2162. Heading to Mecca.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ  , الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ , الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ,  مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ , إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ , اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ المُسْتَقِيمَ  , صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ , غَيْرِ المَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ.

Assalamualaikum w.b.t/السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُه

Meja www.peceq.blogspot.com

Updated: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 04:15:00 GMT |

The Hajj

Heading to Mecca

As millions of Muslims make their way towards the holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, for the annual Hajj we look at the pilgrims' journey and what will happen when they get there. Hajj, meaning 'to intend a journey,' is one of the Five Pillars of the Muslin faith and something that every Muslim must try to make at least once in their lives. Here, pilgrims can be seen as they walk seven times around the Kaaba in the centre of the Al-Masjid al-Haram, or Grand Mosque in Mecca. 

A Muslim pilgrim prays on Jabal al-Nour, or the 'The Mountain of Light' at sunset in the holy city of Mecca before the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

A Palestinian boy reaches for an olive branch hanging in an alley way in Jerusalem's Old City. As he plays at a wall freshly decorated with colourful paint signifying that someone in the household has made the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

Kashmiri Muslim pilgrims arrive at The State Hajj House as they prepare to go for their pilgrimage to Mecca, in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.  It is the largest pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.

A Hajj pilgrim looks back towards her loved ones as she prepares to depart for Mecca from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Nepalese Muslims have started to leave Nepal for the annual pilgrimage to the holiest place for Muslims in Mecca.

Muslim pilgrims visit the Hira cave, at the top of Jabal al-Nour on the outskirts of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. As Muslims from all over the world congregate for the annual hajj pilgrimage, some are defying the edicts of Saudi Arabia’s strict Wahhabi school of Islam by climbing Jabal al-Nour and visiting the cave, where it is believed that the Prophet Muahmmad received his first revelation, in the hope of attaining spiritual favour.

Once the pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia they will complete a number of rituals as part of the Hajj. Here a pilgrim looks at Al-Masjid al-Haram otherwise known as the Grand Mosque, from the balcony of a hotel in Mecca.

On day one of the Hajj the pilgrims perform Tawaf, which involves visiting the Al-Masjid al-Haram, or the Grand Mosque, in Mecca and walking seven times counter-clockwise around the Kaaba (the black edifice located in top centre of the image). The pilgrims may also kiss the Black Stone (Al Hajar Al Aswad) on each circuit if they are close enough to do so. Once this is completed the pilgrims perform the sa`i, where they run or walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah.  As part of this ritual the pilgrims also drink water from the Zamzam Well.

On the morning of the second day of the Hajj the pilgrims leave Mecca and proceed to Mina where they spend the night in prayer. On the morning of the third day they then travel to Mount Arafat where the pilgrims stand in contemplative vigil and pray and recite the Qur'an, near a hill from which Muhammad gave his last sermon, this mountain is called Jabal Al Rahmah (The Hill of Forgiveness, Mount Arafat).

Pilgrims must spend the afternoon on the plain of Arafat until after sunset. A pilgrim's Hajj is considered invalid if they do not spend the afternoon on Arafat. As the sun sets, the pilgrims then leave Arafat for Muzdalifah, an area between Arafat and Mina. Pilgrims spend the night sleeping on the ground with open sky, and in the morning they gather pebbles for the next day's ritual of the stoning of the Devil.

Once returned to Mina the pilgrims perform Ramy al-Jamarat, throwing stones to signify their defiance of the Devil. The stoning consists of throwing seven pebbles and symbolizes the trials experienced by Abraham while he was going to sacrifice his son as demanded by God. The Devil challenged him three times, and three times Abraham refused. 

On the first occasion when Ramy al-Jamarat is performed, pilgrims stone the largest pillar known as Jamrat'al'Aqabah. On the second occasion, the other pillars are stoned.

Because of the size of the crowds, in 2004 the pillars were replaced by long walls with catch basins below to collect the pebbles.

A Muslim pilgrim has his head ritually shaved after he cast stones at a pillar, symbolizing the stoning of Satan, in a ritual called 'Ramy al-Jamarat,'. Once the stoning is completed a ritual slaughter of animals takes place. In the past pilgrims would slaughter the animals themselves but today it is a more commonplace for them to purchase a sacrifice voucher and have a centralized butchers deal with it on their behalf. The meat is then packaged and given to charity and shipped to poor people around the world. At the same time as the sacrifices occur at Mecca, Muslims worldwide perform similar sacrifices, in a four day global festival called Eid al-Adha.

Once returned from Mina the pilgrims perform their final act of the Hajj and complete on last Tawaf around the Kaaba in Mecca. This final set of seven circuits is called the Tawaf al-Wida, 'Wida' means 'to bid farewell'. Here, Kamel Didan places his hand on the head of his son, Abderrahman Didan, 1, centre, during a service to celebrate the end of the Hajj and the festival of Eid Al-Adha, in Tucson, Arizona.

Sumber: (news.malaysia.msn.com) .

Perhatian: Pemaparan tajuk-tajuk, gambar-gambar dan segala bagai, adalah pandangan dan pendapat peribadi yang lebih menjurus kepada sikap dan sifat untuk menjadi lebih baik dengan mengamalkan gaya hidup menurut perentah dan larangan Allah S.W.T., antaranya bersikap dengan tiada prasangka, tidak bertujuan untuk kebencian, tidak berkeperluan untuk bersubahat dengan perkara bohong dan tiada kaitan dan berkepentingan dengan mana-mana individu. Jujur., aku hanyalah hamba Allah S.W.T., yang hina dina. BERSANGKA BAIK KERANA ALLAH S.W.T..

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