What is Hajj?
The Hajj, sometimes spelt Haj, is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are expected to make at least once in their lifetime. The word Hajj is an Arabic word, meaning ‘to intend a journey’.
Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam – the others are shahadah (declaration of faith); salat (daily prayer); zakat (giving of alms); sawm (fasting in Ramadan).
Who should go on the Hajj?
It is mandatory for Muslim adults to go on Hajj at least once in their lifetime. They must be of sound mind and physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey. Those who complete the pilgrimage can add the title Hajji to their names.
When is Hajj?
The pilgrimage must take place during the month of Dhu al Hijja, the last month of the Islamic calendar. The rites of Hajj are performed from the 8th to the 12th of Dhu al Hijjah.
As the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar year, the date changes in the Gregorian calendar each year, and is 10 to 11 days earlier than the preceding year. In 2017, it is expected to be on or around August 30th or September 1st.
How many people go on Hajj?
Every year about 2 to 3 million people from across the world gather in Mecca for the Hajj. It is the largest single gathering of people on the planet.
How did Hajj start?
The rites performed at Hajj today were established by the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) but, based on the Qur’an, they can be traced back to the Prophet Ibrahim, (alaihis salaam), also referred to in English as Abraham.
Muslims believe that Ibrahim (alaihis salaam) was ordered by Allah to leave his wife Hajar and his son Ismail alone in the desert of ancient Mecca. In search of water, Hajar desperately ran seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwah but found none. Returning in despair to Ismail, she saw the baby scratching the ground with his leg and a water fountain sprang forth at the site.
This is the Well of Zamzam in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. Pilgrims visit the well while performing Hajj or the Umrah pilgrimage to drink its water.
What are the rites of Hajj?
The main rituals of the Hajj pilgrimage are:
Ihram: When they arrive in Mecca, pilgrims enter the state of ihram (purity) for the Hajj pilgrimage. Men must wear the ihram garments consisting of two white, seamless sheets wrapped around the body, and sandals. As well as purity, this clothing symbolises equality and unity as there are no visible reminders of class, wealth, status or culture. Requirements for women are less strict and they usually dress in white with only faces and hands uncovered.
While in the state of ihram, pilgrims must – among other things – not cut their nails or hair, not engage in sexual activity, argue or fight.
Tawaf: Each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka’aba (the cube-shaped building and the direction of prayer for Muslims everywhere) in Masjid Al-Haram. The Ka’aba was built by Ibrahim (alaihis salaam) and is the most sacred site in Islam.
Al-Safa and Al-Marwah: Pilgrims run seven times between the mountains of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah as Hajar did during her search for water.
Mount Arafat: Pilgrims go to the plains of Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) gave his last sermon, to stand in vigil.
Stoning the Devil: After Arafat, they move to Muzdalfah and then to Mina to perform a symbolic stoning ritual in which they fling pebbles at three walls known as jamarat. This symbolises how the devil tried to mislead Ibrahim (alaihis salaam) from following Allah but was fought off when the prophet threw stones at him on three occasions.
Eid ul Adha: The tenth day of the month of Dhu al-Hijja marks the start of the three-day festival of Eid ul Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice). The pilgrims perform the ritual of animal sacrifice (Qurbani) and continue with other rites to complete their Hajj.
Qurbani: Qurbani, or Udiyah as it known in Arabic, commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim (alaihis salaam) was willing to perform of his son Ismail (alaihis salaam) for Allah, who spared his son by sending down a ram to take his place.
What is the difference between Hajj and Umrah?
Pilgrims can go to Mecca to perform the rituals at any other time of the year. This pilgrimage is known as Umrah and, unlike Hajj which takes place on fixed Islamic dates, is not obligatory.
British Satanists in Bangkok Pattaya and Phuket
ReplyDeleteThere are about 1000 British Satanists in Bangkok Pattaya and Phuket.
They've done unspeakably evil things to people including children. Some of them ,may be pedophiles but they claim they are not sexually abusing children but giving them sex lessons.
It is lawful in Thailand to kill Satanists.
So go out with a group of people and find some of them and kill them you won't be arrested or charged with any crime
About the British Satanist in Bangkok who roasted six baby foetuses in a domestic oven then covered them with gold leaf it is now suspected that two of the babies may have been alive when they were roasted. He was selling the gold covered babies to Satanists in Taiwan for US$5000 each. I am doing my best to get the man electrocuted to death for his crimes. Further he has done 16 trips to Thailand in the past where he may have done the same thing so the total number of babies roasted could be between 60 and 90 babies.
Satanism is viciously evil and needs to be stamped out where ever possible .I hope he goes to Hell for his crimes. I have objected to him being granted a trial and the right to enter a defence but the Judges did not know he is a Satanist. Under Thai law no lawyer will represent a Satanist nor will The British Embassy assist the law in Thailand states that Satanists are not entitled to a trial or to enter a defence because they are a Satanist and do not recognise human rights and are not human beings. They have had girls in Bangkok trying to put razor blades cut up into 2mm strips in people's food and concentrated hydrochloric acid in people's drinks. Three Girls tried to put razor blades in my food and acid in my drinks on three separate occasions. I had girls attempt to do this to me on three occasions. I met three young Thai guys who had acid put in their drinks they all died a very very unpleasant death. They also frame people as pedophiles circulating pedophile claims about a person trying to get them killed. They did this to me and I went through hell on earth. How evil to tell people someone is a pedophile when it isn't true. If you identify some of them to get out of being killed they claim they are not Satanists any more do not believe them they are compulsive liars. They Know how to trigger earthquakes and boasted to me five months before the December 2006 Tsunami that they intended to cause an earthquake off the coast of Indonesia and the tidal wave would hit Phuket and hopefully kill thousands of Muslims because they intended to move to Phuket permanently and hate Muslims. They said they planned for the earthquake to happen on Christmas day the 25th of the 12th of 2006 but in fact it happened on the 26th of the 12th of 2006 a day late. They said it would be an act of terrorism hopefully it would kill 10s of 1000s of Muslims or maybe 100s of 1000s of Muslims in the region but everybody would think it was a natural disaster and nobody could prove it was a man made earthquake.. Did you know that it is alleged that 800,000 children were sexually abused in Thailand last year? I believe the people who have been sexually abusing these children are Satanists.