The Book of Pilgrimage

Linguistically, ḥajj (pilgrimage) means “to set out for something.” In the Sacred Law it is the resolve to reach the Sacred House in order to perform particular rites during a particular time.

The author began with Prayer because, after the two testimonies of faith, it is the foremost pillar of the religion. He placed Zakāh second, for it is paired with Prayer in the verses of the Quran. Fasting came third, since it is required every year and the vast majority of Muslims are able to observe it. Pilgrimage was left until last, for it is obligatory only once in a lifetime and only upon those who possess the means—and they are fewer than those who do not.

Its obligation is established by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the ummah; hence its mandatory nature is something known in the religion by necessity.

It was prescribed in the ninth year AH, and the Prophet ﷺ performed it only once, in the tenth year, after he had cleansed the House of the remnants of idolatry.

As for its excellence, many sound texts attest to it, among them: “An accepted pilgrimage has no reward but Paradise.” (1)

Its wisdoms and secrets are too numerous to count, and only specialized, voluminous works can do them justice. Let us nevertheless touch on a handful of them so the reader may glimpse a little of the much—some of the wise Sharīʿah’s secrets and noble objectives—and see that through its acts of worship this religion seeks the welfare of both faith and worldly life.

This great Islamic congress, this vast gathering, holds religious, worldly, cultural, social, and political benefits beyond calculation.

Religiously, the pilgrim undertakes this majestic act of worship that embodies various forms of humility and submission before Allah Most High: braving arduous journeys, spending wealth, forsaking life’s comforts by removing ordinary clothes and donning only an izār and ridāʾ, baring the head, abstaining from perfume and from women, shunning the luxury of trimming hair and nails, and then moving