Hajj

“ The Hajj must be made by every free Muslim, who is sound in body, and of full age, when he has sufficient means to pay his expenses, after duly providing for the support of his household till his return. If a slave, or a child should make the Hajj, the former on attaining freedom, and the latter on coming of age must again go on pilgrimage. If a woman, whose residence is at a distance of more than three days' journey from Mecca, goes on pilgrimage, she must be accompanied by her husband or by a near relative. ”

“ In Mecca yearly two or three hundred thousand Moslims from all parts of the world come together to celebrate the hajj, that curious set of ceremonies of pagan Arabian origin which Mohammed has incorporated into his religion, a durable survival that in Islâm makes an impression as singular as that of jumping processions in Christianity. ”

“ I imagine that the memory of the oldest man does not carry him back to the time when they were last cleaned. The larger of the two is called Birket el-Hajj—“Pool of the Pilgrimage.” The Hajj road to Mecca once passed by way of Suweida, and from this reservoir the pilgrims drank. Mohammed Said Pasha, when chief of the pilgrimage, changed the route, finding the way by the western side of the plain less liable to annoyance by the robber Arabs. Such reservoirs, more or less preserved and protected by guards against other use, stand at intervals all along the great Hajj road to Mecca. ”

“ Narrated Ibn Abbas:
During the last Hajj led by 'Umar, 'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf returned to his family at Mina and met me there. 'AbdurRahman said (to 'Umar) , "O chief of the believers! The season of Hajj is the season when there comes the scum of the people (besides the good amongst them) , so I recommend that you should wait till you go back to Medina, for it is the place of Migration and Sunna (i.e. the Prophet's tradition) , and there you will be able to refer the matter to the religious scholars and the nobles and the people of wise opinions." ”

“ Imám Abu Yúsuf considered that a man who possessed the means should go to Mecca, and held that if he delayed more than a year in making the Hajj he was a sinner. Imám Muhammad, and most others think that a person may postpone the Hajj for some years, but if death should overtake the man before he has made [224] the pilgrimage, he will be accounted a sinner. So practically all agree that delay is dangerous.
Connected with the Hajj there are three actions which are farz, and five which are wájib; all the rest are sunnat or mustahab. ”

“ THE MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMS.
“Proclaim unto the people a solemn pilgrimage; let them come unto thee on foot, and on every lean camel, arriving from every distant road; that they be witnesses of the advantages which accrue from visiting this holy place.”—Cor’án, cap. xxii. vv. 28, 29.
There are two kinds of pilgrimage in Islam, the Hajj and the Ziyáreh. The first is the greater pilgrimage to the shrine of Mecca, and this it is absolutely incumbent upon every Muslim to perform once at least in his life. ”

“ The time at my disposal being limited, I went at once in search of a guide, who should accompany me to Mecca and thence to Arafat, and put me in the way of performing the rites and mysteries of the Hájj. The men who officiate in that capacity are called moghavems. The pick of them had fallen to the lot of the early-comers who had flocked to Jiddah in great numbers; but with my customary luck, I chanced upon a Persian moghavem, whose knowledge of the ceremonies and the holy places of the Pilgrimage was seasoned with the waggish conceits of a singularly original mind. ”

“ Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Taraki, many thousand salutations. Salute also the Hajj al Beshir, and his brother the Hajj Yusuff, if he is arrived; and salute also Hajj Abdallah. The people (caravan) of Touat have not yet come to us. Our salutation to Al Mustafa and his brother Abdal Cadir, and tell the Hajj al Behir, for God's sake not to send us any thing. Of a truth, we sincerely hope to fulfil your commissions, but in this land there is neither buying nor selling. By G—d, neither in Arawan nor in Timbuctoo, have we seen any one who will buy of you for a mithcal, nor for a kirat. ”

“ Now, the 8th of Zú-’l-hijjah is the day of the Repose of the Soul. In Arabic it is called Youm-ul-Tarvih, and it sees the exodus of the pilgrims from Mecca on their way to the Hill of Arafat. The most noteworthy “column” of the Hájj is the sermon which is preached on the mount on the following day. No pilgrim is qualified to call himself Hájí unless he is present on that occasion. The preacher sits on a camel, and the pilgrims gather round him, those who can find no room on the slopes taking up their positions on the plain. ”

“ Stephen's Gate, and struck out on the Jericho Road, our first objective the Hajj Road which leads from Mecca to Damascus.
Having traveled all day with but a short stop for prayers, food and rest, we made camp in a wady, some fifteen miles beyond El Ghor, near Mt. Nebo. We pitched three tents—one for the lady and her slave, one for my slaves, and one for me. ”

“ On the right hand lay extensive palm plantations, and on the left, strewed over the plain, were signs of wells and tanks, built to supply the Hajj with water. We pass two small buildings, one the Kubbat Al-Sabak, or Dome of Precedence, where the Prophet's warrior friends used to display their horsemanship; the second the Makan, or burial-place of Sayyidna Zaki al-Din, one of Mohammed's multitudinous descendants. Then we fall into a plain, resembling that of Kuba, but less fertile. While we are jogging over it, a few words concerning Mount Ohod may not be misplaced. ”

“ A visit to the Masjid al-Nabawi, and the holy spots within it, is technically called "Ziyarat" or Visitation. [FN#3] An essential difference is made between this rite and Hajj or pilgrimage. The latter is obligatory by Koranic order upon every Moslem once in his life: the former is only a meritorious action. "Tawaf," or circumambulation of the House of Allah at Meccah, must never be performed at the Apostle's tomb. This should not be visited in the Ihram or pilgrim dress; men should not kiss it, touch it with the hand, or press the bosom against it, as at the Ka'abah ”

“ Many pronounce this Niyat. If intending to perform pilgrimage, the devotee, standing, before prayer says, I vow this intention of Hajj to Allah the most High. [FN#16] In spite of this interdiction, pilgrims generally, for convenience, knot their shoulder-clothes under the right arm. [FN#17] Hunting, killing, or maiming beasts in Sanctuary land and cutting down trees, are acts equally forbidden to the Muhrim and the Muhill (the Moslem in his normal state) . For a large tree a camel, for a small one a sheep, must be sacrificed. ”

“ The Hájí having assumed the Ihrám must now abstain from worldly affairs, and devote himself entirely to the duties of the Hajj. He is not allowed to hunt, though he may catch fish if he can. "O Believers, kill no game while ye are on pilgrimage." (Súra v. 96) . The Prophet also said: "He who shows the place where game is to be found is equally as bad as the man who kills it." The Hájí must not scratch himself, lest vermin be destroyed, or a hair be uprooted. Should he feel uncomfortable, he must rub himself with the open palm of his hand. ”

“ He then says Labbaik, the Takbír and the Tahlíl.
The noontide, and the afternoon Namáz are said together there: they are thus shortened. [242] This done he should stand upon the mountain, if possible at or near the place the Prophet [230] is said to have occupied. This is called the Wukúf or (standing) , a necessary part of the Hajj. He must also listen to the sermon delivered by the Imám, explaining what still remains of the ritual of the Hajj, i.e., how the Hájís are to stand in Muzdalífah, to throw the stones in Miná, to make the sacrifice, &c. ”

“ Signs of Arab everywhere appeared, but there were no tents. Consequently we were unable to ascertain the extent of the water-supply—an important matter if this is to become the port of El–Wijh. The Sambúks might bring it, but the people on shore would be dependent upon what they can find. The Hajj-road, running some miles inland, is doubtless supplied with it. Even, however, were the necessary wanting, the pilgrim-ships, whilst taking refuge here, could easily transport it from the south. ”

“ The boys and the beggars were inspired with fresh energy, the Aghawat were gruffer and surlier than I had ever seen them, and the young men about town walked and talked with a freer and an easier demeanour than usual. My old friends the Persians-there were about 1200 of them in the Hajj Caravan-attracted my attention. The doorkeepers stopped them with curses as they were about to enter, and all claimed from each the sum of five piastres, whilst other Moslems were allowed to enter the Mosque free. Unhappy men! ”

“ The pilgrims do, indeed, often coalesce in companies among themselves for mutual help, but necessity, circumstance or caprice governs all details, and thus it happens that numbers, sometimes as many as a third of the entire Hajj, yearly perish by their own negligence or by misfortune,—dying, some of thirst, others of fatigue and sickness, others at the hand of robbers on the way. In fact the principal routes are in many places lined for miles together with the bones of camels and men. ”

“ From Damascus he made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina as one of the Mameluke escort of the Hajj caravan (April–June 1503) ; he describes the sacred cities of Islam and the chief pilgrim sites and ceremonies with remarkable accuracy, almost all his details being confirmed by later writers. ”

“ The energy of many women here is amazing.
The Nile is rising fast, and the Bisheer is come (the messenger who precedes the Hajj, and brings letters) . Bisheer is ‘good tidings,’ to coin a word. Many hearts are lightened and many half-broken to-day. I shall go up to the Abassia to meet the Mahmal and see the Hajjees arrive.
Next Friday I must take my boat out of the water, or at least heel her over, to repair the bad places made at Alexandria. It seems I once cured a Reis of the Pasha’s of dysentery at Minieh, and he has not forgotten it, though I had ”

“ Hajj and jihad under the leadership of those in charge of the Muslims, whether they are right or wrong-acting, are continuing obligations until the Last Hour comes. Nothing can annul or controvert them. ”

“ The vulgar pronounce the word �heram,� or �l�ehram.� It is opposed to �ihlal,� �making lawful� or �returning to laical life.� The further from Meccah it is assumed, provided that it be during the three months of Hajj, the greater is the religious merit of the pilgrim; consequently some come from India and Egypt in the dangerous attire. Those coming from the North assume the pilgrim-garb at or off the village of Rabigh. [FN#17] These sheets are not positively necessary; any clean cotton cloth not sewn in any part will serve equally well. ”

“ To the south-east towered tall and misty forms, the Gháts of the Tihámat-Jahaníyyah. Northernmost, and prolonging the Libn, that miniature Shárr, is the regular wall of the Jebel el-Ward; then come the peaks and pinnacles of the Jibál el-Safhah; and lastly, the twin blocks El-Rál, between which passes the Egyptian Hajj when returning from El-Medínah. Faint resemblances of these features sprawl, like huge caterpillars, over the Hydrographic Chart, but all sprawl unnamed. ”

“ It was not his first visit to Mecca; but the purpose in mind gave the journey a new zest; and, as can be imagined, nothing in the least indicative of the prevalent spirit of the Hajj escaped him. Readers following the narrative should keep this explanation before them.
From El Derayah the noble pilgrim had taken the longer route by way of Medina, where he scrupulously performed the observances decreed for the faithful at the Mosque of the Prophet. Thence he descended with the caravan from Damascus. ”

“ What well-fed hound ever went among wolves without being torn to pieces? What fool of a townsman ever risked himself amongst the wild Arabs of the desert without being robbed and beaten? Perhaps Hajji may one day become a wise man, but plentiful is the vexation he must eat first! Of what use is a beard,' said I, taking mine into my hand, 'when an empty sconce is tied to the end of it? about as much as a handle is to a basket without dates. ”

“ He calls to prayer. [See alterations in actual play.]
The crowd begins to pass into the Mosque as the sun rises. Hajji wakes up, rubs his eyes, and has a drink of water from a gourd which he draws out from behind his seat. He begins to beg from the passers-by.
An Old Man (Jawan) preceded by a guide (Nasir) is carried across the scene in a litter. He fixes his gaze on Hajji and is carried off into the Mosque. The guide remains in the portico. Hajji follows the Old Man on his knees to the steps of the Mosque, begging. ”

“ To Meccah thou hast turned in prayer with aching heart and eyes that burn:
Ah, Hajji, whither wilt thou turn when thou art there, when thou art there?
God be thy guide from camp to camp: God be thy shade from well to well;
God grant beneath the desert stars thou hear the Prophet's camel bell.
And God shall make thy body pure, and give thee knowledge to endure
This ghost-life's piercing phantom-pain, and bring thee out to Life again.
And God shall make thy soul a Glass where eighteen thousand Æons pass,
And thou shalt see the gleaming Worlds as men see dew upon the grass. ”

“ Our Hajji, the only one of the Mohammedans who had been in Mecca—had indeed been twice there—was the only rascal in the caravan. He had instigated the others. In my experience Mecca pilgrims are always scoundrels. The Hajji declared that he preferred robbers and tramps on the road to Guffaru and the other Ladakis. The three men vanished from sight as we marched north-westwards up the valley of the Men-chu.
In camp No. 177, on June 15, I held a grand reception, for some chiefs from the direction of Bongba came to visit me, and our old friend, the Gova of Tradum, arrived. ”