Hajj is gifted
Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home.
In Islamic terminology, Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the "House of Allah," in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah (oath that one believes there is no god but Allah (God)), salat (prayer), zakat (almsgiving) and sawm (fasting during Ramadan).
The Hajj is an annual practice when Muslim brotherhood is on display and their solidarity with fellow Muslim people and submission to God (Allah) is fulfilled.
The word Hajj means "pilgrimage made to the Kaaba", a long pious journey taken by Muslims to cleanse their souls of all worldly sins, which connotes both the outward act of a journey after death and the inward act of good intentions.
The rites of pilgrimage are performed over five to six days, extending from the 8th to the 12th or 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of 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 2023 AD (1444 AH), Dhu al-Hijjah extends from 19 June to 18 July.
The Hajj is associated with the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century AD, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca stated in Muslim sources stretches back to the time of Abraham.
During Hajj, pilgrims join processions of millions of Muslim people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of pre-Islamic rituals (reformed by Muhammad): each person wears a single piece of unstitched white clothing (Ihram), walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba (a cube-shaped building and the direction of prayer for Muslims), kiss the black stone mounted on the corner wall of Kaaba, 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 Devil by throwing stones at three pillars.
After the sacrifice of cattle (which can be accomplished by using a voucher), the pilgrims then are required to either shave or trim their heads (if male) or trim the ends of their hair (if female).
A celebration of the four-day global festival of Eid al-Adha proceeds afterwards.
Thoughtful additions by the government for Pilgrims
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, Saleh Al-Jasser, revealed that his ministry will test the use of flying taxis and drones during this year’s Hajj season.
“These represent highly advanced modes of transportation including taxi applications. There is a race between many specialized companies in the transport sector to provide the best means of transport over the coming years,” Al-Jasser told Al-Arabiya yesterday.
According to the news channel, the minister said Saudi Arabia is preparing more flexible and faster technologies and means of transportation during this year’s Hajj season to facilitate the pilgrim’s journey.
“So, we must be at the forefront in order to benefit from these services,” he added. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabian Airlines also unveiled plans to operate flying taxis to ferry Hajj pilgrims between King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and hotels in Makkah. Saudi Arabia intends to buy around 100 aircraft to operate the service.
Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. This year’s Hajj season is expected to begin on 14 June.
Editor’s Note
Over half a million pilgrims conducted Hajj this year. Not only technological aid has been ensured, empathetic initiative like the provision of cold Zamzam water around the clock to worshipers throughout the Prophet’s Mosque has been taken.
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#hajjpilgrims #SaudiArabia #prophet
