revelations in the Quran, the sacred scripture of Islam.

These teachings would spread from the Arabian peninsula to distant lands, ultimately making Islam the second-largest religion in the world (after Christianity).

Of course, as regular humans became involved, things got a bit complicated. After Muhammad’s death, a debate regarding succession resulted in a schism—those who believed the leader should be a direct relative of Muhammad (Shiite Muslims) and those who believed that any pious individual would suffice (Sunni Muslims). This schism set the stage for what would turn into multiple different subsects.

Throw in a broad geographic spread and some serious linguistic heterogeneity, and it’s safe to say that Islam is not a monolithic entity.

With that said, Muslims do agree on a few key things…

 

Islam in a Nutshell

What follows is paraphrased from Religion: A Cross-Cultural Dictionary.

No matter the sect, geographical location, ethnic group, etc., Muslims accept that certain duties—often referred to as the Five Pillars of Islam—must be performed in order to enter paradise.

In their simplest form, these are:

• The profession of faith and the acknowledgement of only one God (Allah), with Muhammad as his prophet.
• Regular prayer, as in five times a day. Prayers are offered in the direction of Mecca.
• Almsgiving, also known as donating to the poor.
• Fasting from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan (the ninth month on the Islamic calendar), which commemorates the Quran being revealed to Muhammad. (The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar consisting of months of 29 or 30 days, thus totaling 11 days less than the typical solar calendar. As such, over time, pertinent events can occur at any time of the year.)
• Making a pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca at least once in a lifetime (if physically and financially capable). Below are a few more details.

 

The Hajj

The hajj takes place during the last month of the Islamic year and carries special significance in that it involves the spiritual epicenter of Islam (in and around Mecca). Adding further meaning is the fact that Muhammad himself led the hajj in 632 CE, the year of his death.

Occurring between the 7th and 12th days of the month, the pilgrimage is characterized by a series of rituals. Perhaps the best known of these rituals takes place in the Great Mosque, in which is located the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure that is Islam’s most sacred site.

It is believed that the Kaaba was built by Ibrahim (Abraham) and Ismail (Ishmael) in pre-Islamic times, later becoming a focal point of Muslim worship and a metaphorical house of God. Worshippers—in the range of two million in a typical year—walk counterclockwise seven times around the Kaaba and kiss or touch the embedded Black Stone.

The final days of the hajj coincide with Eid al-Adha, a major festival in Islam that honors Ibrahim’s devotion to God (as evidenced by his willingness to sacrifice his son).

All told, those who partake in the proceedings are absolved of prior sins.

On a final note, you might hear mention of something called umrah, or lesser pilgrimage, which simply refers to a similar trip to Mecca taken at a different time of year.

 

I’ll leave you with a far more succinct version of the above that you could also hear from time to time. Why is the hajj important? Because it is.