|
The
pilgrimage
The
Hajj is a journey that every adult Muslim is required to undertake
at least once in their lives if they can afford it and are physically
able.
|
|
| Imran
Atcha's and his companion Saeed Bham, both from Gloucester,
on their way to Mecca on last year's Hajj |
Around
two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the
globe. The pilgrimage enables Muslims of different nations to meet
and worship with one another.
The
Hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year (which is lunar,
not solar, so that Hajj and Ramadan fall sometimes in summer, sometimes
in winter).
 |
| Ibrahim
and Is'mael built a K'aba or cube |
Pilgrims
wear special clothes - simple garments that are intended to strip
away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal
before God.
During
the Hajj the Pilgrims perform acts of worship and renew their sense
of purpose in the world.
History
Muslims
believe that Ibrahim (Abraham) brought Hagar and their child Is’mail
to Arabia from Palestine to protect them from the jealousy of Ibrahim’s
first wife Sarah.
Allah
told Ibrahim to leave Hagar and their son alone, which he did. Four
thousand years ago the valley of Makkah was a dry and uninhabited
place so the mother and child's
supplies quickly ran out and within a few days Hagar and Is’mail
were suffering from hunger and dehydration.
 |
| Every
sane adult Muslim is required to undertake the pilgrimage |
Hagar
collapsed beside Is’mail and prayed to Allah for deliverance. Is’mail
hit his foot on the ground and caused a spring of water to gush
forth from the earth.
Hagar
and Is’mail were saved and when
Ibrahim returned from Palestine to check on his family he was
told by Allah to build a shrine dedicated to him.
Ibrahim
and Is’mail built a stone structure – the Ka’ba or Cube - which
was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their
faith in Allah.
Because
of the reliable water source Makkah became a thriving centre and
in
the year 628 the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) set out on a journey with
1400 of his followers.
|
|
| Imran
Atcha's companion meets people from Comorra on their pilgrimage
last year |
This
was the first pilgrimage in Islam, and would re-establish the religious
traditions of the Prophet Ibrahim.
|
