Hajj

Hajj is the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, located in Saudi Arabia. For Muslims who are physically and financially able, and who can provide for their families while they are away, it is a religious duty required once in a lifetime. In Islamic terms, Hajj is a journey to the Kaaba—called the "House of Allah"—in Mecca. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside the declaration of faith (Shahadah), daily prayer (salah), almsgiving (zakah), and fasting during Ramadan (sawm). The pilgrimage takes place annually, showcasing Muslim brotherhood and solidarity, as well as submission to God. Muslims believe it cleanses the soul of worldly sins, representing both an outward journey and an inward intention of good deeds. The rites last five to six days, from the 8th to the 12th or 13th of Dhu'l-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and about eleven or twelve days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date shifts each year. For example, Dhu'l-Hijja in 2024 ran from 7 June to 6 July; in 2025, from 28 May to 25 June; in 2026, from 18 May to 15 June; and in 2027, it will run from 8 May to 5 June.

The Hajj is linked to the life of the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century AD, but Muslim sources trace the pilgrimage ritual back to the time of Abraham. During Hajj, millions of pilgrims converge on Mecca for the week, performing a series of pre-Islamic rituals reformed by Muhammad. Each pilgrim wears a single piece of unstitched white cloth (Ihram), walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba (a stone-covered building that Muslims face during prayer), kisses the Black Stone mounted on the Kaaba's corner, walks briskly seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, drinks from the Zamzam Well, stands in vigil on the plains of Mount Arafat, spends a night in the plain of Muzdalifah, and performs a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing stones at three pillars. After sacrificing cattle (which can be done via a voucher), male pilgrims shave or trim their heads, and female pilgrims trim the ends of their hair. This is followed by the four-day global festival of Eid al-Adha. Muslims may also perform an Umrah, or "lesser pilgrimage," to Mecca at other times of the year, but this does not replace the Hajj; those who are able must still perform the Hajj later in life.

Official statistics from 2000 to 2019 show an average of 2,269,145 attendees per year, with 1,564,710 from outside Saudi Arabia and 671,983 domestic pilgrims. The highest number was in 2012, with 3,161,573 participants. In June 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saudi government did not cancel the Hajj but allowed only "very limited numbers" of pilgrims who were residents of Saudi Arabia. Similar restrictions applied in 2021, though women were permitted to attend without a male guardian (mahram) if they went in a trustworthy group.

**Etymology** The Arabic word "ḥajj" is similar to the Hebrew "ḥag," meaning "festival," from the Semitic root ح-ج-ج. It originally referred to the three pilgrimage festivals Israelites made to the Temple in Jerusalem each year. In Islam, "ḥajj" means traveling to Mecca to perform the associated rituals.

**History** The current pattern of Hajj was established by Muhammad, but the Quran says elements of it go back to Abraham. According to Islamic tradition, God ordered Abraham to leave his wife Hajar and son Ishmael alone in the desert of ancient Mecca. Searching for water, Hajar ran seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah but found none. Returning to Ishmael, she saw the baby scratching the ground with his leg, and a water fountain sprang from under his foot. Later, Abraham was commanded to build the Kaaba (with Ishmael's help) and to invite people to pilgrimage there. The Quran references these events in verses 2:124–127 and 22:27–30. According to the tafsir of Zamakhshari (d. 1144 CE), the archangel Gabriel brought the Black Stone from Heaven to be attached to the Kaaba when Abraham built it. In pre-Islamic Arabia, known as the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyya), the Kaaba was surrounded by pagan idols. In AD 630, Muhammad led his followers from Medina to Mecca, cleansed the Kaaba by destroying the idols, and consecrated it to God. In AD 632 (9 Zil Hajj 10 AH, a Friday), Muhammad performed his first and only pilgrimage with many followers, instructing them on the rites. From then, Hajj became one of the Five Pillars. During medieval times, pilgrims gathered in big cities like Syria, Egypt, and Iraq to travel to Mecca in groups and caravans of tens of thousands, often under state patronage. Hajj caravans, especially under the Mamluk Sultanate and later the Ottoman Empire, were escorted by a military force with physicians.