Hajj: 15 questions about the important event in the life of a Muslim
Every year millions of pilgrims flock to Mecca and Medina, to touch the Holy sites of Islam and to do his duty as a Muslim. Tell what is happening these days in the center of the Islamic world.
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Hajj is not a tourist trip, and test. Checking passports at the border can take several hours, no one will give the pilgrim a personal Shuttle service, and hotel room he can be with several unfamiliar people. The Kaaba accumulates a great many people, the crowd there is so dense that not even suffering from claustrophobia, people begin to experience panic. Even more crowding occurs during the first breaking of the Shaitan stones. During this ritual, sometimes people die. But the pilgrims do not stop it, they are ready to come to Mecca again and again to feel their closeness to God. And even death during the Hajj is considered blessed, because the dead on the way to Allah go to Heaven.
What is the Hajj?
Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia where al-Masjid al-Haram is the main Shrine of Islam, the Holy ka’ba.
To perform the Hajj once in a lifetime every Muslim who has the strength and means. And the money for the trip must be earned solely by honest means.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam requirements, obligatory for execution. The other four are the shahada (the utterance of the formula “No God but God, and Muhammad is His prophet”), Salat (daily five prayers), Ruza (fasting during the month Ramadan) and zakat (tax on property).
10фотографий10фотографий10фотографийкогда the time of Hajj?
The Hajj begins in the month of Dhul-Hijjah — 2 months after the end of Ramadan. Because the Muslim lunar calendar is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian, the time of the Hajj changes every year. The rites of Hajj lasts for three days — 8-10 DHU-hegy. The most important of them — the second Day of standing at Arafat. In 2018 the “Day of arafah” falls on August 20.
What is the Kaaba?
Muslims believe that the Kaaba, the first temple on earth. In different legends says that it was built by Adam, expelled from Paradise, or his son, SIS, or even angels. But during the flood, the legend, the temple was destroyed. Centuries later, God showed the prophet Ibrahim (biblical Abraham) forgotten by the time the place was built, and he along with his son Ismail built on the Foundation of the new temple, which is now pilgrims from all over the world. And it is also drawn faces of all Muslims performing the namaz.
In the Qur’an narrated that when the Almighty ordered Ibrahim to proclaim to people the Hajj [pilgrimage], he exclaimed: “Lord! How do I convey this message to the people, because my voice will not reach them?!” And received the answer: “You call me, and We will carry your message to them].” Then Ibrahim went up the hill and cried out, “O people! Your God has chosen [Reserved] House, so go the same to Hajj with him!”
What is the black stone?
To the left of the door of the Kaaba is the black stone (Hajarul-Aswad).
Hence, all pilgrims start to perform the Tawaf is a compulsory ritual bypass of the Kaaba.
According to the hadith (the sayings of prophet Muhammad) the stone was sent down from Heaven. The angel Jibril (Gabriel) brought it to the prophet Ibrahim in the construction of the Kaaba. Legend has it that the first stone was whiter than milk but the sins of the people made it black.
What is Zam Zam?
Sacred source Zam-Zam in Mecca — one of the wonders of Islam.
Each pilgrim must drink from it.
Zam Zam appeared in the desert when Hajar (Hagar) with her son Ishmael, abandoned by Allah’s command by the prophet Ibrahim, was looking for a spring to water the baby. In search of water she ran from mount Safa to mount Marwa. And today is one of the obligatory rites of the Hajj run between the hills.
According to legend, in the desert to Hagar was the angel Jibril, he touched the ground with a wingtip, and from the rocks and water flowed.
Geologists are unable to assess the stocks of Zam-Zama: the source does not have underground reservoirs. The water drained into him on the slopes of the rocks. It is very pure and considered curative.