Completion Of The Pilgrimage To Mecca

By Author: david lee
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In a Muslim’s life one of the greatest achievements is to complete the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is known to be one of the five pillars of Islam and it is the best thing for all the believing Muslims.

This is a pilgrimage which must be observed and completed by all Muslims once in their lifetime. But if the person is having any disability or physical handicap, then the religion understands enough to forgive.

This hajj and Umrah must be observed during the month of Dhu al-hijjah, the last month of the Islamic year. The Muslim calendar is lunar and it is not solar. This pilgrimage falls on a progressing date on the western calendar. This is one of the ways where the Muslim cannot adopt the western standard.

There is some special terminology used for pilgrimage. A Muslim who completes his duty of going on Hajj and Umrah, both economically and physically are called “mustati”. The state of being “mustati” is known as “istitaah”. During this religious period the person is known to be in a spiritual condition and it is known as “ihram”.

The ...
... pilgrimage is not a voluntary period and it is not necessary to carry it out if the life’s circumstances interfere and the believer in question is not in “istitaah”.

This pilgrimage is an expression of solidarity and unity with God in Islam and it should not be considered as a light matter. The person in question going for umrah and hajj must not consider the journey as a hardship. The person going on this pilgrimage is also suggested to never go to the journey by debt, or other forms of loans. The sacred rituals that are carried out in the city of Makkah are very ancient and hold a lot of importance.

This ritual dates from the time of Prophet Mohammad and it goes back four thousand years ago. When Prophet Mohammad arrived in Kaaba, he got rid of all the idols and formed the five pillars of Islam.

When the pilgrims arrive at Mecca for Umrah and Hajj, they visit the Kaaba. The pilgrim walks around the structure seven times and then goes ahead with all the other rituals, like drinking water from the zamzam well, holding a vigil on the plains of Arafat, and eventually shaving their head off.

Once all these rituals are completed, the pilgrimage is over and the pilgrim has shown his/her love to Allah.