Hajj 2018

The Story of Hajj starts with an introduction about b Prophet P h Ib Ibrahim hi or Abraham Ab h (pbuh)

ABRAHAM Abraham is a figure revered b us ims ews an hris tians a i e as a righteous erson who ive over four thousan ears ago. is stor can be foun in the ib e as we as the ur an the us im ho boo . braham is con si ere to be the atriach of monotheism or be ief in the ne o who sought a

ersona re ationshi with his reator. e eft his native cit of r in eso otamia after voicing o osition to his eo e s o theis tic ractices an eventua sett e in g t with his fami . ater he escorte one of his wives a ar an their infant son shmai to a

eso ate va e in rabia an eft them there trusting in o s romise to care for them.

a ar concerne about fee ing her oung bab began searching the surroun ings for foo an water. ccor ing the the ur an in res onse to a ar s ra ers a s ring mi racu ous gushe forth at shma i s feet to

uench their thirst. a ar c imbe nearb hi s searching for foo an oo ing for cara vans on the hori on. ventua some ass ing tra ers sto e in the va e an as e

a ar s ermission to water their came s.

n time the tra ers eci e to sett e in the itt e va ae e an n eventua nt th the sett ement grew into the cit of a ah. braham re turne from time to time to visit an when shma i was about thirteen ears o he an shma i constructe the atbah an em t cube sha e bui ing as a ace e icate for the worshi of the ne o . ventua

a ah became an im ortant tra ing ost b the time of ro het uhamma twent five hundred years later. AJJ

n commemoration of the tria s of braham an his fami in a ah which inc u e Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son in res onse to o s comman us ims ma e a i grimage to the sacre cit at east once in their lifetime. The Hajj is one of the “five i ars of s am an thus an essentia art of us ims faith an ractice. us ims from a over the wor inc u ing the ana a trave to a ah in mo ern a

au i rabia . efore arriving in the ho cit us ims enter a state of consecration

e ication nown as ihram b removing their wor othes an onning the hum b e attire of i grims two seam ess white sheets for men an sim e white resses an scarves for women. The white garments are s mbo ic of human e ua it an unit before

o since a the i grims are resse simi ar . one an status no onger are a factor for the i grims the e ua it of each erson in the e es of o becomes aramount.

on arriving in a ah i grims erform the initia tawaf which is a circu ar counter c oc wise rocession aroun the a bah. the whi e the state abba a ahumma

abba which means ere am at our service o ere am The tawaf is meant to awa en each us im s conscious ness that o is the center of their rea it an the source of a meaning in ife an that each erson s higher se f i entit erives from being art of the communit of us im be ievers nown as the ummah. i grims a so erform the sa i which is hurr ing sev en times between the sma hi s name afa an arwah reenacting the ib ica an

urtanic stor of a ar s es erate search for ifegiving water an foo . Next, on the first official day of Hajj (8th of

hu i ah the two mi ion i grims trave a few mi es to the ain of ina an cam there. rom ina i grims trave the fo owing morning to the ain of rafat where the s en the entire a in earnest su ica tion an evotion. That evening the i grims move an cam at u a ifa which is a site between ina an rafat. us ims sta overnight and offer various prayers there. Then the i grims return to ina on the th an throw seven ebb es at a stone i ar that re resents the evi . This s mbo i es bra ham s throwing stones at atan when he tried to dissuade Abraham from sacrificing his son. Then the pilgrims sacrifice a sheep, reenacting the stor of braham who in place of his son, sacrificed a sheep that God ha rovi e as a substitute. The meat from the s aughtere shee is istribute for con sum tion to fami frien s an oor an nee eo e in the communit . fter the sacrifice, the pilgrims return to Makkah to en the forma rites of ab erforming a final tawaf and sa’i. us ims be ieve the rites of the a were esigne b o an taught through ro het uhamma . us ims be ieve that since the time of am there have been thousan s of prophets, including such well-known fig ures as oah braham oses esus an David, and that Muhammad was the final

ro het of o . The a is esigne to eve o o con sciousness an a sense of s iritua u ift ment. t is a so be ieve to be an o ortu nit to see forgiveness of sins accumu ate thoughout ife. ro het uhamma ha sai that a erson who erforms a ro er wi return as a new born bab free of a sins . The i grimage a so enab es us lims from all around the world, of different co ors anguages races an ethnicities to come together in a s irit of universa broth erhoo an sisterhoo to worshi the ne

o together.