subject: The Sacred Value of Islamic Pilgrimage [print this page] The Hajj is defined as the annual Islamic Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. It is also known as the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their life time by every Muslim who is capable to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their tribute to God.
The famous Islamic Pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu aj-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, which is eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar used in western world.
The Hajj pilgrimage is widely associated with the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but most of the Muslims believe that the ritual to Mecca is related to the time of Abraham. Pilgrims from all across the world join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously gather on Mecca for the week of Hajj, and perform a serious of rituals. Each Muslim walks anti-clockwise seven times about the kaaba, the cube shaped building which acts as the Muslim direction of prayer, kisses the black stone in the corner of the Kaaba, runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drinks from the Zamzam well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, and throws stones in a ritual known as Stoning of the Devil. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice and celebrate the four day global festival of Eid al-Adha.
Pilgrims can also visit Mecca to perform rituals any time during the year. This is known as Umrah. Even if they perform Umrah, they are still obligated to perform the Hajj at some other time in their lives.
In the last six years, BHUS has established itself as a market leader in offering people a Hajj package or an Umrah package from the UK. We offer Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia for these rites of passage at prices ranging from budget to prestige levels.
