5 th Pillar of Islam

1. 5th Pillar of Islam Pilgrimage

2. History of Hajj • “to set out for a place” • Prophet Ibrahim was ordered to go Makkah. When he reached Makkah, he was commanded by Allah to abandon his second wife, Haajar, and his first-born son Ishmael in this barren, rocky, uninhabited valley. • Soon Haajar's meager provisions of dates and water were exhausted and both mother and child became thirsty. Seeing the suffering of her son, Haajar became desperate to find water. She ran to the hill of Safa but found nothing. She then ran to the hill of Marwah. But again she was disappointed. Seven times she ran between the two hills. Suddenly, close to where Ishmael lay, water sprang from the earth by the command of Allah. This source of water was to become known as the well of Zamzam.

3. story continued… • Allah commanded the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), on one of his visits to see Haajar and Ishmael, to build the House of God (the Holy Kaaba). With the help of his son Ishmael, Ibrahim built the House of God on the ground where the Kaaba stands to this day. • The Archangel Gabriel brought from Paradise a stone, known as the Black Stone (Al-Hajar Al-Aswad), which was set into one corner of the Kaaba.

4. Ibrahim sets standard • The starting point for the circumambulation of the Holy Kaaba is where Ibrahim, by the command of Allah, placed the Black Stone in the eastern corner of the Kaaba. • In order to complete the upper part of the walls of the Kaaba, Ibrahim stood upon a large stone block which he moved along when each section was completed. When the Kaaba was finished, the large stone block was left outside the Kaaba, close to the eastern wall of the sanctuary. It became known as the Maqam Ibrahim (the station of Ibrahim). • As constructed by Ibrahim and his son, the Kaaba was a roofless, rectangular building, with two doors at ground level for access and with a semi-circular back wall. • Each year, Ibrahim returned to Makkah to perform the Hajj.

5. Ishmael continues tradition • When Ishmael grew up, he married the daughter of the chief of the Banu Jurhum, a tribe which had settled in the Makkah valley. • When Ibrahim died, Ishmael continued to perform Hajj each year and to look after the Kaaba.

6. The Kaaba

7. Preparation • Bathing/purification • Prayer • Enters holy mosque: puts right foot forward "In the name of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Oh Allah, forgive me my sins and open to me the doors of Your mercy. I seek refuge in Allah the Almighty and in His Eminent Face and in His Eternal Dominion from the accursed Satan.“

8. At the Kaaba • approaches the Black Stone, touches it with his right hand and kisses it. • If not possible, he should face the Black Stone and point to it • Walk keeping Kaaba on left • As he/she walks, recite prayers and passages from Quran • 7 laps

9. Other places on Hajj • Grave of Muhammad • Grave of Uthman (great caliph) • Grave of Hamza (Islamic martyr)

10. Route6 day journey