Hajj means pilgrimage and is one of the five pillars of Islam. In Islam every Muslim is obliged to perform hajj at least once in their lifetime if they are able to do so. Muslims can perform hajj once per year in the month of Dul-Hijjah which is the twelfth and last month of the Islamic calendar. There are several steps in performing hajj which span over five days, from 8th to 12th sometimes 13th Dull-Hijjah. During the hajj Muslims have to travel to many different locations on particular days to perform different rituals and pray.
The first step in performing hajj is to be in the state of Ihram. Which means that men must wear only two pieces of unsown white cloths and women must wear loosely fitted clothing and cover their hair but should not cover their face with niqab. During the state of ihram Muslims are not permitted to cut their nails or hair, use perfume and perform any sexual activity. Hajj starts when Muslims arrive in Mecca and first thing to do is to perform Tawaf, that is to circle around a cubic shaped building counter clock wise seven times. That cubic shaped building is Kaaba which is the holiest place in Islam. That is the building to which all the Muslims in world face while praying and was built by Abraham. After finishing Tawaf Muslims must go and perform Sa’ey, which is to traverse between the hills of …show more content…
The importance of hajj is due to its connection with Abraham and the building of the holiest building in Islam, the Kaaba and also the sacrifice of Abraham for the sake of God. Muslims perform hajj because they think that it brings them closer to God and teach them humility. Most importantly they think that if they perform it with pure intentions and clear conscious, their sins will be forgiven and they will be like a new born, pure of any