The Pilgrimmage to Mecca

HajjDecember 6 - December 9, 2008

The person on the Hajj may not:

Engage in marital relationsShave or cut their nails

Use cologne or scented oilsKill or hunt anything

Fight or argueWomen must not cover their faces, even if they would

do so in their home countryMen may not wear clothes with stitching

Bathing is allowed but scented soaps are frowned upon

Thousands of buses, trucks and cars were mobilised to transport the pilgrims.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Hajj1.gif

Day 2 - On Saturday they prayed at Mount Arafat - where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon

Muslims flocked to the Mount of Mercy near Mecca on Saturday, the second day of the Hajj.

A Saudi worker sacrifices sheep for pilgrims in the valley of Mina outside Mecca.

They then moved to Muzdalifah, where

they collected pebbles to throw at

a pillar - symbolically

stoning the devil. They gather 49 or

70 stones to use the next day.

Day 3 - Stoning one of the three pillars

About 345 people were killed in a stampede on the way to stone the pillars

The History of the Hajj

Four thousand years ago the valley of Mecca was a dry and uninhabited place.

Muslims believe the Prophet Abraham was instructed to bring his wife, Hagar and their child Is'mail to Arabia from Palestine to protect them from the jealousy of Abraham’s first wife

Sarah.

Allah told the Prophet Ibrahim to leave them on their own, and he did so, with some supplies of food and water. However the supplies quickly ran out and within a few days Hagar and

Ishmael were suffering from hunger and dehydration.

In her desperation Hagar ran up and down two hills called Safa and Marwa trying to see if she could spot any help in the distance. Finally she collapsed beside Ishmael and prayed to Allah

for deliverance.

Ishmael struck his foot on the ground and this caused a spring of water to gush forth from the earth. Hagar and Ishmael were saved. Now they had a secure water supply they were able to

trade water with passing nomads for food and supplies.

After a while the Prophet Abraham returned from Palestine to check on his family and was amazed to see them running a profitable well.

The Prophet Abraham was told by Allah to build a shrine dedicated to him. Abraham and Ishmael constructed a small stone structure – the Kaaba or Cube - which was to be the

gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in Allah.

2009 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATESAashura: January 7, 2009Ramadan: August 21 - September 19, 2009Eid ul-Fitr: September 20, 2009Hajj: November 25 - November 28, 2009Eid ul-Adha: November 27, 2009Islamic New Year: December 18, 2009 (1431 A.H.)

2010 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATESAashura: December 27, 2009Ramadan: August 11 - September 8, 2010Eid ul-Fitr: September 9, 2010Hajj: November 14 - November 17, 2010Eid ul-Adha: November 16, 2010Islamic New Year: December 7, 2010 (1432 A.H.)

2011 CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT ISLAMIC DATESAashura: December 16, 2010Ramadan: August 1 - August 29, 2011Eid ul-Fitr: August 30, 2011Hajj: November 4 - November 7, 2011Eid ul-Adha: November 6, 2011Islamic New Year: November 26, 2011 (1433 A.H.)