Hajj literally means to travel (towards God) and it also means an effort to dominate something (the self, in this connection). Conventionally this term is translated as “pilgrimage,” although this far from gives the exact significance of the word Hajj. This is the third of the religious duties of a Muslim. It is obligatory on every adult, man or woman, to go once in his or her lifetime to Makkah in order to perform there the great effort to train himself or herself to comply with the commands of Allah and submit willingly to His Will. Those who do not possess the material means of travel are exempted from it. But which Muslim would not collect, little by little, the necessary amount for being able one day to visit the center of his or her religion, the Ka`bah, the House of Allah? The Qur’an (3:96) does not exaggerate when it says that this is the oldest house in the world dedicated by mankind to Allah and to the cult of monotheism. If one were to think only of Ibrahim (Abraham-peace and blessings be upon him)-who, according to the Islamic tradition, was but the restorer of the edifice erected originally by Adam-it would still be older than the temple of Jerusalem constructed by Sulayman (Solomon). No other place of worship older than the Ka`bah of Makkah is known to be still functioning.

At the borders of the sacred territory around Makkah, the pilgrim puts off the ordinary dress and puts on by way of a religious uniform two sheets of cloth-a waist cloth and a shoulder cover-a dress required only of men, not of women. The male pilgrim is bare-headed. The pilgrim tries to forget him- or herself during the several days of the Hajj. He or she goes to `Arafat in the suburbs of Makkah to pass there the day in meditation. Towards evening, the pilgrim returns, passes the night at Muzdalifah, and early next morning arrives in Mina, which is on the outskirts of Makkah. There the pilgrim passes three days, during which he or she symbolically stones Satan every morning, sacrifices a goat or other animal, and pays a short visit to the Ka`bah to perform the ritual sevenfold circumambulation and running between the hills of Safa and Marwah in front of the Ka`bah.

When coming down from Paradise, Adam and Eve were separated and lost. They searched for each other, and by the grace of Allah met together at `Arafat. In gratitude to Allah, the descendants of Adam and Eve turn to Him, and make an effort to devote themselves wholly to Him with a view to entreat His pardon for their shortcomings in the past and His help for the future.

When Ibrahim claimed to love Allah above everything else, Allah demanded of him as a proof the immolation of his beloved son. To add to this trial, Satan went first to Ibrahim to dissuade him from his resolution-and they say that this happened at Mina-but Ibrahim chased Satan away by pelting stones at him. Then Satan went to Hajar and, lastly, to Isma`il himself, and each of them did the same. So the pilgrim repeats the acts symbolically and resolves to fight diabolic temptation.

The visit of the House of Allah is self-explanatory. To give evidence of obedience, the pilgrim goes there with respect and in humility. It is a very old custom to circumambulate a thing to show one’s readiness to sacrifice one’s self for the object of devotion, care, and love. It is like mounting the guard.

The Black Stone (Al-Hajar Al-Aswad) requires a particular mention on account of the many misunderstandings on its score. It is not a meteorite, but a black stone. Its practical importance is to show the starting point of the circumambulation, and by its color it is conspicuous in the building. Secondly, this stone is not worshiped, nor do Muslims even prostrate in the direction of this stone, prostration being done towards any and every part of the building of the Ka`bah. It may be recalled that when the Qaramitah ravaged Makkah in 318 a.h./930 c.e., they carried the Black Stone to their country as booty and it remained there for 21 long years. In the course of this absence of the Black Stone, no Muslim turned to the place where it was kept (in `Uman), but continued to turn towards the Ka`bah in Makkah. Even the building of the Ka`bah is not essential: if it is demolished, for instance for repairs and new construction, Muslims turn to the same spot, whether the Ka`bah with its Black Stone is there or not. As said, the practical importance of the Black Stone is that it indicates the point from which the circumambulation begins and at which it ends; but it has a symbolical significance, too. In the Hadith, the Prophet has named it the “right hand of Allah” (yamin Allah) and for a purpose. In fact one poses there one’s hand to conclude the pact, and Allah obtains there our pact of allegiance and submission. In the Qur’anic terminology, Allah is the king, and He has not only His treasures and His armies, but also His realm; in the realm there is a metropolis (Umm Al-Qura, i.e., Makkah), and in the metropolis there is, naturally, a palace (Bayt Allah, House of Allah). If a subject wants to testify to his or her loyalty, he or she has to go to the royal palace and personally conclude the pact of allegiance. The right hand of the invisible Allah must be visible symbolically. And that is the Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, the Black Stone in the Ka`bah.

As to the act of covering the ground between Safa and Marwah seven times, it is related that when Ibrahim left his wife Hajar and the suckling Isma`il in the desolate and uninhabited site of Makkah, the provision of water was soon exhausted. So Hajar ran hither and thither, driven by maternal affection, to search for some water for the thirst-stricken baby. Then the spring Zamzam gushed forth. So the pilgrim repeats this act in the same place where Hajar did it, to pay homage to maternal love and to give thanks for the mercy of Allah.

The social aspect is not less striking. The world brotherhood of Muslims manifests itself there in the most vivid manner. The believers, without distinction of race, language, birthplace or even class, feel the obligation to go there and to mix with one another in a spirit of fraternal equality. They camp together in the desert and perform their religious duties in common. For several days, at fixed hours, they march, make a halt, pass the night under tents or in bivouac-all this, to a greater extent than the five daily Prayers-trains the soldier of Allah for a life of discipline.

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performed his own Hajj, a few months before his demise, he then uttered from above the Mount of Mercy (Jabal Ar-Rahmah) a sermon which constitutes the Charter of Humanity in Islam. Some 140,000 Muslims came that year from all parts of Arabia to listen to this testament of their Prophet, the main points of which are as follows:

(1) the basic elements of Islam, viz., belief in the One God, Allah, with no icons or other material representation;

(ii) equality of all Muslims without discrimination on account of race or class, and there being no superiority to one over any other except by the individual excellence in the matter of piety and fear of Allah;

(iii) sacrosanct character of the three fundamental rights of each and every human being concerning his or her person, property, and honor;

(iv) prohibition of transactions involving interest, large or small;

(v) prohibition of vendetta and private justice; obligation of treating the womenfolk well;

(vi) constant redistribution and circulation of the private wealth to avoid accumulation in the hands of a few (by means of the law of obligatory inheritance, restrictions on wills and prohibition of interest, etc.);

(vii) emphatic restatement that the Divine Revelation alone should be the source of law for our conduct in all walks of life.

The pilgrims are made to hear this same sermon every year [on the Day of `Arafat, 9 Dhul-Hijjah] as it is recited from the top of this same sacred Mount of Mercy, at `Arafat.