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Hajj though the Centuries
When Muslims around the world gather in Makkah for the Hajj, the wearing of
Ihram (state of ritual purification for the Muslim pilgrim) is a means to join
all the Hajjis (pilgrims) together- everyone wears the same, simple dress, and
in this way everyone is unified in purpose.
So, too, the Hajj rituals bind the Hajjis (pilgrims) together, and not just
within the confines of that particular Hajj, but with all pilgrimages performed
throughout the ages; the Hajj then becomes a connection between the Hajji
(pilgrim) and all those who have stood before him in the same place, wearing a
similar dress and performing the same rituals.
One can look at the experiences of Hajjis (pilgrims) throughout the centuries,
and because of this continuity feel a shared experience with people from
centuries past. Following are excerpts from Hajj journals written by a range of
travelers, excerpted from Michael Wolfe’s One Thousand Roads to Mecca. Notice
the similarities and differences.
Naser-e-Khosraw, Persia, 1050:
For people who have come from faraway places to perform the Minor Pilgrimage,
there are milestones and Masjids set up half a parasang away from Mecca, where
they bind their Ihram (state of ritual purification for the Muslim pilgrim). To
bind the Ihram means to take off all sewn garments and wrap a seamless garment
about the waist and another about the body. Then in loud voice you say: “Labayk
Allahumma, Labayk,”(Here I am O Allaah, (in response to Your call), here I am.):
and approach Mecca…
When the circumambulation (Tawaf) is finished, you go to the well of Zam Zam,
drink some water or rub some on the face, and leave the Haram Masjid by the
Safa gate. Just outside the gate are the steps up to mount Safa, and here you
face the Ka’ba and say the prescribed prayer, which is well-known. When the
prayer has been said, you come down from Safa and go from south to north
through the bazaar to Marwa… [Note that now all this area is inside the Haram
Masjid]
Ibn Battuta, Morocco, 1326:
The day after the caravan leaves this town [Ula, a few days journey from
Madinah], the pilgrims camp in the valley of Itas. The heat here is killing and
the fatal samoom is common. The last time it blew in this season, only a few
pilgrims escaped with their lives… on the third day out we caught the sight of
the sanctified city of Madina, the City of the Prophet…
When it came time to leave Madina and head for Mecca, we halted near the Dhul
al-Hulayfa Masjid, where the Prophet (Peace be upon him) himself put in his
pilgrim clothes for the Farewell Hajj. The Masjid is five miles from Madina,
near the streams of Aqiq. It marks the limit of Madina’s sacred territory. Here
I put away my tailored clothes, bathed, put on my consecrated lengths of
unstitched cotton, and performed the customary prayers. I entered the life of a
pilgrim at this stage, stating my intention to perform the Hajj as a rite
separate from the Umrah. I felt such enthusiasm then that I took up the chant
of the caravan and went on with it through every hill and valley until we
reached the Pass of Ali, where we stopped for the night.
Ali Bey al-Abbasi, Spain, 1807:
The moment I entered [Makkah], I performed a general ablution, after which I was
conducted in procession towards the temple, with all people, by a person
appointed for that purpose, who as he walked along recited different prayers in
a loud voice, which we repeated altogether word for word in the same tone…
… The crowd that surrounded me; the portico of columns half-hidden from view,
the immense size of the temple; the Ka’ba, or House of God, covered with the
black cloth from top to bottom and surrounded with a circle of lamps and
lanterns; the hour, the silence of the night; and this man speaking in a solemn
tone, as if he had been inspired; all served to form an imposing picture, which
will never be effaced from my memory.
Arthur J B Wavell, Anglo-Africa, 1908:
The silence of the whole is strange and impressive. There is no longer shouting,
singing or firing of shots. Most of the pilgrims are too awed by their
surroundings to divert themselves thus, and the camels steal forward over the
soft sound without a sound. It is difficult for an outsider to realize the true
Muslim’s feelings as he approaches Mecca. To him it is a place hardly belonging
to this world overshadowed by the almost tangible presence of the deity. Five
times daily throughout his life has he turned his face toward this city whose
mysteries he is now about to view with his own eyes…
In our half- clad condition we found the early morning air very chilly and were
glad when the sun rose. As it got light, Ibrahim, who had made the pilgrimage
before, pointed out to me the Jabal Nur (Mountain of Light), a high conical
peak surmounted by a sort of beacon… This is one of the famous hills
overlooking the city. About eight o-clock we passed a few stone houses some
distance to the left, which we were told belonged to Mecca, and accordingly we
read the prayer appropriate to the first sight of its buildings. Each of us was
provided with a book containing all these prayers in their proper order, to be
recited on different occasions, such as on assuming the Ihram (state of ritual
purification for the Muslim pilgrim), the first view of the city, passing the
gate, catching sight of the Ka’ba, and so on…
Winifred Stegar, Australia, 1927:
The map tells me that Mecca lies forty odd miles from Jidda; I don’t know how
that can be, for memory tell me it took us a good ten days to reach it. The
camels were hooshed down early one afternoon. We were told that we were close
to the Holy City, but that we could not go in till morning. The news ran
through our hosts like a wild breeze, then an awesome silence fell as each
pilgrim paused to realize the great fact. They seemed to all but hold their
breath. The silence was broken then by a concerted shout of “Labayk”… (Here I
am) it is an all-encompassing word of praise and gratitude and submission to
the divine will.
Lady Evelyn Cobbold, Great Britain, 1933:
Three hours after sunrise I am once more in the Haram, accompanied by Mustafa,
but already when leaving the cloisters the marble pathway through the
quadrangle is so hot to my stockinged feet, and I gladly keep myself veiled as
a protection against the sun. There is a great crowd round the Ka’ba, and I
hear that Ibn Sa’ud, clad in his Ihram (state of ritual purification for the
Muslim pilgrim), is inside, washing the floor with water from Zam Zam,
afterwards sprinkling it with attar (perfume) of roses… I try to mount the
silver steps of the pulpit, to get a view of this unique ceremony performed by
the warrior King of Arabia, but the soles of my feet are burnt in the attempt,
so I reluctantly give it up and visit the famous well, Zam Zam, over which is
built a Moorish kiosk whose twilight interior is half underground.
Malcom X, United States, 1964:
Carrying my scandals, I followed the mutawwaf ("the one who guides" the pilgrims
on the "Tawaf"). Then I saw the Ka’ba, a huge black stone house in the middle of
the Great Masjid. It was being circumambulated by thousands upon thousands of
praying pilgrims, both sexes, and every size, shape, color and race in the
world. I knew the prayer to be uttered when the pilgrim’s eyes first perceive
the Ka’ba. Translated it is “O God, You are peace, and peace derives from You.
So greet us, O Lord, with peace…” My feeling there in the House of God was
numbness.
[Islam] is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem… I
have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors
together, irrespective of their color.
You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I
have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought
patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions.
Saida Miller Khalifa, Great Britain, 1970:
On my first Friday in Mecca, I went down [to the Masjid] with the harem… Some of
us made for a side door so as to avoid the crush at the main entrance, where
Hajjis (pilgrims) pausing to remove their sandals mingled with others making
their way out… Holding on to each other, we struggled through the milling
throng. At the same time, hundreds of Hajjis (pilgrims) were trying to get out
because the prayers were not due to begin for a while, adding to the melee. The
crush was unlike any other I had ever seen or experienced…
We had become a small sea of women of various types and colors. Now and then, a
few worshippers threaded their way through our ranks towards the stairs leading
to the upper balconies. A handful of intrepid men who tried to find space among
the Hajjas (Female pilgrims) was repelled with disapproving cries… Despite the
feminine objections, however, certain bold men battled their way to find places
in the midst of the feminine throng, and there they stayed… Still the faithful
came pouring into the Haram, where there is room for everyone, even when it
seems not an extra inch of space remains unoccupied.
Excerpts from One thousand roads to Mecca by Michael Wolfe, Grove Press, New
York, 1997.
Also read "How I came to love the veil" and "Muhammad A Role for Humanity"
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