Significant Practices in

the life of the Adherents

ONE significant practice
within Islam

Hajj

 The annual week long pilgrimage to

Mecca (modern day Saudi Arabia)
The 5th Pillar of Islam
The complete hajj occurs 2 months and 10
days after Ramadan ends and culminates
with Id al-Adha (the festival of sacrifice)
Umra (set of religious and devotional
rites) often known as lesser Hajj can be
performed at any time during the year
and does not include rites at Mina,
Muzdalifa and Arafat.

History of the Hajj

Virtual Hajj
The Hajj is symbolic of pilgrimage
Muhammed made in the footsteps
of Abraham. So really the Hajj is
in rememberence of Pre-Islamic
Arabian times and recognisition of
the events can been seen in the
Monotheistic faiths of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam.

The Hajj is spread

across a number of
towns in the Hijaz
province including:
Mecca, Mina,
Muzdalifah, Arafat and
Medina.

Describe the practice

The Quran states Make the pilgrimage
and visit the sacred house for His sake
make the pilgrimage in the sacred month
It is an Obligation (5th Pillar) that all
women and men should follow,an
obligation upon those who can make
their way there observe your duty to
Allah, and know that Allah is severe in
punishment
Encouragement from the Hadith states:
the prophet said: Islam does not allow
for failure to perform the Hajj.
It is an essential part of a Muslims faith
and practice.

Prayer before starting

Hajj

O Allah! I intend to perform Hajj; make it

easy for me and accept it from me. I make
the niyyah for Hajj and enter into the
state of Ihram for the sake of Allah alone,
the most High.

 Not an obligation on children,

the sick or those who cant
afford it.
Before setting out a Muslim
should address all wrongs, pay
all debts, have enough funds for
their journey and the maintence
of their famlly while they are
away, and prepare for good
conduct while away.

Analyse the significance of

this practice for the
Muslim
community
Hajj is a test
of what a person is willing to do

for Allah
Spiritual Cleansing (personal)
Muhammed himself went on the Hajj in the
footsteps of Abraham
Annual convention for believers
Demonstrates Islamic universality
Confirmation of commitment to God
Spiritual and historical education
Commemorate Abraham and Ismail
Day of judgment grand assembly reminder

Personal Significance of
Hajj

Hajj Today
Devoted believers of different
religions isolate themselves from
people in order to purify their hearts.
In the quest for intimacy with the
divine, they retreat to mountain
caves, monasteries, or hermitages
and prefer solitude to the company
of others.

 God has favored

Islam - as the last
Testament - with
Hajj (pilgrimage to
Makkah) to be the
Islamic form of
monasticism when a
set period of time is
devoted by the
pilgrims rituals and
performance to the
task of freeing
minds and hearts
from all

worldly concerns.
The pilgrim seeks
to pursue a unique
form of collective
worship of Allah
and seeks
closeness to Him in
the one and only
location chosen by
Him.

 If the pilgrim understands where Hajj really stands

in Islam, he will notice in himself a process of
spiritual transformation through the rituals. Every
step of Hajj serves as a reminder, a sign of
submission to Allah, an instructive tool for self
discipline and piety, and an exhortation to the
faithful aspirant.
As Hajj provides every pilgrim with tranquility of
heart, inner purity, and fullness of understanding of
his existence in the cosmos, every single step
should recall the ideas of the creation, glory of
divine transcendence, and the unity of the believers
that crosses boundaries and ethnic and gender
diversities. In the heart of every aspect of Hajj is
some reflection signifying the Hereafter.