Book of Pilgrimage
Introduction

The term ḥajj (pilgrimage) comes from the verb ḥajja–yaḥujju–ḥajjan and follows the morphological pattern of qatala. It may be pronounced with an open ḥāʾ (ḥajj) or a closed ḥāʾ (ḥijj), though the open vowel is more common. Ḥijjah, with a kasrah on the ḥāʾ, refers to performing the rite once; this form, however, is morphologically irregular. The plural is ḥijaj. Thaʿlab remarked that the correct standard is the open vowel, and that the alternative was never heard from native Arab usage.

Linguistically, ḥajj means “to set out for.” Al-Khalīl defined it as “to set out for something held in reverence.” Al-Miṣbāḥ further notes that in juristic usage the term became restricted to setting out for the Kaʿbah for the rites of ḥajj and ʿumrah.

Technically, it is: to travel to the Sacred House for specific acts, at a specific time.

Its status as one of the pillars of Islam is established by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the unanimous—indeed self-evident—consensus of the Muslims.

Quranic evidence is His statement: “Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all people who are able to find a way to it; and whoever disbelieves—Allah is independent of all the worlds.” (Āl ʿImrān 3:97).

As for the Sunnah, the reports on the matter are abundant. Among them is the narration in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: “Islam is built on five.” The obligation applies only once in a lifetime, as related in Sunan Abū Dāwūd (1463) from the marfūʿ ḥadith of Ibn ʿAbbās: “The pilgrimage is once; whatever is added beyond that is voluntary.”

Al-Wazīr and others stated: There is consensus that ḥajj is obligatory once in a lifetime for every adult, capable Muslim, and that women are in this regard equal to men.

Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn said: The pilgrim must seek through his pilgrimage the Face of Allah Most High and nearness to Him, and must be wary of seeking worldly gain, self-aggrandizement, or the acquisition of titles