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Q1.Discuss importance of hajj?
Ans. The literal meaning of the word Hajj is "heading to a
place for the sake of visiting". In Islamic terminology, Hajj
is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the "House of Allah",
in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The rites of
Hajj are performed over five or six days, beginning on the
eighth and ending on the thirteenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah,
the last month of the Islamic calendar.[6] It is one of
the Five Pillars of Islam,
alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat and Sawm. The Hajj is
the second largest annual gathering of Muslims in the
world, after the Arba'een Pilgrimage in Karbala, Iraq.
[7]
 The state of being physically and financially capable of
performing the Hajj is called istita'ah, and a Muslim who
fulfills this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a
demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people,
and their submission to God (Allah).[8][9] The word Hajj
means "to attend a journey", which connotes both the
outward act of a journey and the inward act of
intentions.[10]
The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th (or in some
cases 13th[11]) of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of
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the Islamic calendar. Because 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. In 2020 CE (1441 AH), Dhu al-
Hijjah extends from 22 July to 19 August.
Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state in
which pilgrims wear two white sheets of seamless cloth
and abstain from certain actions.[8][12][13]
The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic
prophet Muhammad from the 7th century AD, but the
ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to
stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham.
During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of millions of
people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the
week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: each
person walks counter-clockwise seven times around
the Kaaba (the cube-shaped building and the direction of
prayer for the Muslims), trots (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 Muzdalifa, and performs symbolic stoning of the
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devil by throwing stones at three pillars. After the
sacrifice of their animal, the Pilgrims then are required to
shave their head. Then they celebrate the three-day
global festival of Eid al-Adha.