Pilgrimage
Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, is the name given to the pilgrimage to Mecca, the focal point of Islam, where once every year Muslims from all over the world gather to perform a special type of congregational worship. This takes the form of a symbolic enactment of certain Islamic teachings, the observance of which is a requirement on both spiritual and material levels, since it demonstrates the individual's readiness to put Islamic precepts into practice in his everyday life. Individual acts of Islamic worship may be similarly defined, but the scale on which they take place during Hajj and their close combination produces an intensification of their overall effect. Individual pilgrims then have a sense of belonging to a unified whole.The ideal of all men living on earth as God's servants, and therefore as equals, is expressed in the wearing of ihram (a very simple form of clothing) by all pilgrims, irrespective of their nationality. In this way, all artificial, discriminatory barriers are broken down between people from all walks of life. It is also the earnest wish of Islam that people's lives should revolve around the Almighty, and a symbolic demonstration of this takes place during the pilgrimage in the circumambulation of the House of God.
Another ritual involving physical exertion is sa‘i, which entails a fast-paced walk between the hills of Safa and Marwah. This gives pilgrims a taste of the intensity with which one must press ever onwards along the path of Islam, and specifically, leads to an enactment of the trial that the Prophet Abraham’s family went through. Devotees who hear the call of God are exhorted to recite repeatedly, "I am at your service Lord, here I am," this being the perfect expression of Islamic intention.
One of Islam's major goals is that mankind should live in remembrance of that Day when all will be assembled before God. The gathering of the pilgrims on the plain of ‘Arafah is a visible reminder of this crucial moment in the Afterlife.
Islam sincerely wishes that man should be free of the clutches of the Devil and that they should continually chase the Evil One away.
The casting of pebbles at the stone devils (Rami’l-Jamarat) gives pilgrims the opportunity to go through the physical motions of a symbolic fight against evil and again a specific re-enactment of the trial of the Prophet Abraham himself. Islam desires too, that the believer should adhere to the covenant he has made with God, even if this entails the sacrifice of his property or even his life. At Mina, therefore, during the rites of pilgrimage, the pilgrims sacrifice an animal, thus showing themselves ready to make whatever sacrifices are demanded of them. It is also a requirement of Islam that people should patiently endure the inconveniences they have to suffer on account of their fellow-men, and during the Hajj season, pilgrims have innumerable opportunities of displaying their self-restraint. With so many hundreds of thousands of different types of people gathered together in one place, it is inevitable that there should be countless occasions when some are put to inconvenience by others. This is the time that pilgrims are directed to be especially careful not to give vent to anger or irritation, to refrain absolutely from abusing or attacking anyone and to eschew all immodest or dishonest behaviour. Hoping themselves for kind treatment at the hands of God, they do their utmost to be kind in their treatment of other human beings.
Hajj is a rehearsal for a life of struggle in God's cause, a reminder of the momentousness of the Last Day, and a caution that Satan, man's greatest enemy, must be beaten back at all costs. Its greatest message is that if one desires a share in God's blessings, one should be prepared to sacrifice not only one's possessions but one's very life for Him. In this way, it is a lesson in living a God-oriented life.
Through the conditions created at the time of the pilgrimage, people learn how they should live on this earth with their fellow men. They receive a practical exercise in tolerating the difficulties created by others, which makes them realize both the necessity and possibility of living together in a spirit of justice and benevolence. Above all, Hajj is a colossal demonstration of human equality.
It is such a complete act of worship that anyone who performs it in the proper manner will find that it has a salutary effect on all of his or her social interaction, whether in relation to God or to other human beings.
Although we have been commanded to perform Hajj only once in a lifetime, it is such a great and all-encompassing act of worship that, if correctly performed, both in form and in spirit, its impact will be permanent. This once in-a-lifetime pilgrimage will leave its indelible stamp upon the mind of the pilgrim, thus changing for the better the whole course of his remaining life.
