The Hajj Explained

The word Hajj means to make a resolve to visit a holy place. Hence, visiting the Kaba (The black cube) in Mecca is therefore called Hajj.

How did it begin? The Origin of Hajj is rooted in the Prophet Abraham's life, peace be on him.

Which Muslim, Christian or Jew does not know the name of Abraham (peace be on him) Two-Thirds of mankind revere him as their leader. The Prophets Moses, Prophet Jesus & Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all) are all his descendants.



Abraham was born in what is now Iraq (no, there were no WMD's in those days), over four thousand years ago. At that time the people had forgotten the One True God. No one recognized him as the Master, no one lived in surrender and obedience to Him. The people among whom Abraham was born, while the most advanced in the world in art and science, industry and agriculture, were also the most steeped in ignorance and error. Despite their technological advance, they could not understand one simple fact, that is, anything which has itself been created cannot be worthy of worship. Idolatry was the norm. Superstitions like astrology, idol-worship, divination, Witchcraft and use of talisman and amulets were widespread.

In times like this, Prophet Abraham was born into a family of privileged priests. His forefathers were high priests and it was quite natural that he should follow in their footsteps. But Abraham was different from the rest of his people. On reaching maturity he began to think, how the sun, moon or stars, which are rotating as if by order like slaves, and these stone idols, which are made by man himself, and these kings, who are beings like ourselves, be gods. When none of them is my creator, when neither my life nor death is in the hands of any of them, when none of them possesses the key to my of substance or the fulfillment of my needs, why should I accept them as lords, surrender to them, and obey them? Only that Being can be my Lord who created all things, on whom depends everything and in whose hands are the lives and deaths of all people.

These thoughts led Abraham to the decision that he would never worship the deities, which his people worshiped, and he openly declared before them.

O my people, I am quit of all those you take as gods beside God. As for me, I turn my face unto Him who brought into being the heavens and the earth, having turned away from all false gods, and I am not of those who take gods beside God (Holy Quran 6: 79-80)

(This is the dua that every muslims starts his daily 5 times prayer with. "Inni wajiha tu wajiha, nillazi fatras samawati, walarza harifoun wamaana minul mushrikeen")

No sooner had he made this declaration than tribulations and calamities of the greatest magnitude descended on him. His father threatened him with expulsion from the family home. His community warned him that no one among them would give him refuge. And the government officials insisted on his case being brought before the King. But Ibrahim, lonely and forsaken by his relatives and friends, stood firm as a rock in the case of the Truth.

In answer to the threats of his community he broke their idols with his own hands to prove how powerless they were [Holy Quran 21: 57-70]. In the court of the King, he boldly declared: You are not my Lord, My Lord is He in whose hands are your life and death as well as mine, and within the bounds of whose law even the movements of the sun are circumscribed [Holy Quran 2: 258].

The royal court decided that Abraham should be burnt alive and he willingly came forward to suffer this horrible punishment for the sake of his unshakeable faith in the One God. However after Allah (God) with his supreme power saved him from this fate. He then abandoned his home, his relations, his community and his country. He set out with his wife, Sarah, and a nephew Lot to wander from one land to another.

After leaving his home, the Prophet Abraham wandered in Egypt, Palestine and Arabia. He had no money or possessions nor did he have time to earn his livelihood. His sole vocation, day and night, was to bring people to the worship of the One True God.

During the last period of his life, when he was eighty-six and had despaired of offspring, Allah gave him a child, Ishmael. The life of this perfect man was the life of a true and genuine Muslim. In early adulthood, when he had found God, God asked him: ‘aslim’, that is, enter Islam, surrender yourself totally to Me, be solely Mine. In reply, he gave the pledge: ‘aslamtu li-rabbi ’l-alamin’, that is, I have entered Islam, I belong to the Lord of the worlds, I have entrusted myself wholly to Him, I am ever ready to obey (Holy Quran 2: 13). To this pledge Abraham remained true throughout this life. He gave up, for the sake of the Lord of the worlds, his ancestral religion together with its beliefs and rituals and renounced all the material benefits he could have derived from it. He braved the danger of fire, suffered homelessness, wandered from country to country, but spent every moment of his life in obedience to the Lord and in propagating of his religion.

But even after all these tribulations, there was still one trail left to determine whether Abraham’s love for his Lord was supreme above all else. Before the birth of his second son, he was asked to sacrifice what was then his only child to God. [Holy Quran 37: 99-111]. When Allah had shown that Abraham was prepared to slaughter his son for His sake with his own hands, He said: ‘You have fully vindicated your claim to be a totally true Muslim. Now you deserve to be made the leader of the whole world.’ This act of investiture has been described in the Qur’an thus.
And when his Lord tested Abraham with his commands, and he fulfilled them all, He said, Behold, I make you a leader of mankind. Said he [Abraham]: And my offspring will they too be leaders? He said: My covenant shall not reach the evil-doers (Holy Quran 2: 124).

In this manner Abraham became a pioneer of the universal Islamic movement and set about establishing permanent missions in different regions. In this task he was aided by his nephew Lot, his eldest son Ishmael who, on learning that the Lord of the worlds wanted the sacrifice of his life, had himself willingly placed his neck under the knife, and his younger son, Issac.

The younger son, Issac was settled in Palestine. From this region the Islamic movement reached Egypt through Issac’s son, Jacob and his grandson, Yousuf (Joseph) - now you all know who my son Yousuf is named after. The elder son, Ishmael, was assigned his headquarters at Mecca and Abraham himself stayed with him for a long time to propagate the teaching of Islam throughout Arabia.

It was in Mecca that Abraham and his son built the Holy Ka’ba, the center of the Islamic movement, on a site chosen by God Himself. This building was not intended for worship only, as mosques are, its purpose was to act as the center for spreading the universal movement of Islam, a world-wide gathering point for believers in the One God to assemble to worship Allah in congregation and go back to their respective countries carrying with them the message of Islam. This was the assembly, which was named Hajj. Exactly how this center was constructed, with what hopes and prayers both father and son raised its walls, and how Hajj was initiated are described thus in the Qu’ran:

The first house ever set up for mankind was indeed that at Bakkah (Mecca), a blessed place, and guidance unto all beings; wherein are clear signs – the place whereon Ibrahim stood; and whosoever enters it finds peace (Holy Quran 3: 96-7).

But within a few centuries after the death of Abraham and Ishmael, the people abandoned their teachings and gradually went astray like all other people around them. Hundreds of idols were installed in the sacred Ka’ba, which had been built as a center for the worship of the One True God. Ironically enough, idols were made of Abraham & Ishmael too, whose whole lives were spent eradicating idol-worship. This is the reason why muslims do not like any depication of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). They also worshipped the sun, moon, venus, saturn, jinns, ghosts, angels and the spirits of their dead ancestors. Poets and clowns used it to brag and boast about the bravery, renown, dignity, strength and generosity of their tribes. They even resorted to hurling insults at one another. Men and women walked together around God’s House stark naked, saying, “We go before God just as our mothers gave birth to us.” They did make sacrifices in the name of God. But the blood of the sacrificial animals was spilt on the walls of the Ka’ba and their flesh thrown at its door in the belief that Allah needs that flesh and blood. Reverting to the same kind of priesthood which Abraham had fought so fiercely against in Iraq, they turned the Ka’ba into a sort of temple and installed themselves as priests there. Adopting all the tricks of priests, they began accepting gifts and offerings from pilgrims flocking from the four corners of Arabia. In this way all the work done by Abraham & Ishmael was destroyed and the purpose for which they had introduced the system of Hajj was superseded by different types of objectives.

This situation lasted for about two thousand years. No prophet was born in Arabia during this long period nor did any prophet’s genuine teachings reach the people of Arabia. Finally, however, the time arrived for granting Abraham prayer, which he had made while raising the walls of the Ka’ba:

Our Lord! Do Thou send to them a Messenger, from among them, who shall convey unto them Thy revelations, and teach them the Book and Wisdom, and purify and develop them (Holy Quran 2: 129).

Around 570 CE, a man was born in Mecca who was from the same lineage of Abraham through his son Ishmael, he was Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, blessings and peace be on him. Just as Abraham was born into a family of priests, so was Muhammad, blessings and peace be on him, into a family, which had been for centuries priests of theKa’ba. Just as Abraham struck a blow with his own hands, against the priesthood of this family, so did Muhammad, blessings and peace be on him, finally eradicating it for good. Again, just as Ibrahim strove to end the worship of false gods and bring people under submission to the One God, so did the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be on him, revive the same pure Islam, which had been introduced by Abraham. After 21 years, when he had completed this work, once again, at God’s command, he declared the Ka’ba the centre of all those in the world who surrendered to God alone and issued the same summons to the people to come to it for Hajj as had Abraham

A duty owed to God by all men is the Pilgrimage to the House, if one is able to make his way there... (Holy Quran 3: 97).

This is why, in fulfilment of this sacred duty as a muslim (a person who surrenders to the will of the One True God), my family and I are embarking on Hajj.