Hajj

Hajj is from the Arabic root h-j-j (Arabic: حج), meaning to set out, to make a journey with purpose, or to make pilgrimage[1]. In Islamic vocabulary the term denotes the major pilgrimage to Mecca, distinguished from umrah (the lesser pilgrimage, which can be performed at any time of year)[2].

hajj is both a personal act of devotion and a global ritual of Muslim unity.

Hajj is the fifth of the Five Pillars[2]. It is required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who is physically and financially able[3]. The pilgrimage takes place during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah on the Islamic calendar and involves a sequence of rituals: entering the state of ihram (consecration, marked by simple white garments and specific restrictions), circumambulating the Kaaba (tawaf) seven times, walking between the hills of Safa and Marwa (saʿy) seven times, standing at the plain of Arafat for prayer and reflection, casting stones at pillars symbolizing the rejection of evil at Mina, and offering an animal sacrifice (or its modern equivalent) in commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son[4].

Several million pilgrims perform hajj each year, making it one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world[2]. The Saudi government coordinates extensive logistics. Many Muslims undertake savings and preparation over years to make the journey.

Hajj is theologically rich. The pilgrim is stripped of class and national markers in the ihram, gathered with the global ummah on the plain of Arafat in a foretaste of the Day of Judgment, and connected to the Abrahamic story that Islam shares with Judaism and Christianity[5]. Completion of hajj earns the honorific Hajji (male) or Hajja (female) in many Muslim communities.

Hajj has been extensively studied as a religious phenomenon, an economic and logistical institution, and a marker of Muslim global identity[5]. Comparative pilgrimage studies place it alongside Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Rome, Hindu pilgrimage to the seven sacred cities and the Ganges, Buddhist pilgrimage to the four classical sites, and other traditions, while attending to its distinctive Islamic theology.

• No God but Godby Reza Aslan
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• The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Placesby F. E. Peters
  book