The Hajj

BY JASPER GIFFORD
Historical background

 Dates back to 2000 BC

 Abraham, Ishmael (his son) and Hager (his wife) were stranded in desert. (Abraham sacrificing Ishmael)

 Hager ran between the hills  Safa and Marwa to find water for Ishmael
 Angel Gabriel appeared and created the well of Zemzem
 Abraham created the Kaaba at the site of the well
 Mohammed led the first hajj in 630 AD
 He gave his last sermon on mount arafat
Lovat’s theory of ritual analysis
(Graph of the theory)

 Participants leave the normal world and enter the ritual

 Participants engage in a rite of preparation
 Participants preform the climax of the ritual
 Participants engage in a celebration
 Participants re-enter the normal world
Entering the ritual
(Pilgrims entering the airport at mecca)

 Ihram is the holy state the pilgrims enter during the hajj
 Men must wear 2 unstitched white pieces of cloth
 Women must wear clothes that cover entire body
 Women must wear there hijab
Preparatory Rite

(Pilgrims praying at Arafat)

 Pilgrims walk to mina, a “city of tents” where the sleep and pray for the day
 At dawn, pilgrims walk to Arafat and pray for the day
 At night, the pilgrims then move to Muzdalifah to sleep and collect pebbles
 Pilgrims walk back to mina and stone walls the represent the devil
 Pilgrims have an animal slaughtered in their name.
 Men shave their head and change out of their ihram clothing
Climax, celebration and re-
entering the normal world (Pilgrims circling the Kaaba)

 Pilgrims circle the Kaaba 7 times

 Symbolic of the unity of the believers
 Known as tawaf
 Pilgrims stone the walls again
 Pilgrims perform a tawaf again and than leave mecca
Why do people go?
(A picture of the Quran)

 One of the 5 pillars of islam

 The 5 pillars are: Shahadah (profession of faith)
Salat (praying 5 times a day)
Zakat (giving to charities)
Sawm (fasting during Ramadan)
Hajj (the pilgrimage to mecca)
 ”You shall observe the complete rites of Hajj and `Umrah for God. If you are
prevented, you shall send an offering, and do not resume cutting your hair until
your offering has reached its destination.” [Quran  2:196].
Who Goes
(Graph of the amount of pilgrims
each year)

 Saudi Arabian government sets quotas of participants for each country

 In 2018, an estimated 2.3 million Muslims went
 In 2012, the government started setting stricter quotas
 In 2015, 2000 Muslims died at mina after being crushed
Conclusion