Every year millions of Muslims from every corner of the world gather in the city of Makkah. Nearly each of them arrived as part of a bulk pilgrimage to the holiest site in Islam, a Journey knows as “Hajj”.

This ceremony (ritual) is one of the largest temporary migrations in the world, so we wanted to know:

The event of Hajj occurs every year from the eighth to the twelveth or thirteenth day of the last month of the Islamic calendar. This month is known as Dhu al-Hijjah (Arabic: ذُوٱلْحِجَّة ). Although there is a Hajj every year, Muslims perform to Hajj at least one time in their lives it’s compulsory. In fact, it is only allowed to go if they are an adult, physically able, and be able to bear expenses of Hajj Package.

Makkah is considered the birth of Islam’s prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and the area of his first revelation; however, it is believed that the Holy journey(Hajj) has been practiced since the days of Hazrat Ibrahim (A.S.),  some 2000 years earlier.

The journey and rituals are based on a number of rituals performed by Ibrahim after being ordered by Allah to leave his wife and child. Eventually, Hazrat Ibrahim built the Kaaba, a holy black structure, directing Muslims to travel to it, a journey first officially completed by the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) around 628 AD. Pilgrims who arrive in Makkah must perform a number of rituals to complete the Hajj.

They begin and end at the Kaaba, which today is an enormous black cube in the center of Pilgrims must walk counter-clockwise 7 times around it, after which they go back and forth between 2 significant hills, then drink  from a particular well, hold a vigil and forth between two significant hills, then drink from a particular well, hold a vigil at Mount Arafat,  sleep in the open air, where they collect forty-nine (49) stones to later throw at 3 Pillars to symbolize stoning the devil.

These regions are several kilometers away from each other, and pilgrims are expected to travel among them by foot, although in recent years a railway system has been put in place by the Saudi government. Near the end of the holy journey, male pilgrims shave their heads and perform an animal sacrifice, and the Hajj is also called the Festival of sacrifice. Those who have completed the pilgrimage often add the title “Hajji” to their names, as a sort of social signer.

Pilgrims used to kiss the black stone (hajre aswad) of the Kaaba, now they must simply point at it if they cannot reach it. Instead of pillars, visitors now throw stones at long walls and the animal sacrifice is no lager performed by individuals, it is instead done by the huge number of attendees is also somewhat dangerous.

A stampede in a tunnel killed more than 1,400 people in 1990, and a similar stampede in 2015 resulted in even more deaths, according to the Associated Press. In 2016, the Saudi Government has even implemented GPS bracelets to keep track of pilgrims and to notify them of the appropriate times to perform the rituals. For many, the pilgrimage signifies sort of “rebirth” of their faith. So, get Cheap Hajj Packages 2019 and have a blessed journey to Makkah and Madina.