IA Research

The Hajj
Defintion:

• Literally means "to continuously strive to reach one's goal"
• Fifth Pillar of Islam, pilgrimage
• Once in a lifetime obligation
• Not an obligation to children
• 
  

Ritual Process:

• The pilgrimage takes place each year between the eighth and the 13th days of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Muslim lunar calendar. Its first rite is the donning of the ihram.
• Ihram is a white two piece seamless cloth that covers the body for men, men's heads must be uncovered. Women wear a dress and head covering without a veil. 
• The Ihram symbolizes purity, equality before God, and renunciation of evil, when adorned the pilgrim may not fight or act violently, nor shave or cut their nails. 
• "The donning of the ihram is accompanied by the primary invocation of the hajj, the talbiyah: Here I am, O God, at Thy Command! Here I am at Thy Command! Thou art without associate; Here I am at Thy Command! Thine are praise and grace and dominion! Thou art without associate."
• First day: Go from Mecca to Mina 
• "During the second day, the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah, pilgrims leave Mina for the plain of ‘Arafat for the wuquf, “the standing,” the central rite of the hajj. As they congregate there, the pilgrims’ stance and gathering reminds them of the Day of Judgment. Some of them gather at the Mount of Mercy, where the Prophet delivered his unforgettable Farewell Sermon, enunciating far-reaching religious, economic, social and political reforms. These are emotionally charged hours, which the pilgrims spend in worship and supplication. Many shed tears as they ask God to forgive them. On this sacred spot, they reach the culmination of their religious lives as they feel the presence and closeness of a merciful God."
• "Just after sunset, the mass of pilgrims proceeds to Muzdalifah, an open plain about halfway between ‘Arafat and Mina. There they first pray and then collect a fixed number of chickpea-sized pebbles to use on the following days. Before daybreak on the third day, pilgrims move en masse from Muzdalifah to Mina. There they cast at white pillars the pebbles they have previously collected. According to some traditions, this practice is associated with the Prophet Abraham. As pilgrims throw seven pebbles at each of these pillars, they remember the story of Satan’s attempt to persuade Abraham to disregard God’s command to sacrifice his son."
• "Still sojourning in Mina, pilgrims visit Makkah to perform another essential rite of the hajj: the tawaf, the seven-fold circling of the Ka’bah, with a prayer recited during each circuit. Their circumambulation of the Ka’bah, the symbol of God’s oneness, implies that all human activity must have God at its center. It also symbolizes the unity of God and man."
• Many kiss the black stone, but it bears no other significance than that Muhammad kissed it too.

Meaning/Purpose:

• "Pilgrims symbolically relive the experience of exile and atonement undergone by Adam and Eve after they were expelled from Heaven, wandered the earth, met again and sought forgiveness in the valley of Mecca. They also retrace the frantic footsteps of the wife of Abraham, Hagar, as she ran between the hills of Safa and Marwa searching for water for her thirsty baby (which according to Muslim tradition, God answered with the well of Zam Zam). Lastly, the pilgrims also commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son for the sake of God. God later substituted a ram in place of his son."
•  Pilgrims intend on achieving a deep inner transformation, and finding inner peace that manifests outwardly toward other through empathy, mercy, justice, etc.

http://www.whyislam.org/submission/five-pillars-of-islam-2/pilgrimage/pilgrimage/

http://www.whyislam.org/submission/five-pillars-of-islam-2/pilgrimage/hajj-the-journey-of-a-lifetime/