Pilgrimages are an important part of every religion.

Whether you are a

Christian making a pilgrimage to the Vatican, or a Muslim participating in the
Hajj, partaking in the pilgrimage deepens your faith. Today, I will be talking
about the Islamic tradition of the Hajj. The Hajj is still an important pilgrimage
today as It is part of the very foundation of the Islamic faith. To discuss why it
is still important today, I will discuss the historical background of the hajj, apply
a ritual theory to it, and analyse the significance of the hajj within Islamic
tradition.
The Hajj dates back all the way to 2000 BC, during the time Abraham. During
this time, Abraham, his son Ishmael and his wife Hager were stranded in the
desert. Hager ran back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwa to try to
find water for Ishmael. She did this until the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and
sprung a spring of fresh water known today as the Well of Zemzem. After this
event, God ordered Abraham to build a monument at the site of the spring
which is known today as the Kaaba. The first official Hajj was led by the
prophet Mohammed in 630 AD to reclaim the holy site in the name of Allah
and destroy the idols placed there by the polytheistic worshipers who flocked
there. Mohammed walked the same path that Abraham, Ishmael and Hager
walked in the desert, including Hager’s walk between Safa and Marwa, stoning
the wall of Satan that tempted Abraham to defy God. He also climbed mount
aftat, where Mohammed gave his last sermon. This is the path that modern
Muslims follow today.
Terrence Lovat is an Australian religious teacher who developed a five-step
program to analyse rituals. The theory goes as follows: Someone Leaves the
ordinary or mundane world and enters the ritual, they then engage in a type of
preparatory rite, they then experience the highpoint of the ritual, they join in
some form of celebration and then return to the world of the ordinary. This
theory can easily be applied to the Hajj. Entering the ritual is entering the state
of Ihram. Ihram is the sacred state of the pilgrim when crossing the boundaries
of Mecca, called Miqat. Whilst in Ihram, men must wear 2 unstitched pieces of
cloth and women must were something that Is loose fitting that covers the
entire body and they must wear their hijab. Whilst in this state of ihram white
signifies unity, and that everyone is equal. Most of the hajj can be seen as a
preparatory rite for the climax. After entering ihram, the pilgrims will then walk
to mina where they will spend the night praying. At dawn, the pilgrims will hike
to Arafat, the location of the prophet Mohammed’s last sermon. They will
spend they day here in prayer. At night time the pilgrims then move to
Muzdalifah to sleep and collect pebbles. In the morning the pilgrims walk back
to Mina where they will partake in rami, a ritualistic stoning of three pillars
located a jamrat bridge. Stoning these pillars is symbolic of casting the devil
out of your life, just as Abraham did. After this the pilgrims then slaughter an
animal or pay for an animal to be slaughtered in their name. This is a symbol
for Abraham sacrifice a goat to god instead of his son Ishmael. Men will then
shave their hair and change out of there ihram clothing. Then the pilgrims head
to mecca where they will perform the climax of the hajj. The climax of the hajj
is walking around the Kaaba 7 times which is know as tawaf and sa’ee. Circling
around the Kaaba 7 times is thought to be symbolic of the unity of the
believers in the worship of one God. The celebratory rite is going back to the
jamrat bridge and stoning the devil again. The pilgrims then enter the world of
the ordinary after performing a final “farewell” tawaf and then leaving mecca.