Short History of Hajj

Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'.
Islamically however it refers to the annual
pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with
the intention of performing certain religious
rites in accordance with the method
prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad .
Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allah
in the time of the Prophet lbrahim [Abraham]
and he was the one who was entrusted by
Allah to build the Kaba - the House of Allah -
along with his son Ismail [Ishmael] at
Makkah. Allah described the Kaba and its
building as follows:
"And remember when We showed
Ibrahim the site of the [Sacred] House
[saying]: Associate not anything [in
worship with Me and purify My House
for those who circumambulate it [i.e.
perform tawaaf] and those who stand up
for prayer and those who bow down and
make prostration [in prayer etc.]."
[Surah Al-Hajj 22:26 ]
After building the Kaba, Prophet Ibrahim
would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every
year, and after his death, this practice was
continued by his son. However, gradually with
the passage of time, both the form and the
goal of the Hajj rites were changed. As
idolatry spread throughout Arabia, the Kaba
lost its purity and idols were placed inside it.
Its walls became covered with poems and
paintings, including one of Jesus and his
mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols
came to be placed around the Kaba.
During the Hajj period itself, the atmosphere
around the sacred precincts of the Kaba was
like a circus. Men and women would go round
the Kaba naked, arguing that they should
present themselves before Allah in the same
condition they were born. Their prayer became
devoid of all sincere remembrance of Allah
and was instead reduced to a series of hand
clapping, whistling and the blowing of horns.
Even the talbiah [ 1 ] was distorted by them
with the following additions: 'No one is Your
partner except one who is permitted by you.
You are his Master and the Master of what he
possesses'.
Sacrifices were also made in the name of God.
However, the blood of the sacrificed animals
was poured onto the walls of the Kaba and
the flesh was hung from pillars around the
Kaba, in the belief that Allah demanded the
flesh and blood of these animals.
Singing, drinking, adultery and other acts of
immorality was rife amongst the pilgrims and
the poetry competitions, which were held, were
a major part of the whole Hajj event. In these
competitions, poets would praise the bravery
and splendor of their own tribesmen and tell
exaggerated tales of the cowardice and
miserliness of other tribes. Competitions in
generosity were also staged where the chief of
each tribe would set up huge cauldrons and
feed the pilgrims, only so that they could
become well-known for their extreme
generosity.
Thus the people had totally abandoned the
teachings of their forefather and leader
Prophet Ibrahim. The House that he had made
pure for the worship of Allah alone, had been
totally desecrated by the pagans and the rites
which he had established were completely
distorted by them. This sad state of affairs
continued for nearly two and a half thousand
years. But then after this long period, the time
came for the supplication of Prophet Ibrahim
to be answered:
"Our Lord! Send amongst them a
Messenger of their own, who shall recite
unto them your aayaat (verses) and
instruct them in the book and the
Wisdom and sanctify them. Verily you
are the 'Azeezul-Hakeem [the All-
Mighty, the All-Wise]."
[Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129 ]
Sure enough, a man by the name of
Muhammad ibn 'Abdullaah 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 Tawheed [true monotheism] - the
same message that Prophet Ibrahim and all
the other Prophets came with - and
established the law of Allah upon the land. He
expended every effort into making the word of
Allah supreme and his victory over falsehood
culminated in the smashing of the idols inside
the Kaba which once again became the
universal center for the worshippers of the one
True God.
Not only did the Prophet rid the Kaba of all
its impurities, but he also reinstated all the
rites of Hajj which were established by Allah's
Permission, in the time of Prophet Ibrahim.
Specific injunctions in the Quran were
revealed in order to eliminate all the false
rites which had become rampant in the pre-
Islamic period. All indecent and shameful acts
were strictly banned in Allah's statement:
"There is to be no lewdness nor
wrangles during Hajj."
[Surah al-Baqarah 2:197 ]
Competitions among poets in the exaltations
of their forefathers and their tribesmen's
achievements were all stopped. Instead, Allah
told them:
"And when you have completed your
rites [of Hajj] then remember Allah as
you remember your forefathers; nay with
a more vigorous remembrance."
[Surah al-Baqarah 2:200 ]
Competitions in generosity were also
prohibited. Of course, the feeding of the poor
pilgrims was still encouraged as this was
done during the time of Prophet Ibrahim but
Allah commanded that the slaughtering of the
animals which was done for this purpose
should be done seeking the pleasure of Allah
rather than fame and the praise of the people.
He said:
"So mention the name of Allah over
these animals when they are drawn up
in lines. Then, when they are drawn on
their sides [after the slaughter], eat
thereof and feed the beggar who does
not ask, and the beggar who asks."
[Surah al-Hajj 22:36 ]
As for the deplorable practice of spattering
blood of the sacrificed animals on the walls of
the Kaba and hanging their flesh on alters,
then Allah clearly informed them that:
"It is neither their meat nor their blood
that reaches Allah, but it is Taqwaa
(piety) from you that reaches Him."
[Surah al-Hajj 22:37 ]
The Prophet also put a stop to the practice of
circling the Kaba in a state of nudity and the
argument that the pagans put forward to
justify this ritual was sharply rebutted in
Allah's question:
"Say: Who has forbidden the adornment
[i.e. clothes] given by Allah which He
has produced for His Slaves?"
[Surah al-A'raaf 7:32 ]
Another custom which was prohibited through
the Quran was that of setting off for Hajj
without taking any provisions for the journey.
In the pre-Islamic period, some people who
claimed to be mutawakkiloon (those having
complete trust in Allah) would travel to
perform Hajj begging for food through the
whole journey. They considered this form of
behavior a sign of piety and an indication of
how much faith they had in Allah. However
Allah told mankind that to have sufficient
provisions for the journey was one of the
preconditions for making Hajj. He said:
"And take a provision [with you] for the
journey, but the best provision is at-
Taqwaa (piety)."
[Surah al-Baqarah 2:197 ]
In this way, all the pre-Islamic practices,
which were based on ignorance, were
abolished and Hajj was once more made a
model of piety, fear of Allah, purity, simplicity
and austerity. Now, when the pilgrims reach
the Kaba, they no longer find the carnivals
and the frolic and frivolity that had once
occupied the minds of the pilgrims there
before. Now, there is the remembrance of
Allah at every step and every action and every
sacrifice was devoted to Him alone. It was
this kind of Hajj that was worthy of the reward
of paradise, as the Prophet said: "The reward
for an accepted Hajj is nothing less than
paradise."
May Allah grant us all the ability to visit His
House and perform the Hajj in the manner of
the Prophet Muhammad . Aameen.