A supplicating pilgrim at Masjid Al Haram, the mosque which was built around the Kaaba (the cubical building at center). Thousands of pilgrims walk around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction. The Hajj (Arabic: ??, transliteration: ?agg) is the pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam. It is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so, at least once in their lifetime. It is the demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God.[1] The Hajj occurs from the 8th to the 12th day of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. This date cannot be aligned directly with Western calendars, but in the early 21st century, it occurs roughly in the November-January timeframe. In 2007, the next month of Dhul Hijjah begins on December 11, with the week of the Hajj beginning on December 18, 2007. Hajj is performed because Muhammad performed Hajj, but the ritual was considered ancient even in the time of Muhammad in the 7th century, and many believe that it goes back to the time of Abraham in 2000 BC. Pilgrims would join processions of tens of thousands of people, who would simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals. Each person would walk counter-clockwise seven times about the Kaaba, kiss the Black Stone, run back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drink from the Zamzam Well, go to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, then proceed to Muzdalifah to gather pebbles, which they would throw at a rock in Mina to perform the ritual of the Stoning of the Devil. The pilgrims would then shave their heads, perform an animal sacrifice, and celebrate the three day global festival of Eid ul-Adha.[2][3] As of 2007, an estimated two million pilgrims participate in this annual pilgrimage.[4] Crowd-control techniques have become critical, and because of the large numbers of people, many of the rituals have become more stylized. It is not necessary to kiss the Black Stone, but merely to point at it on each circuit around the Kaaba. Throwing pebbles was done at large pillars, which for safety reasons were in 2004 changed to long walls with catchbasins below to catch the stones. The slaughter of an animal can be done either personally, or by appointing someone else to do it, and so forth.[5] But even with the crowd control techniques, there are still many Incidents during the Hajj, as pilgrims are trampled in the crush, or ramps collapse under the weight of the many visitors, causing hundreds of deaths. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj has a website, with the message, "Be peaceful, orderly and kind. No crushing."[6] Pilgrims can also go to Mecca to perform the rituals at other times of the year. This is sometimes called the "lesser pilgrimage", or Umrah. However, even if they perform the Umrah, they are still obligated to perform the Hajj at some other point in their lifetime. Part of a series on Islam Beliefs Allah · Oneness of God Muhammad · Prophets of Islam Practices Profession of Faith · Prayer Fasting · Charity · Pilgrimage History & Leaders Timeline of Muslim history Ahl al-Bayt · Sahaba Rashidun Caliphs · Shi'a Imams Texts & Laws Qur'an · Sunnah · Hadith Fiqh · Sharia Kalam · Tasawwuf (Sufism) Major branches Sunni · Shi'a Culture & Society Academics · Animals · Art Calendar · Children · Demographics Festivals · Mosques · Philosophy Politics · Science · Women · Dhimmi Islam & other religions Christianity · Jainism Judaism · Sikhism See also Criticism of Islam · Islamophobia Glossary of Islamic terms Islam Portal  v • d • e