Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hajj in History
Although only Muslims are permitted to participate in hajj, non-Muslims travelling in the
region at the time of the annual pilgrimage can't help but be swept into the same sense of
expectation and excitement as car horns and gun fire crackle the air, signalling the passage
of the faithful. It immediately becomes apparent that this is no ordinary journey - it is a
journey of extreme significance, anticipated from childhood, a source of inspiration in
adulthood and a comfort in old age.
This is the story of hajj - the ultimate traveller's tale.
Books: Firsthand Accounts of Hajj
One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage
, Michael Wolfe, 1999
The Hajj
, FE Peters, 1995
In the Beginning
Unlike most travellers' tales that are ad hoc by nature, hajj is a highly ritualised journey
governed by tradition. Many aspects of the pilgrimage observable today have easily dis-
cernible roots in the history of hajj. That history can be traced to the story of Ibrahim
(Abraham of the Old Testament), considered today as the founding father of the hajj tradi-
tion. The story goes like this.
The Search for Water
During his lifetime, Ibrahim's faith was tested many times. One trial involved taking his
wife, Hajjar, and infant son, Ismail (Ishmael), to Arabia. Obeying Allah's command to
leave them in Allah's hands, Ibrahim left Hajjar and Ismail in a dry valley with little food.
Soon supplies ran out, and Hajjar began roaming the valley in a frantic search for susten-
ance. Eventually, failing to find anything, she fell to the ground in despair.
Pilgrims today commemorate that search for water by performing the
sa'ee
, walking
seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah in Mecca.
