On behalf of CHUP, I wanted to wish all of you Eid Mubarak (belated for those who celebrated it on Friday)! Known as the “Greater Eid,” Eid ul-Adha occurs a day after Muslim pilgrims descend from Mount Arafat during the annual pilgrimage of Hajj. Below, is a version of the piece I wrote on the spirituality of the journey that was published in the Washington Post‘s On Faith column Friday:
From Nov. 25 to Nov. 29, up to three million Muslims from around the world will gather to perform the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The journey is the fifth pillar of Islam; all Muslims who can afford to travel to perform it must complete it at least once in their lifetime.
The hajj is the journey of the individual, within and without, amid the collective. It is about sacrificing human comforts to achieve a higher, spiritual closeness with God and create a strong bond with fellow human beings. The impact of the hajj runs deep, affecting the way participants (hajjis) see the world. In a 2008 study of Pakistani pilgrims called “Estimating the Impact of the Hajj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering,” the authors found that performing the hajj “increases pilgrims’ desire for peace and tolerance toward others,” both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Purity and peace are central to the pilgrimage. According to Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani columnist for The News who performed the hajj last year, the ihram was a fascinating part of the journey. Ihram is both a physical and mental state of purity, and is outwardly expressed by wearing special white robes. “In ihram, you cannot lose your temper or do anything that would disturb your own peace, or the peace of anyone around you,” he said.
All Muslim men must wear the same clothing to enter into this state: two sheets of plain white, unhemmed cotton; Muslim women must be dressed modestly, covering their bodies and heads but keeping their faces uncovered. The attire signifies equality among all pilgrims in the eyes of God, eliminating differences based on class, sect, ethnicity and nationality – prejudices that too often cloud our judgment in the world beyond the hajj.
“Hajj is probably the strongest equalizer that I’d ever participated in,” said Shirin Elkoshairi, an Egyptian-American consultant based in Virginia, who performed it in 2004. The hajj, he said, “deeply imprinted a sense of being connected to many different ethnicities, nationalities, languages, cultures and experiences.”
This sense of spiritual clarity and unity feeds into the culmination of the hajj, known as the Day of Arafat. On the dawn of this day, Muslims make their way to Mount Arafat and Plain Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his farewell sermon some 1400 years ago, and where it is believed all will gather on the Day of Judgment. During the sermon, he emphasized the importance of tolerance and unity, saying, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab… except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.”
In light of this spirit, Muslim pilgrims come together this day to pray and seek repentance. For many, it is their most humbling and cleansing experience. Shaza Haq from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, has performed Hajj several times with her husband Ijaz Ul-Haq, the former Pakistani minister for religious and minority affairs. She reflected, “When I reached Arafat, there were millions of people there, but there was still a feeling of being alone, with just God there.”
During the hajj, spiritual clarity is an individual experience, but is also mirrored in the journey of all pilgrims – a reflection on how ideas of personal accountability, tolerance, and humility are universal qualities of Islam. Often, however, many of these lessons can be forgotten once the ihram is no longer present and pilgrims resume their daily lives, as some who have returned have noted.
In a world burdened with violence and intolerance, it is important to harness lessons from the hajj to tackle these issues and foster greater mutual respect among Muslims as well as between Muslims and non-Muslims. Networks of hajjis should be developed to sustain the sentiment of tolerance and equality brought forth by the hajj, especially in light of the aforementioned study’s finding that pilgrims are 22 percent more likely to say that people of different religions are equal. Hajjis should help educate others who were not part of the journey and act as leaders within their own communities, thereby bringing the journey home.
many, many congrats Kalsoom, on the publication of this article in the washington post.
Thank you so much Shaymapa 🙂
It is really an honor for a young writer like Kalsoom to get published in a major US newspaper which is read globally. I will again post my same comments which I posted on WP site.
“The title portrays the real dilemma of present days Muslims – performing Haj as mere a ritual. How many ‘Hajis’ take the Haj back home and practice the desired results in their lives and society? I wish if only 10% of 3 million do this year, it will transform all the Muslim societies. Islam was meant to be a guiding Divine Message for whole mankind but now because of so-called Muslims, it is taken as a threat to world peace. In fact it is not the Mesaage but the astray followers who are to be addressed first so they can be cleared as a hurdle so mankind can reach the real message of Islam and benefit from it. The corruption, nepotism and laziness has marred the muslim societies to be a positive contributor to world peace and progress. They easily blame all others and create conspiracy theories as an attempt to be the victims. If they realize, the wholw world at the moment is their victim and in a constant fear of unpredictable muslim behavior. This Haj and many past Haj of millions will only clear the Haj performers from “their religious duty” but their duty as a Role Model of Islam and a Divine Message carrier require much more. Ponder O’Muslims ponder – you have utterly failed in your designated role – beaconlight of mankind. Come out of the world of darkness before you can even wish to play any role. Otherwise an organised Haj is mere news for media but you as Muslims rarerly appears in good news.”
Thanks Mohsin –
I consider myself very spiritual, and I actually find the rituals of religion very interesting as a result. The Hajj, though possessing many rituals, is essentially a spiritual experience that embodies the good of Islam that is often forgotten as our judgment becomes clouded by intolerance, politicized religion, class differenced. I’m not an apologist about my religion, and I think more action needs to be taken to increase the longevity and positives of the pilgrimage.
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Kalsoom, this piece was amazing. I really hope to experience what so many others have felt one day, Inshallah. You’re doing a phenominal job – keep it up!
Love the article Kalsoom!Very informative and easy to follow. Congrats on being published in the Washington Post!
Great article. Very inspiring.
Kalsoom, this is absolutely amazing. You have worked so hard and you really deserve this. Congratulations!!! I am so proud of you!
Thank you guys!
Salaam,
Very nice introduction for non-Muslims! Congrats on it being published!
Congrats Kalsoom on being published in the Washington Post! 🙂
I think you had an interesting take on the haj by following on the universal and tolerant message. I also liked the balance between description of rituals and people’s own experiences. Would’ve liked to hear more stories, but perhaps the word constraint didn’t allow you to include more quotes.
Well done! 🙂
Thanks Tamreez-
You’re right, the word count limit was the death of me, as I had interviewed 5 different people, all of whom made really great points. Many thanks to all of them, even if I couldn’t include them all in this piece.