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Faith & Values: Treasures of pilgrimage

Mecca 1964 — Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this Ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors.

I have been blessed to visit the Holy City of Mecca. I have made my seven circuits around the Ka’ba, led by a young Mutawaf named Muhammad. I drank water from the well of the Zam Zam. I ran seven times back and forth between the hills of Mt. Al-Safa and Al-Marwah. I have prayed in the ancient city of Mina, and I have prayed on Mt. Arafat.

There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white … ”

This beautiful letter was written by brother Malcom X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) during his pilgrimage to Holy City of Mecca in April of 1964.

These words of his reflect only one of the many functions of Hajj (pilgrimage) in Islam.

Hajj is one of the five tenets of Islam that an individual is obliged to perform once in lifetime if capable. It is performed on the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, which is called Dhul-Hijjah. This year in 2024, it coincided with June of the Gregorian calendar in which also Juneteenth was celebrated.

One cannot tell you about Hajj without mentioning about prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him) and his blessed family.

After prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him) brought his wife Hagar and their little baby Ismael to the valley of Makkah, he left them there and walked away without looking back. In fact, prophets never act without the command from their Lord. Then, Hagar, this great woman, asked “Did Allah command this?” The answer from Abraham was a yes. “Then go, Allah will protect us.” Her trust in Allah was amazing.

Under the dark sky of the night in the desert where there was no one else, after their water ran out, she started to walk from one hill called Safa to the other one, Marwah, seven times. Today, the pilgrims do the same as a ritual in the footsteps of our mother Hagar, like Malcom X mentioned in his letter. After Hagar got exhausted, Allah created a miracle and water started gushing out of the ground, never running out until today. It is called “Zamzam,” a blessing from the Most Merciful, the All-Sustainer. Then, the birds came along with some other animals towards this miraculous water source and thereafter those tribes who saw the birds flying over it came to settle in there as well. This is how Makkah was established as a city.

In the Qur’an, Allah the Almighty says “Indeed, the first House (of worship) established for mankind was that at Bakkah (i.e., Makkah) — blessed and a guidance for the worlds.” (3:96)

Ka’ba was built by prophet Abraham and his son Ismael, who would also be soon chosen as a prophet by Allah, the Lord of the heavens and the earth.

Following the footsteps of Abraham (peace be upon him), this worship offers its treasures to the believers in its every station.

You probably have seen in some videos or pictures that the Muslim pilgrims all wear a white shroud called “ihram,” which makes them look the same no matter who is next to each other or what status in society he or she has. It is the embodiment of practicing the famous hadith, the holy saying of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. “Verily, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions”

The pilgrims circumambulate around Ka’ba together, women and men. When we look at the universe, we observe a similar movement in both macro and micro cosmos. Electrons around the nucleus of the atom, moons around their planets, planets around the sun, sun in its orbit around the center of the Milky Way and Milky Way around its rotation axis who knows where.

Pilgrims follow the same pattern; they unite in such a unity harmonizing themselves with the rest of the universe proclaiming that they all worship the same and only One Creator of all.

In five times daily prayers, Muslims must face towards Ka’ba. Here again is another emphasis on unity.

Towards the end of the hajj, pilgrims spend their last night praying on Mount Arafat, their hometown. This I find very inspiring:

We all have immediate addresses, which are primarily our homes where we go back after work or school. We also might have a second home where our parents are currently living or have lived. Some of us may have a third address like a hometown where we were born and/or spent our childhood. For some of us, this number may even be more.

After the parents of all humanity Adam and Eve (Havva), peace be upon them both, were descended from the garden, they were sent down to two different places on earth. They were away from each other for some time until they met on Mount Arafat, hence which became the first “address” of our parents on this earth, our very first home.

So, pilgrims, thanks to Hajj, also get a chance to visit their real hometown as well.

Amazing, isn’t it?

Ali Akguner is a Muslim from Hampton Roads. You can reach him at aakguner@gmail.com.