The Hajj is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and the largest gathering of Muslim people in the world every year.

It is one of the five pillars of Islam, and a religious duty which must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah. The pilgrimage occurs from the th to !"th #hu al-Hijjah, the !"th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state in which pilgrims wear two white sheets of unstitched cloth and abstain from certain things. $ach person wal%s counter-cloc%wise seven times around the &a'aba, the cube-shaped building which acts as the Muslim direction of prayer, runs bac% and forth between the hills of Al-(afa and AlMarwah, drin%s from the )am*am +ell, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, and throws stones in a ritual (toning of the #evil. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three day global festival of $id al-Adha. According to tradition, elements of the Hajj trace bac% to the time of Ibrahim ,Alaih-i-ssalam-, around "... /0$. Abraham ,Alaih-issalam- was ordered by 1od to leave hajra,Alaih-i-ssalam- and Ishmael ,Alaih-i-ssalam- alone in the desert. 2oo%ing for shelter, food and water, hajra,Alaih-i-ssalam- ran bac% and forth between the hills of (afa and Marwa seven times with her son. In desperation, she laid the baby on the sand and begged for 1od's assistance. The baby cried and hit the ground with his heel , and the )am*am +ell miraculously sprang forth. ---------------------------------The Ihram is meant to show e3uality of all pilgrims, in front of 1od4 there is no difference between a prince and a pauper.5n the

first day of the Hajj, if they are not already wearing it upon their arrival, pilgrims put on ihram clothing and then leave Mecca for the nearby town of Mina where they spend the rest of the day. The (audi government has put up thousands of large white tents at Mina to provide accommodations for all the pilgrims. -------------------------------The pilgrims perform their first Tawaf, which involves all of the pilgrims visiting the &aaba and wal%ing seven times countercloc%wise around the &aaba. They may also %iss the /lac% (tone ,Al Hajar Al Aswad- on each circuit. In each complete circuit a pilgrim says 6Here I am at Thy service 5 2ord, here I am. Here I am at Thy service and Thou hast no partners. Thine alone is All 7raise and All /ounty, and Thine alone is The (overeignty. Thou hast no partners.6 ,2abbai% Allahumma 2abbai%. 2abbai%, 2a (haree% 2a%a, 2abbai%. Innal Hamdah, +an 8ematah, 2a%a wal Mul%, 2a (haree% 2a%a- with 9 circuits constituting a complete tawaf. The place where pilgrims wal% is %nown as 6Mutaaf6. -------------------------------After Tawaf on the same day, the pilgrims perform sa:i, running or wal%ing seven times between the hills of (afa and Marwah. As part of this ritual the pilgrims also drin% water from the )am*am +ell, which is made available in coolers throughout the Mos3ue. After the visit to the mos3ue on this day of the Hajj, the pilgrims then return to their tents.The ne;t morning, on the eighth of #hu al-Hijjah, the pilgrims proceed to Mina where they spend the night in prayer. ----------------------------A pilgrim's Hajj is considered invalid if they do not spend the afternoon on Arafat. As soon as the sun sets, the pilgrims leave Arafat for Mu*dalifah, an area between Arafat and Mina. 7ilgrims

spend the night sleeping on the ground with open s%y, and in the morning they gather pebbles for the ne;t day's ritual of the stoning of the #evil ,(haitan- after returning to Mina.At Mina the pilgrims perform <amy al-=amarat, throwing stones to signify their defiance of the #evil. This symboli*es the trials e;perienced by Abraham while he was going to sacrifice his son as demanded by 1od. The #evil challenged him three times, and three times Abraham refused. $ach pillar mar%s the location of one of these refusals. 5n the first occasion when <amy al-=amarat is performed, pilgrims stone the largest pillar %nown as =amrat'al'A3abah. 7ilgrims climb ramps to the multi-levelled =amaraat /ridge, from which they can throw their pebbles at the jamarat. 5n the second occasion, the other pillars are stoned. The stoning consists of throwing seven pebbles.> ? /ecause of the crowds, in "..@ the pillars were replaced by long walls, with catch basins below to collect the pebbles.