A Dictionary of Islam / Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion.

by Thomas Patrick Hughes

Upon the seventh day he listens to the k͟hut̤bah, or oration, in the great mosque, in which are set forth the excellences of the pilgrimage and the necessary duties required of all true Muslims on the following days.

On the eighth day, which is called Tarwiyah, he proceeds with his fellow pilgrims to Mina, where he stays and performs the usual services of the Muslim ritual, and remains the night.

The next day (the ninth), after morning prayer, he proceeds to Mount ʿArafāt, where he recites the usual prayers and listens to another k͟hut̤bah. He then leaves for al-Muzdalifah, a place midway between Mina and ʿArafāt, where he should arrive for the sunset prayer.

The next day, the tenth, is the Yaumu ʾn-Naḥr, or the “Day of Sacrifice,” known all through the Muslim world and celebrated as the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā. Early in the morning, the pilgrims having said their prayers at Muzdalifah, then proceed in a body to three pillars in Mina, the first of which is called the Shait̤ānu ʾl-Kabīr, or “Great Devil.” The pilgrim casts seven stones at each of these pillars, the ceremony being called the Ramyu ʾr-Rijām, or casting of stones. Holding the rajm, or pebble between the thumb and fore-finger of the right hand, the pilgrim throws it at a distance of not less than fifteen feet, and says—“In the name of God, the Almighty, I do this, and in hatred of the devil and his shame.” The remaining six stones are thrown in the same way. It is said that this ceremony has been performed ever since the days of Abraham. The pilgrim then returns to Mina and performs the sacrifice of the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā. The victim may be a sheep, or a goat, or a cow, or a camel, according to the means of the pilgrim.

Placing its head towards the Kaʿbah, its fore-legs being bandaged together, the pilgrim stands on the right side of his victim and plunges the knife into its throat with great force, and cries with a loud voice, “Allāhu Akbar!” “God is great! O God, accept this sacrifice from me!”

This ceremony concludes the pilgrimage, and the ḥājī or pilgrim then gets himself shaved and his nails pared, and the iḥrām or pilgrim garment is removed. Although the pilgrimage is over, he should still rest at Makkah the three following days, which are known as the Ayyāmu ʾt-Tashrīq, or the days of drying up of the blood of the sacrifice. Three well-earned days of rest after the peripatetic performance of the last four days.

Before he leaves Makkah he should once more perform the circuits round the Kaʿbah and throw stones at the Satanic pillars at Mina, seven times. He should also drink of the water of the zamzam well.

Most Muslims then go to al-Madīnah, and make their salutations at the shrine of Muḥammad. This is regarded as an incumbent duty by all except the Wahhābīs, who hold that to make the visitation of the Prophet’s tomb a religious ceremony is shirk, or associating the creature with God.

From the time the pilgrim has assumed the iḥrām until he takes it off, he must abstain from worldly affairs and devote himself entirely to the duties of the ḥajj. He is not allowed to hunt, though he may catch fish if he can. “O Believers, kill no game while ye are on pilgrimage.” ([Sūrah v. 96].) The Prophet also said: “He who shows the place where game is to be found is equally as bad as the man who kills it.” The ḥājī must not scratch himself, lest vermin be destroyed, or a hair be uprooted. Should he feel uncomfortable, he must rub himself with the open palm of his hand. The face and head must be left uncovered, the hair on the head and beard unwashed and uncut. “Shave not your heads until the offering reach the place of sacrifice.” ([Sūrah ii. 192].) On arriving at an elevated place, on descending a valley, on meeting any one, on entering the city of Makkah or the sacred temple, the ḥājī should continually repeat the word “Labbaika, Labbaika”; and whenever he sees the Kaʿbah he should recite the Takbīr, “God is great!” and the Taʾlīh “There is no deity but God!”

The pilgrimage known as the ḥajj, as has been already stated, can only be made on the appointed days of the month of Ẕū ʾl-Ḥijjah. A visit at any other time is called the ʿUmrah. [[ʿUMRAH].] If the pilgrim arrives as late as the ninth day, and is in time to spend that day, he can still perform the pilgrimage legally.