Hajj: Pilgrimage

The pillar you have to travel for

You have already met the duties that structure a Muslim life, and studied prayer in detail. Hajj is different from all the others in one obvious way, and everything about it follows from that difference: it requires you to go somewhere. Prayer can be performed almost anywhere clean; fasting happens wherever a person already is; giving can be arranged from home. Hajj means travelling to Makkah, at a particular time of year, and taking part in a set of rites there alongside enormous numbers of other people. That one requirement explains two things at once, and holding them together is what makes a good answer on this topic. First, it explains why Hajj carries the significance it does. A duty that costs time, money and effort, and that puts a person among Muslims from everywhere on Earth dressed identically, does something no daily practice can do. Second, it explains why this is the one duty with conditions built into it. Muslims hold Hajj to be obligatory once in a lifetime, for those who are able - able physically, and able to afford it without hardship to the people who depend on them. Those conditions are not an exception to the rule. They are part of what the duty is. An answer that leaves them out has described the practice as harsher and more absolute than Muslims themselves hold it to be.

Words for the pilgrimage

Six terms your specification uses. Learn the spellings, since the exam uses them and so should you.

What makes this one different

Hajj differs from the other duties in a way that shapes everything else about it. What is it?

• It requires travelling to a particular place at a particular time, rather than being performed wherever a person is
• It takes the longest to perform
• It is the only duty that is optional
• Only Sunni Muslims undertake it

Able, and what that means

Muslims hold Hajj to be obligatory once in a lifetime, for those who are able, and the word able is doing precise work that is worth setting out, because questions ask about it directly. Physically able. A person too ill or too frail to make the journey and take part in the rites is not held to be failing in a duty by not going. Financially able. A person is expected to be able to afford the journey without causing hardship to those who depend on them - so someone who would leave a family unprovided for is not obliged to go, and would not be held to be doing right by going. Once in a lifetime. The obligation is not repeated annually, though some Muslims do go more than once if they are able. Notice what this shows about how the duty is understood. It is not a test that only the fortunate can pass; the conditions are built in so that the duty falls where it can reasonably be met. A Muslim who cannot go is not failing. Some who cannot make the journey themselves may support somebody else in going, or may fulfil their responsibilities to their dependants instead, which is what the condition is protecting. ⚠️ When you write about this in an exam, report it as what Muslims hold rather than asserting it, and include the conditions. An answer that says only "Muslims must go to Makkah" is both incomplete and misleading, and the conditions are the easiest marks in this topic to pick up.

Put the rites in order

Put these stages of Hajj into the order in which pilgrims perform them.

• Entering the state of ihram, and putting on the simple white garments
• Performing tawaf: walking seven times around the Ka'aba
• Travelling out to the plain of Arafat and standing in prayer there for the afternoon
• Moving on to Mina, where stones are thrown at pillars
• Returning to Makkah to perform a final tawaf around the Ka'aba

Match each rite to what it involves

Which two are true of ihram

Select the TWO accurate statements about ihram.

• Pilgrims wear simple white garments, so distinctions of wealth and status are set aside
• It is a state a pilgrim enters, not only a set of clothes
• Each pilgrim wears the dress of their own country, showing the variety of the community
• It is worn only by those making the pilgrimage for a second time

The pilgrimage in words

Muslims hold _____ to be obligatory once in a lifetime for those who are _____, both physically and financially without hardship to their dependants. Pilgrims enter the state of _____, wearing simple white garments so that distinctions of wealth are set aside. They perform _____, walking seven times around the Ka'aba, and later stand in prayer on the plain of _____, which Muslims regard as the most important part of the pilgrimage.

One journey, two traditions

Hajj is held to be obligatory by Sunni and Shi'a Muslims alike, and most of the pilgrimage is shared. Your specification asks for differences in practice as well as belief, so here is both, with neither tradition treated as the standard the other departs from.

Explaining the significance

A question asks you to explain the importance of Hajj for Muslims. Here is an answer that would score well, and it is worth noticing how carefully it attributes and how it uses the conditions rather than ignoring them. "Muslims hold Hajj to be obligatory once in a lifetime for those able to undertake it, described by Sunni Muslims as one of the Five Pillars and by Shi'a Muslims as one of the Ten Obligatory Acts, so making the pilgrimage is part of fulfilling what Muslims believe is required of them. It expresses equality, because all pilgrims enter ihram and wear the same simple garments, so differences of wealth and status are set aside for the duration; a wealthy pilgrim and a poor one are indistinguishable. It connects the individual to the worldwide community, since Muslims from every part of the world perform the same rites at the same time, which many describe as the strongest experience of belonging they have had. It demands real commitment, because unlike the daily duties it costs time and money and requires health, which is also why Muslims hold it to be required only of those able to meet those conditions without hardship to their dependants. And it connects pilgrims to the history of their faith, since the rites recall events Muslims associate with prophets before Muhammad." Look at what that does. Every claim is attributed to Muslims rather than stated as fact about God. It gives both framings rather than only one. It offers four different kinds of reason rather than repeating one. And it uses the conditions as part of the explanation rather than as a footnote**, which is what the specification is asking for.

The sentence that makes one the norm

Four sentences from answers about Hajj. Select the ONE that treats one tradition as the normal case and the other as a departure from it.

• Sunni Muslims describe Hajj as one of the Five Pillars, and Shi'a Muslims as one of the Ten Obligatory Acts.
• Both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims enter ihram and perform tawaf around the Ka'aba.
• Muslims perform Hajj properly, although Shi'a Muslims add extra visits of their own to the real pilgrimage.
• Muslims hold Hajj to be obligatory once in a lifetime for those able to undertake it.

Report it as Muslims hold it

Assemble a sentence that reports the duty accurately, with its conditions.

When someone cannot go

Four situations. Work through what Muslims hold about each, and how you would write about it.

• Someone is too unwell to travel or take part in the rites. What is generally held?
• Someone could afford the journey only by leaving their family without enough to live on. What follows?
• A student writes that Shi'a Muslims do not undertake Hajj. What is wrong?
• You are writing about all this in an exam. What register should you use?

Explain Hajj and its importance

Explain what Hajj involves and why it is important to Muslims. Include both Sunni and Shi'a practice, and attribute every belief.

• Explain what Hajj is and where and when it takes place
• Explain the conditions: once in a lifetime, for those able physically and financially
• Explain why those conditions are part of the duty rather than an exception to it
• Describe entering ihram and say what the identical dress expresses
• Describe tawaf and standing at Arafat
• Give at least two reasons Muslims hold Hajj to be important
• Give one similarity and one difference between Sunni and Shi'a practice
• Write throughout in reporting language: "Muslims hold", not "God requires"