National Geographic: Inside Mecca: http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=PWhPSk5pfHg Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship Al-Ghazali

Hajj

The fifth pillar of Islam

Hajj means, literally, Pilgrimage What we mean by it is a pilgrimage to Mecca during a certain time of the Islamic year doing specific actions

Islamically, we have different rituals that remind us of death, the afterlife, and our relationship with God o On a daily basis, we have prayer It reminds us of death; when we are dead and washed and we are sent to the grave. In prayer, we wash and we shut out our world and pray for things related to what happens to us when we die (protection from the grave, protection from Hell) o On a weekly basis, we have the day of Jumah (Friday) prayer, there are things that remind us of death and the Day of Judgement Quran when the call is made for Friday prayer, rush to the remembrance of Allah and abandon all sales and trade When the athan (call for prayer) goes off, its meant to remind us of the Day of Judgement, because everyone stops what theyre doing and go to meet God. About 1 hour o On a yearly basis we have Hajj Hajj changes every year because it is based on the lunar calendar (approximately 14 days difference to solar calendar) o Occurs in the month of Dhul-Hijja (literally The Month of Hajj) o Last month of the Islamic calendar o Goes from the 8th to the 12th/13th of Dhul-Hijjah (depends on how you do it; you have the option to cut it short or make it longer)

Acts The state of Ihram o You put yourself into a state of ihram o When you make the intention of Hajj, you go into the state of ihram

For men, you cant wear tailored garments You have to wear something completely white; Symbolizes our death shroud Reason for wearing no stitching is to promote unity. Everyone is in the same condition. Back to as natural as possible. Roughing it Cant wear perfume or anything scented (soap, toothpaste, handwipes) Have to wear sandals o Women can wear anything, any colour o Women cant cover their face or their hands o Cant clip your nails, cut your hair o Cant have intercourse Hajj takes place in a number of different locations: o Mecca (with the Kabbah) o Mina (outside of Mecca) A tent city o Muzdalifa A flat piece of desert o Arafat A large plain with a hill th On the 8 of Dhul-Hijjah (beginning of Hajj) the people who are making Hajj put on their ihram, then make the intention to make Hajj o They go and spend the night in Mina. On the 9th day, it is spend at Arafat o Most important part because it cant be made up o Goes from Dhuhr to Maghrib o You stand outside and talk to God (or you can sit inside and drink pop and make Dua. You can choose your difficulty level) Rehearsal for the Day of Judgement o You make Dua constantly from Dhuhr to Maghrib o Then at Maghrib, everyone goes to Muzdalifa and pray Maghrib and Isha Then you sleep there On the 10th day you back to Mina (also the Day of Eid) o There are three pillars, and you stone the big one on the 10th day o Then walk to Mecca o Go around the Kabah 7 times Symbolic of our life revolving around Allah o Shave their head o Slaughter a sheep Now when you go for Hajj, it includes payment for a sheep. In one corner of Mina, they have a slaughterhouse where people slaughter the sheep on behalf of those people All the meat is distributed to the poor Represents Abrahams willingness to slaughter his son, but slaughtered a sheep in his place o Then they are out of ihram

On the 11th, 12th, and 13th you chill at Mina with 3 million people from around the world o You walk to the pillars every day and stone the pillars o The stoning is symbolic of Abraham stoning the devil, who came to tempt him; its like casting the devil out of your life

The Reward: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that whoever goes on Hajj and doesnt behave in a bad way and doesnt act indecently, he will be forgiven from his sins like the day he was born.

If you have your period, you cant go around the Kaba. If you do, then you can do certain things to modify it (i.e. take birth control pills to modify the period).

You can do Hajj on behalf of someone if it is impossible for them to go (if theyre financially or physically incapable or deceased)

If you die in Hajj, they wash you and bury you in Mecca and 3 million people pray over you. Not bad.

If you convert to Islam, its required that an imam at a mosque write a letter to prove youre a Muslim in order to do Hajj. Typically its difficult for women to go along because they dont have a mahram (male relative).

You have to apply through a licensed Hajj group.

VERY BAD IDEA to go to Hajj while pregnant or with children

All Hadith of Bilal; the first man to make adthan for the Prophet (pbuh) Converted while he was still a slave. Slave of one of the worst enemies of Muslims. Use to torture Bilal. Would put him in full body armour, then put him under the sun in Mecca. When you travel with people, you learn a lot about them