"Hajj: Pigrimage to Mecca"

“Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca”
Once a year Muslims of every ethnic group gather together in Mecca, to worship Allah. Allah is the Arabic word for saying “god.” Mecca is a very holy place for all Muslims. It is so holy that no- non Muslim is allowed to enter Mecca. In Mecca there is a whole ritual called “Hajj.” A person who has done this ritual at least one time, is called a Hajj, or Hajji if a woman did it. Every adult Muslim must do the ritual at least once in their life. The ritual is done to show that all Hajjes are equal. If you plan to perform the ritual you must not do these things:

• Engage in marital relations

• cut nails

• shave

• use cologne or scented oils

• hunt or kill

• argue or fight

• cover faces (if woman)

• wear stitched clothing

• bathe with scented soaps

This ritual involves many stages. First you begin in a place outside of Mecca which is called Miquat called the entry station of the Hajj. There you will have to put on the “Ihram,” which are these special white clothes, which you will wear during the doing of the ritual. There, you also bathe. Then you need to recite the prayer called the “Talbya Du'a”. Then you go to the “Masid al Haram,” and walk around the “Ka'ba” seven times repeating the prayer. After that you need to drink a bit of “Zam Zam water.”Zam Zam water comes from a sacred well which opened in the dessert for a boy and his mother while desperate for water. There is a myth that Muslims believe, and here I am going to tell it. A husband was told by Allah to take his son and wife to Arabia, and then leave them there with food and water. The husband was told to do this, so that he could protect his family from his previous wife who was jealous of them. Of course the food and water supply ran out quickly. After a while the son and wife started getting very hungry and dehydrated. When the mother was desperate, she started praying to Allah, and the boy stamped the ground and surprisingly a well formed in the ground! The son and mother were saved. Th story continues where the husband comes back very surprised to see his family alive, and selling water from the well to nomads from the dessert. The husband is then told by Allah to build a shrine for him, which is for people who want more faith from Allah. The husband agrees and builds a shrine. From then on the well that the boy had stamped at has stayed sacred, and is the place where “Zam Zam water” comes from.
After drinking the “Zam Zam water” go to the walkway in-between the to hills Sata and Marwa, and walk in-between them seven times. This completes the first stage of the ritual. Now the final stage is the “Hajj” stage. You need to put the “Ihram” on again. Travel to Mina on the eighth of “Phul Haojah” (a date in the Islamic calendar). Remain there until dawn of the next morning. Then travel to the valley of Arafat. Then stand in the open pray to Allah. When you feel the heat of Arabia at midday it provides a hint to what the day of judgement will be like. At the end of the day, travel to Muzdalita and stay for the night. Then gather forty-nine to seventy small stones for the next day. The next morning travel back to Mina, and go to the stone pillars called “Jamrat,” which you will throw stones at. The pillars represent the devil. After that there will be a sacrifice called “Qurbam” (a sheep or lamb will be slaughtered). After the sacrifice you will have to shave your head if a man or cut a lock of your hair if a woman.
Then return to Mecca and make a “Tawaf” which is where you walk around the “Ka'ba” seven times. Then go back to Mina for three or four days to throw stones at the pillars each day you are in Mina. Finally do a last “Tawaf” in Masjid al haram on the twelfth day of the month of “Dhu'l Hijjah,” ask for Allah's forgiveness. After that to complete the last and final stage of the ritual, make “du'a and you are a Hajji or a Hajj! One last part of the ritual is to go to the mosque in Medina which is optional. At the end of the day there is celebrated holiday called “Eid ul Adha” or “Festival of the sacrifice.”

Movement
I think that this article relates to movement. I think this because the Muslims have to move to different places according to the different stages of the ritual. Like for example when they need to travel from somewhere to Mecca, then to Miquat, then to Mina, Arabia, Muzdalita, Mina again and then back to Mecca.



Reaction/opinion
I really enjoyed reading and writing about this article. I think that the ritual is fascinating and it is not serious religion but fun to read. I would like to try the ritual to someday. I agree with the way Muslims do the ritual because using object that are in myths and then making them come to life is amazing.

Questions
Can children also do the ritual? No children can not do the ritual. Only adults can from twenty and up.
Can families go together and do the ritual all together? Yes families can do the ritual together but without children.


Bibliography
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/practices/hajj_print.html
Published on BBC Religion & Ethics: 2002-10-02
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