Abraham (peace be upon him) set off with his wife Hajar and newborn son on a long journey. They arrived at Makkah. Hajar looked around her. She could see nothing but a barren wasteland in all directions. There was no life. The silence was unbearable.
During this ritual, Muslims throw pebbles at the three pillars called ‘jamarat’ in Mina, just east of Makkah. During the night spent in Muzdalifah, pilgrims gather 70 stones to pelt the three pillars representing Satan on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, i.e. the day of Hajj.
Sure enough, a man by the name of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah was born in the very city that Prophet Ibrahim had made this supplication centuries earlier. For twenty-three years, Prophet Muhammad spread the message of Tawhid [true monotheism] – the same message that Prophet Ibrahim and all the other Prophets came with – and established the law of Allah upon the land.
Pilgrimage is viewed as a particularly meritorious activity. Pilgrimage serves as a penance – the ultimate forgiveness for sins, devotion, and intense spirituality. The pilgrimage to Makkah, the most sacred city in Islam, is required of all physically and financially able Muslims once in their life. The pilgrimage rite begins a few months after Ramadan, on the 8th day of the last month of the Islamic year of Dhul-Hijjah, and ends on the 13th day. Makkah is the center towards which the Muslims converge once a year, meet and refresh in themselves the faith that all Muslims are equal and deserve the love and sympathy of others, irrespective of their race or ethnic origin.
But what I am positive about is that these three million attendees can serve as a role model for peace, as a demonstration for brotherhood and as a proof that human beings can humble themselves and put their differences aside. At this critical stage in the life of our Umma, we ask Allah to make us – through the Hajj season – a role model for peace, brotherhood, and love between humans.
From the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, we learn that “The best day in the sight of God is Friday, the day of congregation”. Congregational prayers (obligatory for men) are one of the most strongly emphasized duties in Islam. It is a time when Muslims come together to worship One God, and find strength and comfort by standing shoulder to shoulder and reaffirming their faith and devotion to Him.