Encyclopedia of Islam

hajj

  

281  J

---

are performed in and around the city of Mecca. 

They include 1) statement of intention and purifi-

cation of the body, 2) inaugural circumambulation 

of the k

aaba

 seven times, 3) running between the 

hills of Safa and Marwa seven times, 4) encamp-

ment at Mina, 5) standing at the plain of Arafat 

at midday on 9 Dhu al-Hijja, 6) spending the 

evening at Muzdalifa (between Arafat and Mina), 

7) stoning the three “satanic” pillars at Mina, 8) 

animal

 sacrifice, and 9) farewell circumambula-

tion of the Kaaba. Standing at Arafat is the most 

important of these rites, and if it is missed, the 

hajj is disqualified. The animal sacrifice is cele-

brated worldwide by Muslims as a 

holiday

, known 

as i

d

 

al

-a

dha

. f

iqh

 literature spells out the details 

of each of these rituals, and most pilgrims must 

rely on expert guides and handbooks in order to 

complete the requirement successfully. Muslims 

believe that the hajj is an expression of repentance 

and obedience to God as well as a demonstration 

of their unity. Many consider the assembly of pil-

grims in their simple white garments at Arafat to 

be a rehearsal for the resurrection of the dead and 

J

Udgment

 d

ay

.

The hajj has its origins in ancient Middle 

Eastern religious practices that were performed 

in western Arabia well before the appearance of 

Islam. Muhammad’s Farewell Hajj, which occurred 

shortly before his death in 632, is the model that 

all other Muslims follow when they perform the 

K  282  

hajj

---

pilgrimage. Later Muslim rulers were responsible 

for supporting the pilgrimage and maintaining the 

holy sites in Mecca. They helped supply provi-

sions and organize pilgrim caravans that traveled 

overland via the cities of c

airo

, d

amascUs

, b

agh

-

dad

, Basra, and Sanaa or by boat to the Red Sea 

port of Jidda. Before modern times, the journey to 

Mecca could be quite hazardous; pilgrims might 

be attacked by thieves or die of disease. Only a few 

thousand were usually able to go, but today, with 

the availability of motorized transportation such 

as the automobile and the airplane, as many as 

2.5 million Muslims perform the hajj each year. To 

accommodate such large numbers of pilgrims, the 

government of s

aUdi

 a

rabia

 has spent more than 

$100 billion dollars since the 1950s to modern-

ize and expand the pilgrimage facilities. To make 

the pilgrimage safer and more manageable, it has 

cooperated with the governments of other Muslim 

countries to set quotas for the number of pilgrims 

each of them is allowed to send. Other Muslim 

governments, such as those of e

gypt

,  p

akistan

, 

t

Urkey

, i

ndonesia

, and m

alaysia

, play important 

roles in the regulation of the pilgrimage, which 

helps demonstrate their support for Islam to their 

citizens.

See also F

ive

 p

illars

; 

umra

; 

ziyara

.