Sacred space and pilgrimage
Family: Belief and worship · 103 entries
Entries on this theme
Event
Ibrahim's journeys to Mecca
c. 2000 BCEIbrahim travelled to Mecca from time to time to see what he had left there; the number is unknown but the sources preserve four journeys: the dream and the ransom of Ismail, and three narrated by al-Bukhari from Ibn Abbas: finding Ismail's first wife complaining (change the threshold), his second wife grateful (keep the threshold), and finally meeting Ismail, when together they raised the Kaaba and Ibrahim proclaimed the pilgrimage.The Settlement of Hajar and Ismail at Mecca
c. 2000 BCEIbrahim leaves his wife Hajar and the infant Ismail in a barren valley by the future site of the House, entrusting them to God; when the water runs out the spring of Zamzam breaks forth, and the Yemeni tribe of Jurhum settles by them with Hajar’s permission.The Raising of the Kaaba’s Foundations
c. 1900 BCEOn the third recorded journey, Ibrahim finds Ismail sharpening arrows beneath a tree by Zamzam; together the aged father and the grown son raise the foundations of the House, and Ibrahim calls mankind to the pilgrimage as commanded.The Command to Sacrifice Ismail
c. 1900 BCEOn one of Ibrahim’s visits to Mecca he is shown in a dream that he must sacrifice his son; father and son submit, and the son is ransomed with a great sacrifice — the trial the Quran recalls in Surat al-Saffat, and which the Raheeq narrative places before Isaac’s birth.The partition of the Meccan offices between Abd Manaf and Abd al-Dar
c. 400 (approx.) CEAfter Abd Manaf's death his sons contested with their cousins of Abd al-Dar the offices Qusayy had bequeathed to Abd al-Dar; Quraysh split in two and nearly fought, then settled: the watering and feeding of pilgrims to Abd Manaf, Dar al-Nadwa, the banner and the custody of the Kaaba to Abd al-Dar; the Abd Manaf lot fell to Hashim, then al-Muttalib, then Abd al-Muttalib and his sons down to al-Abbas at the coming of Islam.The Re-digging of Zamzam
c. 550 CEʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, directed by a dream, re-dug Zamzam and recovered the Jurhumite hoard; Quraysh’s challenge ended in arbitration confirming the well to him.ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s Vow and the Lot
c. 550 CEHis vow to sacrifice a son; the lot fell on ʿAbdullāh, and by an auguress’s counsel camels were raised to one hundred and slaughtered in his stead — fixing the Arab bloodwit at a hundred camels.Abu Talib's prayer for rain with the boy Muhammad
c. 580 (approx.) CEA report Ibn Asakir transmits from Jalhama ibn Urfuta: arriving at Mecca in a drought he saw Quraysh ask Abu Talib to pray for rain; Abu Talib went out with a boy, set his back to the Kaaba while the boy pointed with his finger under a cloudless sky, and the clouds gathered and the valley flooded; Abu Talib's verse about the fair one by whose face rain is sought refers to this.The rebuilding of the Kaaba
c. 605 CEQuraysh's rebuilding of the Kaaba when Muhammad was thirty-five — a flood-weakened structure rebuilt with 'lawful money only' — and the arbitration over the Black Stone that he settled with the cloak solution.The change of the qibla
c. February 624 CE · Sha'ban 2 AHThe direction of prayer was changed from Jerusalem to the Kaaba in Mecca, about a year and a half after the Hijra. Al-Samhudi gathers the reports: toward Bayt al-Maqdis sixteen months on al-Bara's account in Muslim (seventeen for Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib), the turn falling in mid-Rajab of year two on the soundest view — at zuhr in the Banu Salama mosque where two rak'as had been prayed, or at fajr in Quba in the Sahihayn's version carried by a runner — while Ibn Hajar makes 'asr the first prayer faced to the Kaaba.The cleansing of the Kaaba and destruction of idols
January 630 CE · Ramadan 8 AHUpon entering the sacred precinct, the Prophet circumambulated the Kaaba on his mount, toppled three hundred and sixty lead-fastened idols with his staff while reciting Qur'an 17:81, opened the sanctuary with Uthman ibn Talha's key, effaced the wall frescoes inside while reciting Qur'an 3:67, and had Bilal deliver the adhan from atop the roof.The killing of Ibn al-Anwa' and the sermon on Mecca's sanctity
January 630 CE · Ramadan 8 AHAfter the general safety was proclaimed, Khirash ibn Umayya ambushed and killed Ibn al-Anwa' al-Hudhali to settle an old blood dispute; the Prophet strongly condemned the murder, paid the full wergild from his own funds, and the next day delivered a decisive sermon proclaiming the perpetual inviolability of Mecca's blood, trees, and game.The Prophet's Umrah from al-Ji'rana
February 630 CE · Dhu al-Qa'da 8 AHAfter completing the distribution of spoils, the Prophet entered the state of ihram from al-Ji'rana by night, entered Mecca to perform the rites of Umrah, confirmed Attab ibn Asid as governor of Mecca, and departed back to Medina in Dhu al-Qa'dah 8 AH.The demolition of al-Lat
c. December 630 CE · Ramadan 9 AHFulfilling the Thaqif treaty's clause, the Prophet sent Khalid ibn al-Walid who demolished al-Lat at al-Ta'if; al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba struck its gate with the pickaxe after feigning a collapse that terrified the onlookers, and its ornaments and covering were divided the same day.The burial of the Prophet
10 June 632 CE · 14 Rabi' I 11 AHThe Prophet was buried in the room of Aisha, beside the mosque in Medina; the place later became part of the Prophet's Mosque.Breaking of the Black Stone in 413
c. March 1023 CE · Dhu al-Hijja 413 AHIn the days of the Hajj of 413 a man among the pilgrims from Egypt struck the Black Stone with a mace and broke off a piece, and the people killed him on the spot. Strife broke out between the people of Egypt and the Maghribis; twenty of them were killed, and the people of the Haram plundered them, they being between Mecca and Mina for that reason. Ibn al-Jawzi says: Abu'l-Ghana'im said, 'I saw a large red man with a sword and a mace climb to the Stone on the day of nafr, a Friday, and strike it three times in succession, saying: How long will the stone be worshipped while neither Muhammad nor Ali prevents me?' The people rose against him and killed him, and killed about twenty men who climbed up to it after him; four were burned. A piece broke off the Stone, in three small parts; its outer skin was stripped on every side, leaving a visible portion and three fragments. The Banu Shayba gathered what had broken off, mixed it with musk-scented water and lac, and smeared it on the Stone, where it remains as it is today.The Baratha Mosque Affair in 420
c. November 1029 CE · Dhu al-Qa'da 420 AHThe caliphal court arrested the preacher of Baratha mosque for excessive praise of Ali ibn Abi Talib in his sermon. On Friday 19 Dhu al-Qa'da a substitute, Abu Mansur ibn Tamam, preached in his place, reducing the mention of Ali and closing with 'O God, forgive the Muslims and whoever claims that Ali is his master (mawla).' The common people pelted him with clods, breaking his shoulder and teeth and drawing blood. The caliph's decree came out angrily, calling it 'a mosque that gathers unbelievers and heretics' and likening it to the Mosque of Dirar; about thirty men attacked the preacher's house, and Friday prayer was suspended for weeks until the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Nahr), when the muezzin garbled the takbir and panic broke out. Shaykhs of Karkh and al-Sharif al-Murtada intervened, and a preacher was reinstated by a written decree dated the first of Muharram, exempted from striking the pulpit with a sword and from mentioning 'his master'.The Yemeni army's sack of Mecca (620 AH)
1223 CE · 620 AH620: al-Malik al-Mas'ud Atsiz ibn al-Kamil — the Ayyubid sultan of Yemen — reached Mecca, whose new sharif Hasan ibn Qatada had alienated his father's ashraf and mamluks; the army plundered the sanctuary 'until they took the clothes off people and beggared them'. Atsiz ordered Qatada's grave exhumed and burnt — and the coffin proved empty, exposing that Hasan had secretly buried the father he had strangled. Ibn al-Athir moralises: he lost this world and the next for the kingship he killed for.
Person
Abraha
c. 520 CEThe Aksumite governor who made himself ruler of Yemen, built the great church of San'a, and marched on Mecca with an elephant — the invader of the 'Year of the Elephant' remembered in Qur'an 105.al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba
Thaqafi Companion renowned for wit and statecraft; he broke the gate of al-Lat with the pickaxe during its demolition in 9 AH, first feigning a collapse that struck terror into the watching Thaqafis.Amr ibn al-Harith al-Jurhumi
The Jurhumite who, when Jurhum was driven from Mecca, carried off the Kaaba's two gazelles and the Black Stone and buried them in the well of Zamzam, then led his people to Yemen and composed the famous lament for Mecca; not to be confused with the elder Mudad ibn Amr, Ismail's father-in-law, in Ibn Ishaq's account as cited by al-Raheeq al-Makhtum.Fadala ibn Umayr al-Laythi
A man of Banu Layth who intended to assassinate the Prophet while he was performing tawaf around the Kaaba during the Conquest; the Prophet called him by name, placed his hand over his chest until his heart calmed, and Fadala embraced Islam.
Building
Al-Kadhimiya Mosque (Kazimayn shrine)
The Kadhimiya shrine of Baghdad, raised over the graves of Musa al-Kazim and Muhammad al-Jawad; Ibn Quluwayh's Kamil al-Ziyarat locates the grave 'in al-Kadhimiya in the noble riwaq' and dedicates a chapter to their visitation.al-Qullays (the Yemeni Kaaba)
The church Abraha built in Yemen to divert the Arabs’ pilgrimage from Mecca — the ambition that led to the elephant campaign. Al-Hamdani's native tradition names it, with Ghumdan, the twin monument of Sana'a and ascribes its building to Bilqis.Zamzam Well
The well inside the Great Mosque of Mecca from which pilgrims drink; tied in Muslim memory to Hagar and Ishmael.Dar al-Nadwa
The council house founded by Qusayy on the north side of the mosque of the Kaaba, with its door into the mosque; Quraysh deliberated its grave matters and married off its daughters there.Dhu al-Khalasa (the 'Ka'ba of Yemen')
A pagan sanctuary venerated by Khath'am, Bajila and the neighbouring tribes of Tihama, who made pilgrimage to it; it was called the 'Ka'ba of Yemen' or the 'Ka'ba of the north' in contrast to the house of Mecca. In the Sahih the Prophet asked Jarir ibn 'Abdallah al-Bajali 'will you not relieve me of Dhu al-Khalasa?' — he rode out with a hundred and fifty horsemen of Ahmas, broke it and killed those he found there, and the Prophet prayed for them and for Ahmas.Imam Husayn Shrine, Karbala
The shrine of Husayn ibn Ali at Karbala, over the place of his killing in 61 AH; Ibn Kathir records his death there on Ashura, and the shrine became a major pilgrimage centre for the Twelver Shi'a. The Mawsu'at al-Atabat records its building: Adud al-Dawla the Buyid built over the grave, Malik Shah restored the enclosure in 479, and the standing structure is essentially Sultan Uways the Jalayirid's 767 work completed by his sons Husayn and Ahmad in 786; Ismail the Safavid gilded the grave's surrounds and gifted twelve gold lamps in 914, Murad IV ordered the dome, and Fath Ali Shah renewed the shrine, replated it in gold and built the Husayn and Abbas domes in 1227 and 1250 — the dome rising 27 m, plated in gold.The Kaaba
The House whose foundations Ibrahim and Ismail raised at Mecca; it was a raised mound before the building, then the sanctuary toward which Arabia’s tribes came — custodied successively by Ismail’s line, Jurhum, Khuzaʾa and finally Quraysh under Qusayy.Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery
The Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery of Najaf; Nuzhat al-Ghari relates that the believer's soul is settled in Wadi-us-Salaam, and records the reading 'Wadi al-Salama' — the valley of safety for whomever is buried in it.
Concept
The earth made a place of prayer and purity
Sha'rawi holds that God made the whole earth a place of prayer and purity for the community of Muhammad, so that prayer is valid in every place. He treats the wrecking of mosques as a very great wrong that brings shame in this world and punishment in the next, and says that the discovery of hidden laws in creation calls for prostration in thanks.Raising the foundations of the House: who built the Ka'ba
Sha'rawi holds that the House existed before Abraham, that God set it apart for circling, retreat and prayer after the flood had erased its landmarks, and that Abraham did not found it but raised its foundations so its place would be known. He reads the Ka'ba as the place that marks the House rather than the House itself, and reports that scholars differ on when the House was built.Al-Aqiq: the valley as a place of ihram and the carnelian stone in law (aqiq)
In the lexicon, al-aqiq is a valley cut by a torrent and a red stone used for the settings of rings; several places in Arabia bear the name. As the valley it matters for ihram: the Shafi'is prefer that people of the east begin ihram from it, while the Malikis and Hanbalis hold that the station for the people of Iraq is Dhat 'Irq. As the stone, the majority do not allow tayammum with it, while the Hanafis allow it because it belongs to the kind of earth; the majority hold that it carries no zakat unless it is held for trade, while the Hanbalis require zakat on it; it is not subject to riba; the schools differ on advance sale of it; and most jurists allow men to wear it as an adornment.Hady (animal offered to the Sacred Precinct)
The hady, in lexical and legal usage, is the animal (camel, cow or goat) brought to the Sacred Precinct and slaughtered as a devotion during the days of sacrifice; it is distinct from the udhiyya and the aqiqa in time and place. It falls into voluntary hady (recommended for one performing the rite, or one who sends an animal without going), obligatory hady for thanks (imposed on the tamattu' and qiran pilgrim), hady for compensation, and hady of vow. The rider may ride it when needed without harm, though the Malikis dislike riding without necessity; an obligatory hady may not be sold, leased or used, and a donor may not eat from it except in the cases the jurists list. The best animal is the camel, then the cow, then the sheep.The Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad)
The Black Stone is a dark, roughly oval stone set in the south-east corner of the Ka'ba, which circumambulants touch. The jurists agree that it is recommended to touch and kiss it when able; when unable, the Malikis and Hanbalis allow touching it with the hand and kissing the hand, while the Hanafis and Shafi'is touch it with something held in the hand and kiss that, or point at it. It is recommended to say takbir at touching it, and the majority raise the hands; it is recommended to touch it in every circuit and to kiss it silently. The Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan hold that the circuit must begin at the Stone, and a circuit that does not begin there is not counted unless it reaches the Stone. Women are not recommended to touch it except when the circuit is clear.Rulings on the hajj
Hajj, in the sacred sense, is the purposeful journey to the Sacred House and to Arafat in the months of hajj to perform set acts. It is an individual obligation on every adult who is able, once in a lifetime, established by the Qur'an, the Sunna and consensus. On whether it must be performed at once or may be delayed, Abu Hanifa (in the sounder of his two reports), Abu Yusuf, Malik (in the preferred view) and Ahmad hold that it is immediate, while al-Shafi'i and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan hold that it may be delayed. The texts praise the merit of the hajj at length, including the report that a hajj accepted has no reward but paradise. Five conditions of obligation are agreed: Islam, reason, puberty, freedom and capacity. The hajj of a madman is not valid; a child's hajj counts as a voluntary one. General capacity has four elements: provision and a mount, bodily health, safety of the road, and the possibility of travel. The majority require provision and a mount, while the Malikis accept the ability to walk with provision for a person in good health. The majority also require that the provision and mount be owned beyond the basic needs, such as maintenance of dependants, housing and household goods.Himyan (money belt: pilgrim's wearing, spoils and theft)
Himyan in the lexical sense is a purse in which provision is kept and tied at the waist; it is a loan word, used in the same sense in the law. The Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is permit a pilgrim in the state of ihram to tie the himyan at his waist, relying on a report of Ibn Abbas; the Malikis allow it only for the pilgrim's own and his family's provision, not for trade, and only when tied on the skin, not on the waist-wrapper. Abu Yusuf disliked a silk girdle for the pilgrim, and Ibn Umar disliked tying the himyan in the sounder of his two reports. The Hanbalis permit it only when it holds provision. Most jurists count the himyan within the spoils a fighter may take; the Malikis and in one Shafi'i view do not. Most jurists hold that a thief who cuts a himyan and takes its money is liable to amputation; the Hanafis distinguish a purse hanging outside the sleeve, which is not cut for, from one reached through the sleeve.The sacred sanctuary (haram)
The sanctuary (haram) in the technical sense is Mecca and its surroundings; the name is also used for Medina and its surroundings. Mecca's sanctuary has boundaries measured in miles from several directions, reckoned from the Black Stone. Its sanctity rests on the Qur'an and the Sunna. A pilgrim who enters it for hajj or umra must take ihram at the station; one who passes a station without ihram owes a sacrifice; a traveller from outside who enters for another purpose must, according to the majority, take ihram. By consensus a non-Muslim may not settle there, though the Hanafis do not bar a protected non-Muslim from entering. Fighting in the sanctuary is lawful only in reply to attack, and the jurists differ on fighting unbelievers or rebels who do not begin the fight. It is forbidden to cut moist plants that people do not cultivate, with idhkhir excepted, and the liability differs between a sheep and a cow by the size of the tree; hunting land game in the sanctuary is forbidden, while the crow, the kite, the scorpion, the snake, the rat and the rabid dog may be killed. Removing the soil or stones of the sanctuary is forbidden by the Shafi'is and disliked by the Hanbalis; renting its houses is disputed. Other rules: a found object is kept and announced forever according to the Shafi'is; it is recommended to wash on entering; a man is held to account for an evil intention there; living there is recommended by the majority; there is no tamattu' or qiran for the people of Mecca; the offering may be sacrificed within the sanctuary; and the blood-money is sometimes raised there. Medina's sanctuary, for the majority, lies between Thawr and 'Ir; its game and trees are protected for the Shafi'is, Malikis and Hanbalis, though the majority impose no penalty for them, while the Hanafis hold that Medina has no sanctuary but an honour.Hatma' (a sacrificial animal with its front teeth gone: its fitness)
Hatma', in the lexical sense, is an animal whose front teeth have fallen out from the root. The jurists differ on whether it is fit for sacrifice: the Hanafis in the sounder view allow it if it grazes and feeds; the Malikis hold that losing one tooth does not harm; the Shafi'is mostly forbid it; the Hanbalis forbid one whose front teeth are gone, and allow it if some remain.The Hijr (Isma'il's enclosure)
The Hijr is the curved enclosure beside the Ka'ba's wall, also called the enclosure of Isma'il; some call the Hatim its wall, or the space between the corner and Zamzam and the Station. The majority hold that six cubits of it belong to the House, on the report of Aisha that Quraysh left it out when they rebuilt the Ka'ba. On whether the whole of it belongs to the House, the Hanafis and Hanbalis hold so, and so does one view of the Shafi'is. On prayer facing it, the Hanbalis and one Maliki view allow it for someone outside the enclosure; the Hanafis and Shafi'is disallow it, since its belonging to the House is only probable. The majority hold that circumambulation from inside the enclosure is not valid, since the circuit must pass outside it.Security of the Sacred Precinct (amn al-haram)
The security of whoever enters the Sacred House, one of the signs the Qur'an names for the House. Rashid Rida says the Arabs before Islam agreed to respect the House and that Islam confirmed this. He sets out two objections, the conquest of Mecca and the bombardment of the Ka'ba by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, with the answers he gives in the name of Muhammad Abduh. In a footnote he describes the political obstacles to the pilgrimage in his time.Ihram (the state of consecration for hajj or umra)
Ihram in the lexicon means to proclaim the pilgrimage or the umra and to enter the state of sanctity; in jurists' usage it means, when unqualified, entering the hajj or the umra, and the word is also used for entering prayer, as in «the takbir of ihram». For the Hanafis it is entering into certain prohibitions, valid only with intention together with a mention of God or what stands in for it; for the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis it is the intention to enter the prohibitions of hajj or umra. All agree that it is one of the obligations of the rite. They differ on whether it is a pillar or a condition: the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis count it a pillar, while the Hanafis count it a condition in one respect and a pillar in another. Its validity requires Islam and intention; the Hanafis add the talbiya or what stands in for it. The talbiya is the words «here I am, O God, here I am», which the Prophet's practice on the farewell pilgrimage fixed; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis treat it as a sunna, while the Malikis treat it as an obligation whose omission or long delay after intention requires a sacrifice. For the Hanafis, anything that glorifies God stands in for the talbiya, as does garlanding and driving the sacrificial animal with the intention to go along. Ihram with an unspecified rite is valid by agreement; the Shafi'is and Hanbalis require the rite to be named before any act, while the Hanafis and Malikis judge by the first act performed (circling the House or standing at Arafat). Entering ihram by copying another's ihram is valid, and according to the majority it takes the form of the other person's ihram. A stipulation made at the start (that one may leave the state if prevented) is valid for the Shafi'is and Hanbalis and allows release when hindered, but it is not valid for the Hanafis and Malikis. The Hanafis have their own rule for the Meccan (one at or within the miqat zone): for him qiran is disliked; if he does it, it is lawful but he owes a make-up sacrifice, while for a man coming from afar who joins hajj to umra before circling for it, the joining is qiran by the majority view. The Malikis and Hanbalis allow joining hajj to an umra already begun, making the pilgrim a qarin; the Shafi'is forbid it once circling has begun. Adding an umra to a hajj already begun is not valid for the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, so no qiran results; the Hanafis and Malikis dislike it. Entering ihram for two hajjs or two umras together takes effect with one and the other is void, according to the majority; Abu Hanifa holds both take effect and one must be made up. The forms of ihram are ifrad, qiran and tamattu', and each school defines them differently. Its obligations come down to two: beginning at the miqat, and guarding the ihram against the prohibited acts. A miqat is, in the lexicon, a set time or place; in law, the set places and times for a specific rite. Ihram has a time miqat and a place miqat. For the hajj, the three imams and Ahmad fix the time as Shawwal, Dhu al-Qa'da and the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijja; for Malik it runs to the end of Dhu al-Hijja. The Hanafis and Hanbalis count the day of sacrifice as one of the months of hajj; the Shafi'is count only its night. The Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis allow ihram for the hajj before its months, with dislike; the Shafi'is hold it does not make a hajj. The time for umra is the whole year; it is recommended in Ramadan, and the Hanafis dislike it on the day of Arafa and four days after. The places for those coming from afar are agreed: Dhu al-Hulayfa for the people of Madina, al-Juhfa for Syria and those who come by it, and Qarn al-Manazil for the people of Najd. For those of Yemen the miqat is Yalamlam, and for Iraq and the rest of the East it is Dhat Irq. The miqats are fixed by the sunna (the hadiths of Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar) and by consensus; whether Dhat Irq was fixed by text or by Umar's judgment that matched the text is disputed. Whoever passes a miqat wishing to perform either rite must enter ihram there; delaying it past the miqat is forbidden by agreement, and beginning at its far edge is best. The place counts, not the name of the village; entering ihram at the miqat or at its alignment is enough. For a traveller who passes two miqats, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis require ihram at the farther one, the Malikis allow the nearer, and the Hanafis allow either and dislike delay. Entering ihram before the place miqat is lawful by agreement; the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis dislike it, while the Hanafis consider it better when the pilgrim is safe from breaking its rules. Whoever passes the miqat without ihram intending a rite is sinful, must return and enter ihram there, and owes a sacrifice if he does not return, unless he has an excuse. The resident of the miqat zone enters from his own place according to the Malikis, from his village or encampment according to the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, and the Hanafis take the whole sanctuary-free zone as his miqat. For the Meccans and the people of the sanctuary the hajj miqat is their own place, so they enter ihram in Mecca (or at the mosque, according to the Hanafis and Hanbalis); the Malikis distinguish those who begin with hajj from those who begin with qiran. The umra miqat for a man who is in Mecca is the lawful zone outside the sanctuary from any point; the majority prefer al-Ji'ranah and the Hanafis prefer al-Tan'im. Ihram forbids some things otherwise lawful, to remind the pilgrim of his rite and train him in simplicity; for men the core rule is that no stitched or fitted garment may cover the body, so shirts, turbans, trousers, hooded cloaks and socks are forbidden, as are garments touched by saffron or wars. A man may not wear a qaba (a long coat) or similar, except by the Hanafi distinction; a man who has no waist-wrap may wear trousers with a sacrifice owed according to some schools. A man who has no sandals cuts the socks below the ankles and wears them, according to the majority; Ahmad and others differ. The Malikis and Hanbalis forbid the wearing of a sword without need, while the Hanafis and Shafi'is allow it. Covering the head is forbidden to the man by agreement; the Hanafis and Hanbalis define covering by what is usually meant as a covering, the Malikis and Shafi'is by what counts as a covering. Shade from something fixed to a base, such as a tent or a roofed car, is lawful by agreement; shade from something not fixed is lawful for the Hanafis and Shafi'is. A man may not cover his face, and a woman in ihram may not wear the niqab; the exception is need or fear of temptation. Gloves are forbidden to men by agreement. For women in ihram the majority forbid covering the face and hands with gloves, while the Hanafis allow covering the hands. The prohibitions on the body concern anything that perfumes the body, removes its disorder or ends its untidiness: shaving the head, removing hair, cutting nails, oiling and scent. Shaving the head is forbidden to the pilgrim and to whoever shaves him, and so is trimming; for shaving a lawful person the Hanafis forbid it, while the Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow it. Oil without scent is forbidden by the majority because it adds comfort; the Shafi'is limit it to the head and beard, and the Hanbalis allow it on the whole body. Scent is forbidden by agreement with distinctions: the pilgrim may not use it on his waist-wrap, garments, bedding or sandals, nor drink or eat pure scent, and the ruling differs when scent is mixed into food. Smelling scent without touching it is disliked by the Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is with no penalty; the Hanbalis forbid it and require a sacrifice, as with musk and camphor. Hunting is forbidden to the pilgrim by the Qur'an (al-Ma'ida, ayas 95-96), the sunna (the hadith of Abu Qatada) and consensus; for the Hanafis game is the wild land animal that resists capture. The pilgrim may not kill game, harm it, assist in its hunting, order it killed, or take ownership of it by sale, gift or other means. He may not benefit from game, such as eating its meat or eggs. There is disagreement on eating game caught by a lawful person: Ali, Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas forbid it; the majority allow it if it was not caught for him; the Hanafis allow it unless he ordered or pointed to it, citing the hadith «land game is lawful to you as long as you do not hunt it or have it hunted for you». Recommended acts of ihram: the bath, perfume before entry according to the majority, two rak'as before entering, and the talbiya said often and aloud, ending for the hajj pilgrim at the throwing of the Jamra al-Aqaba and for the umra pilgrim at touching the Stone.. Ihram obliges completion; apostasy voids it and intercourse spoils it, requiring make-up. The lesser release comes by two of three acts (throwing, sacrifice, shaving or cutting); the greater release by the Ifada circling with shaving for the Hanafis and Malikis, and by all three acts for the Shafi'is and Hanbalis; the umra has a single release by shaving or cutting.. Fasakh (a change of intention, disputed) lifts ihram, while rafd (abandonment) is void. Special rulings: a discerning child enters ihram by his own act for the Hanafis and Malikis; a guardian enters for a non-discerning child; the Hanafis alone allow entry for an unconscious person before ihram, and one who forgets the rite he entered must do both hajj and umra.. Chapter ten sets out the penalties: ransom, offering, alms and fasting, with the detailed penalties for comfort offences (clothing, perfume, shaving, nails and lice).. On game and intercourse: the pilgrim who kills game owes a penalty of like, food or fasting, with the schools differing on how the like is fixed; injury, milking, causing death, handling and eating game each have their own rules. Intercourse in ihram is a penalty offence: before standing it spoils the hajj, after standing and before the first release it spoils the hajj by the majority (the Hanafis dissent), after the first release it does not; the precursors and the qarin's position are set out in detail.. On almsgiving, fasting and make-up: alms follow the kinds of the alms of the end of Ramadan; fasting for one unable to find an offering is three days in hajj and seven on return; the make-up is owed at once by the majority and in the following year by the Hanafis, entered from the miqat of the spoiled rite..Ihsar (being prevented from completing the rite)
Ihsar is, in the lexicon, being barred from the rites by sickness or the like; the jurists give the word the same meaning, though they differ on what counts. The schools define it differently: the Hanafis as being barred from both standing and circling, the Malikis from one or both, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis from any pillar of hajj or umra. Its basis is the Hudaybiyya episode. The dispute is whether only an enemy counts or illness and similar causes too: the Hanafis and some others include all, while the majority limit it to an enemy, strife and unjust imprisonment. Its conditions: a prior ihram; no standing before the obstacle according to the Hanafis and Malikis; despair of removal before the hajj is lost; and, for the Malikis, the pilgrim's ignorance of the obstacle at entry. Types by pillar: ihsar from standing and circling together, from standing alone, and from the pillar circling; by cause: enemy, strife, imprisonment and bars of the ruler, creditor and husband. Among the causes: imprisonment for debt, a husband barring his wife (in voluntary hajj by agreement and in obligatory hajj by school), a father barring his son from voluntary hajj, the emergent waiting period, and illness, lameness, lost funds or mount and losing the road by school.. The barred pilgrim releases by intention and slaughter of an offering according to the majority, by intention alone according to the Malikis; a sent offering does not release until slaughtered; a sheep serves one and a camel or cow seven.. On the offering: a single pilgrim owes one; the qarin owes one (Shafi'is and Hanbalis) or two (Hanafis), slaughtered where barred or in the sanctuary by the Hanafis; the time is open for the majority and the days of sacrifice for the two companions; a substitute of food or fasting is allowed by the Shafi'is and Hanbalis; shaving is a condition for the Shafi'is and Hanbalis only. Stipulation at entry releases by the Shafi'is and Hanbalis only; the missed obligatory rite is made up, and the voluntary one is not, for most jurists... The make-up: a barred pilgrim makes up an obligatory rite he was barred from; voluntary rites differ. Barring after standing and the Ifada circling is not ihsar. When the bar lifts, the outcome depends on whether time remains to catch the hajj or the offering..Reviving the Sacred House (the hajj as a collective duty)
Reviving the Sacred House means keeping it alive through the hajj, and some include the umra; the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold that the hajj is a collective duty each year, so that if none performs it the whole community is at fault, and that circling, retreat and prayer do not replace it; the Malikis require the ruler to send a group every year to hold the season..The Kaaba and prayer toward it (kaʿba)
The Kaaba in the lexicon is the square house; in the law it is the Sacred House, and the qibla is the direction toward which one prays. Facing the Kaaba is a condition of valid prayer. One who sees it must face its very mass; a person who cannot see it may rely on his judgement, as some jurists allow. The Hanafis and Shafi'is allow prayer inside it; the Malikis and Hanbalis forbid the obligatory prayer there and allow voluntary prayer. The Hanafis and Shafi'is allow the obligatory prayer on its roof, and the Hanbalis have a narration to that effect, while the Malikis and the better-known Hanbali view do not. Prayer on the adjoining roofs and on high ground nearby is valid by agreement.Mahmal
An ornate empty litter borne on a camel in the Hajj caravan symbolising sovereign care for the Hijaz; the Egyptian mahmal lasted until the mid-20th century.Place (makan) in the law
Makan is, in the lexicon, a place, the plural being amakina. Several rulings attach to place: whether prayer is valid in places disliked for prayer, such as a slaughterhouse, a cemetery, a bathhouse and a camel pen, where the schools differ between reprehension and invalidity; the placing of the hands in prayer; burial in a cemetery as best; the place where a sold item must be delivered; the limit on a borrowed mount to a stated place; and the merit of places, where most jurists hold Makka and Madina the best, with a dispute over which is greater.Makka al-Mukarrama: rulings concerning the city
Makka is the name of the city that holds the Sacred House of God. It has many names, among them Bakka, Umm al-Qura and al-Balad al-Amin, and the whole city and its surroundings are a sanctuary. Its rulings include the duty to honour it, the recommendation to bathe on entering it, the duty of ihram for one who intends the pilgrimage or the visit, the recommendation of staying there for most jurists, the bar on non-Muslims living there by agreement, a dispute on selling and renting its houses, and a debate on whether sins are multiplied there.The offices of Quraysh at Mecca
The offices on which Mecca's pre-Islamic government rested in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum's account: the five gathered by Qusayy (Dar al-Nadwa, the banner, the custody of the Kaaba, the watering and the feeding of pilgrims) later divided between Abd al-Dar and Abd Manaf, and the further offices distributed among the clans (divination arrows, votive property, counsel, blood-money, the war standard, the camp and cavalry, embassy), forming what the author calls a quasi-democratic statelet; before them, the three hajj prerogatives of Mudar.The signs of the Station in Tafsir al-Manar
The place named in the Qur'an among the clear signs of the Sacred House, where a footprint of Abraham is said to be in the rock beside the Ka'ba. Rashid Rida says the station is the place where Abraham stood for worship, and that the footprint was known to the Arabs by transmission. He reports the commentators' lists of signs in the station, rejects some items as not signs, and reads some as a favour (karama) to Abraham.The Station of Abraham: rulings on the two rak'as
The station is, in the lexicon, a place where one stands. Jurists and exegetes differ on which it is: the stone known today beside the Ka'ba where the circling pilgrims pray, or the stone on which Abraham rose while building the House. On rulings, the pilgrim who has completed the circumambulation prays two rak'as, ideally behind the Station. The schools differ on whether these are obligatory or a sunna, and on where they may be prayed.Cemetery (maqbara)
A cemetery is the place of graves, the place where the dead are buried. The jurists rule on prayer in it (reprehensible for the Hanafis and forbidden where the ground is disturbed for the Shafi'is, with a dispute on doubt), funeral prayer there, recitation and walking there, staying the night, the use of its land once the dead have decayed, ownership of its trees, its boundaries, its endowment, and relieving oneself there (forbidden or reprehensible).Niyaba (representation and agency: contractual and legal, and substitution in worship)
Niyaba in the lexical sense is making another one's deputy in a matter; technically it is one person's standing in for another in an act. It differs from wilaya, qawama, wakala and wasiyya; niyaba is the wider notion. There are two kinds: the contractual, which is agency, and the legal, which is guardianship over those unable to act for themselves through youth or the like. Legal guardianship is over property or over the person. In purely financial worship, such as zakat, expiations and vows, substitution is permitted by agreement; in purely bodily worship, such as prayer and fasting, it is not; in worship of body and wealth, such as the pilgrimage and the lesser pilgrimage, it is permitted under conditions: the principal must be permanently unable and must have funds, and for the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis the deputy must have performed his own pilgrimage first. Pilgrimage on behalf of the dead is treated separately for obligatory and voluntary acts; hiring for the pilgrimage on behalf of the dead is permitted by the Malikis, Shafi'is and in one Hanbali report, and forbidden by the Hanafis. Substitution in sacrifice and in stoning is permitted; the jurists differ on substitution in offices.Rabd (the outskirts of a city, and a sheep pen): its place in travel-shortening and Friday prayer, and the reviving of land
Rabd in the lexicon is a sheep pen; the jurists use it for the houses and dwellings around a city, and for the pen. For shortening the prayer on a journey, the outskirts count as the city, and villages joined to them do too, but orchards do not. Friday and Eid prayers are valid in outskirts that belong to the city when the conditions are met, and most jurists hold them invalid in outskirts outside it. Outskirts are not dead land and cannot be revived. Prayer in sheep pens is allowed when free of impurity, while prayer in camel resting places is disliked.Rafath (intercourse and obscene speech in worship): its penalty in fasting, in i'tikaf and in the state of consecration
Rafath in the lexicon is intercourse and what passes between a man and a woman, such as kissing, and it is also used for obscene speech. In worship it is forbidden: one who has intercourse deliberately in the day of Ramadan breaks his fast and owes a makeup and an expiation. The jurists differ on forgetful intercourse: the Hanafis and Shafi'is do not void the fast, the Malikis and Hanbalis do. Intercourse breaks i'tikaf, and the Shafi'is differ on the forgetful. Rafath in the state of ihram is forbidden by agreement, and intercourse in the private part voids the pilgrimage by the majority when deliberate, requiring a makeup and an expiation.Rafd (abandoning an act of worship or an intention in it): its effect on ablution, prayer, fasting, the state of ihram and the pilgrimage
Rafd in the lexicon is abandonment; in the jurists' usage it is treating what has been done of the act and its intention as if it had not been. It differs from annulment, from defect and from voiding. For the majority, abandoning the intention of ablution after it is complete has no effect, while abandoning the intention of prayer during it voids it; the Malikis, Hanbalis and one Shafi'i view hold that abandoning the intention of fasting voids the fast. The Hanafis hold that abandoning ihram does not void it, and if a Meccan who has begun the lesser pilgrimage adds the greater one, the Hanafis require him to abandon one of them with a sacrifice and a makeup.Raghaib (the special supererogatory prayers: the Maliki sense, the Fajr sunna, and the prayers of Rajab and mid-Sha'ban that the Hanafis and Shafi'is call innovation)
Raghaib is the plural of raghiba, a great gift or a good deed urged upon the believer; for the Malikis it is what the Law favours without its being done in congregation, and it may name the Fajr sunna. The Hanafis and Shafi'is hold that the special prayer on the first Friday of Rajab or on mid-Sha'ban, with a fixed manner or number, is a reprehensible innovation, and the traditions for it are judged fabricated. For the Malikis the raghiba is the Fajr sunna, which the Hanafis count among the strongest sunnas and the Shafi'is and Hanbalis among the regular sunnas.Ribat (garrisoning the frontier, and the endowed hostels for travellers)
Ribat in its root sense is the garrisoning of an enemy frontier; it is also used for keeping the five prayers, for persistent sitting in the mosque, and for endowed hostels that house the poor, travellers and students. Ribat is a confirmed sunna, since it guards the frontiers of Islam; Ahmad called it the root and branch of jihad, and many hadiths praise it. The best ribat is at the most dangerous frontier. A complete ribat is forty days by agreement; the Hanbalis set its least at an hour, and Ibn Hajar at a day or a night. Endowed hostels on roads and frontiers belong to those entitled to them, and whoever arrives first to one of them has the better claim.Rida' (the upper garment, worn over the izar): its wearing in ihram and in prayer, and turning it in the rain prayer
Rida' in the lexicon is the garment that covers the upper body over the izar, which covers the lower body. The jurists agree that a pilgrim in ihram should wear a white or washed izar and rida'. In prayer the majority prefer a shirt with a rida' over a single garment; the wrapping of the body in one cloth with the ends brought over the shoulder is disliked. Most jurists recommend turning the rida' over during the prayer for rain, while Abu Hanifa does not.Rifada (the provision for pilgrims, which Quraysh collected in the pre-Islamic period): its meaning, its related posts, and its standing in law
Rifada in the lexicon is a gift or a support; in the pre-Islamic period Quraysh collected money at the pilgrimage season to feed the pilgrims, the rifada and the water-service belonging to the Banu Hashim, and the keeping of the Ka'ba and the banner to the Banu 'Abd al-Dar. Quraysh took pride in these offices, and God rebuked those who made the watering of pilgrims equal to faith in God and the Last Day. Islam allowed the rifada as a kindness to pilgrims and as alms to the poor among them.Rifqa (the travelling company): its recommendation, the duties of companions, the pilgrimage and the rules for women
Rifqa in the lexicon is companionship; a rifqa is the company that travels with a man. It is recommended to travel with a company and disliked to travel alone. The company should be of righteous people and should appoint the best of them as leader; sharing one's food and money is advised only as far as it suits all. The duty of pilgrimage requires a company where the road is dangerous. For women the majority require a husband or a mahram to travel with them, while the Malikis allow a trusted company for a duty. The company must bury and prepare any dead companion, and a traveller must ask his companions for water for ablution.Rubu' (houses and walled dwellings): their sale and rent in Mecca, pre-emption, division and endowment
Rubu' is the plural of rab', a house or dwelling; the jurists also use it for a building and a walled palm garden. The Hanafis and Hanbalis forbid the sale and rent of houses in Mecca, while the Shafi'is allow them; the Malikis hold four views. Pre-emption in houses is due before division by agreement. In division, most jurists have buildings and trees follow the land, while the Malikis have each follow the other in sale. Real property, including land, houses, shops and orchards, may be endowed by agreement.Rukn (pillar): what an act cannot exist without, as against the condition and the obligation; the pillars of worship and of contracts; and the kissing of the corners of the Ka'ba
Rukn in the lexicon is the strongest side and the great matter; technically it is what a thing cannot exist without, the part of its essence, as against the condition, which is outside the essence, and against the obligation. A pilgrim who leaves a pillar of the pilgrimage does not complete his rite; one who leaves an obligation makes it good by a sacrifice, and the Hanafis and Hanbalis apply this to prayer. The pillars of ablution, tayammum, prayer, fasting, i'tikaf and pilgrimage differ between the schools. In contracts the majority hold that each has three pillars, the formula, the two parties and the object, while the Hanafis hold the formula alone; the lack of a pillar makes the contract void. The sunna is to touch or kiss the Black Stone and the Yemeni corner, and to point to them from afar when crowded.Rukub (riding): prayer on the mount, prayer of the warrior and the pilgrim on a mount, tawaf on a mount, liability for a beast's damage, and the supplications of the rider
Rukub (riding) in the lexicon is mounting a beast, and some say it is peculiar to camels. All agree that voluntary prayer on the mount is permitted on a journey; the majority allow it on a short journey too; the Malikis require a journey that shortens the prayer, that the movements be few, and that the journey last to the end of the prayer, and the Hanafis and Hanbalis require facing the qibla at the opening takbir where possible. A warrior may pray on a mount when fighting is joined; riding the hajj is better than walking; tawaf on a mount is valid with an excuse, and without one the Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis require a sacrifice; the rider is liable for damage done by his beast's hand according to the majority. The rider says the takbir, praise and the recorded supplications on mounting and on setting out.Sha'a'ir (the outward rites and signs of Islam)
Sha'a'ir is the plural of sha'ira, a sign or mark. When attributed to God the word means the signs of His religion and obedience. It covers prayer, fasting, zakat, the pilgrimage and its rites, and in other matters the call to prayer, congregational prayer, the Friday and festival prayers, and jihad. Muslims must establish and display the outward rites of Islam, and a community that agrees to abandon one of them may be fought.Shadharwan (the ledge at the foot of the Kaaba wall)
The shadharwan is the smooth ledge that projects from the base of the wall of the Sacred House by about two-thirds of a cubit; Quraysh left it when they rebuilt the house, and it is called ta'zir because it is like a waist-wrap for the house. The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold it part of the Kaaba; the Hanafis hold it a foundation built beneath the wall as a precaution, and some later Malikis deny it is part of the house. The majority require that the whole body of the circumambulant be outside it; the Hanafis allow circling over it.Shajar (trees and their rulings in sale, pre-emption, orchard contracts and the sacred enclosure)
In language shajar is plant with a stem, while kala' is grass with no stem, and zar' is what is sown by seed. The jurists agree that cutting or uprooting the trees of the sacred enclosure is forbidden, on the hadith that its grass is not cut and its trees are not felled. Trees fixed in the ground pass with the sale of land for the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Malikis, while there is no pre-emption in trees sold apart from land, and orchard contracts for a share of fruit are allowed by most jurists. Relieving oneself under a fruit-bearing tree is disliked by most jurists, and forbidden by the Hanbalis when the tree bears fruit.Tashbik (interlacing the fingers)
Tashbik is putting the fingers of one hand between those of the other. The jurists agree it is disliked in prayer. Hanafis, Shafiis and Hanbalis dislike it in the mosque while waiting for prayer, since waiting counts as prayer; after the prayer the majority do not dislike it, even in the mosque, citing the hadith of Dhu al-Yadayn. Malikis dislike it only during prayer, and the others dislike it during the Friday sermon.Tazahum (crowding, and competing claims)
Tazahum is crowding, pressing against one another in a place. It is forbidden if it hurts someone or leads to a forbidden act. It covers a follower's crowding in prostration, the use of signs at the Black Stone in circumambulation, competing creditors of an insolvent debtor, competing bequests, and killing in a crowd.The lesser pilgrimage (umra): its forms, pillars, obligations and invalidation
In the lexicon, 'umra is a visit; as a term most jurists define it as circling the House and running between Safa and Marwa in the state of ihram. The Malikis and Hanafis hold it a confirmed sunna, some Hanafis hold it obligatory once in a lifetime, and the sounder view of the Shafi'is and Hanbalis is that it is an obligation once in a lifetime. It may be performed alone, combined with the pilgrimage (tamattu') or in one ihram with it (qiran); the majority hold that the one who combines needs only one circuit and one running. The majority hold its pillars to be three: ihram, circumambulation and running, and the Shafi'is add shaving; the Hanafis hold circumambulation alone to be its pillar. Running and shaving or clipping the hair are obligatory according to the majority. Performing it in Ramadan is recommended, repeating it is encouraged, some disliked repeating it in the months of pilgrimage, and the best place to enter ihram for it is disputed. It is invalidated by omitting a pillar or by a voiding act before release; the compensation for that is disputed, and performing it on behalf of another person is permitted by the majority.Upkeep and building of property and mosques (imara, not the emirate)
In the lexicon, imara is what a thing is made to flourish by, and it also means building. As a term it is the doing of what keeps land or a building in good condition, such as reviving land, repairing and plastering a building. It is narrower than building, and than the revival of land in either sense. The supervisor of an endowment must keep it in repair from its income or from what the founder stipulated; a guardian must keep his ward's real estate in repair; a restrained person must keep his own property in repair; a free adult is not obliged to do so, though neglecting a ruin is disliked. The upkeep of mosques is a communal duty, kept by worship, teaching and cleaning, and is strongly recommended.Wada' (farewell: taking leave of the traveller, and the rites of departure)
Wada' is the verbal noun of taking leave; the one who departs is the one who is taken leave of, since he is the one parting. A traveller is advised to take leave of his family, brethren and friends and ask their prayers, and the one who sees him off says: 'I entrust you to God, who does not lose what is entrusted to Him'; Ibn Umar reported the words 'may God keep your faith, your trust and the last of your deeds'. It is recommended to pray two rak'as before leaving, and to pray for those who go out to fight in God's way. The Hanafis forbid a man kissing the mouth of another man; a Shafi'i view recommends kissing a returning traveller of the same sex. The pilgrim takes leave of the House by the farewell circuit (tawaf al-wada').Wadi Muhassir (the valley between Mina and Muzdalifa on the pilgrimage)
Wadi Muhassir is the valley that lies between Mina and Muzdalifa and belongs to neither; it is named for Abraha's elephant, which stumbled there. Pilgrims are recommended to hasten for about a stone's throw when they reach it after leaving Muzdalifa, since the Prophet moved his camel gently at the valley's bed, and the jurists note that it is a place where punishment fell. Passing it, the prayer of Umar ibn al-Khattab is recommended. Most jurists hold that Wadi Muhassir is neither Mina nor Muzdalifa and that standing there does not suffice, on the Prophet's words that the whole of Muzdalifa is a place of standing and that one should leave the bed of Muhassir. Some Shafi'is say it is part of Mina, citing the report of al-Fadl ibn Abbas.Duty of the Hajj: immediate or deferrable
The jurists' dispute over when the pilgrimage becomes due for one who is able. Rashid Rida reports that many scholars of law and transmission hold it immediate, and others hold it deferrable. He lists the reports used by the first view and records the weakness attributed to them, and advises caution against delay without a valid excuse. On the sense of ability he reports Muhammad Abduh's reading.Yawm Arafa (the day of Arafa, fiqh)
Yawm Arafa is the ninth of Dhu al-Hijja; the pilgrimage is completed by the standing at Arafa, a pillar established by the Sunna and consensus, so whoever omits it or delays it past its time has lost the pilgrimage. The jurists agree its time ends at the dawn of the day of the sacrifice and differ on when it begins, on whether joining night and day is obligatory, and on whether intention is required.
Group
Adwan
The tribe that held the right to lead the pilgrims from Jam' (Muzdalifa) to Mina on the morning of the sacrifice under Khuza'a's rule, one of the three prerogatives kept by Mudar; Qusayy confirmed it in its office, regarding it as religion not to be changed.Sufa (Banu al-Ghawth ibn Murra)
Banu al-Ghawth ibn Murra of the Ilyas ibn Mudar line, called Sufa; under Khuza'a's rule they held the right to lead the pilgrims from Arafa to Muzdalifa and to release them from Mina on the day of departure: none threw the stones until a man of Sufa threw, and they held both sides of the pass until they had passed; when they died out, Banu Sa'd ibn Zayd Manat of Tamim inherited the office.
Object
The Black Stone
The Black Stone set in the eastern corner of the Kaaba; pilgrims touch it to open the tawaf, stolen by the Qarmatians and returned in 339 AH.Sancak-ı Şerif
The banner traditionally held to be the Prophet's standard, kept at Topkapı and carried with Ottoman armies on campaign and pilgrimage.The Kiswa
The Kaaba's gold-embroidered black covering, renewed yearly — a tradition from pre-Islamic Arabia to the modern Mecca workshop.Maqam Ibrahim
The stone bearing the footprints attributed to Abraham in the Great Mosque of Mecca; the Qur'an says 'take the Station of Abraham as a place of prayer'.
Place
al-Ji'rana
A settlement between Mecca and Ta'if where the Prophet halted the spoils and captives of Hunayn, received Hawazin's delegation and granted them general amnesty, distributed the shares to al-Mu'allafa Qulubuhum, addressed the Ansar, and entered ihram for Umrah.al-Khaliqa (Dhu al-Khalifa)
Khalifat Bani Abi Ahmad near Medina, where Ali and al-Zubayr caught the woman carrying Hatib's letter to Quraysh and took it from her braided hair.al-Kudayd
A watering place between Usfan and Amaj on the road between Medina and Mecca; there the Prophet broke his fast and the army broke theirs on the march of the Conquest in Ramadan 8 AH.al-Watir
A watering place of Khuza'a in lower Mecca where Banu al-Dil of Banu Bakr made the night attack that broke the Hudaybiyya truce.Usfan
A settlement two stages from Mecca on the Medina road; there Abu Sufyan met Budayl ibn Warqa' coming back from Medina, and there the Prophet's army passed on the march of the conquest.Dhu Tuwa
A valley in lower Mecca where the Prophet halted the army, bowed his head in humility on his mount until his beard nearly touched the saddle, divided the columns for entry, and where Abu Quhafa was brought to embrace Islam.Marr al-Zahran
A major valley stage one stage north of Mecca (modern Wadi Fatima); there the ten-thousand-strong Muslim army encamped and lit ten thousand fires, Abu Sufyan was brought in by al-Abbas, and the tribes paraded in iron before the entry.
Polity
Practice
The call to prayer (adhan)
The public call to prayer in its fixed formula: Allahu akbar, the two testimonies, 'hurry to prayer' and 'hurry to success', with an added phrase at dawn.Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca)
The journey to the Sacred House at Mecca to perform prescribed rites, one of the five pillars; the Qur'an makes it a duty for those who are able to make the way there, and tells of the call to proclaim it to the people.Sa'i (walking between Safa and Marwa)
Walking seven times between Safa and Marwa in hajj and umrah, in memory of Hagar seeking water for her son Ishmael.Tawaf (circling the Kaaba)
Circling the Kaaba seven times in hajj, umrah and voluntary rites; beginning and ending at the Black Stone with the Kaaba on the left.
Screening Room
The Great Journey
2004 CE · 1425 AH†Ismaël Ferroukhi's film about a Moroccan father who makes his French son drive him from France to Mecca for the hajj — the classic fictional hajj road movie.Inside Mecca
2003 CE · 1424 AH†A National Geographic documentary following pilgrims from three continents through the hajj inside Mecca, with background on the Kaaba and the rites.One Night in Al-Aqsa
2019 CE · 1440 AH†Abrar Hussain's documentary filmed on Laylat al-Qadr inside al-Aqsa — following Palestinian worshippers, guardians and workers through the holiest night of the year.Malcolm X
1992 CE · 1412 AH†Spike Lee's epic biopic starring Denzel Washington — Malcolm X's journey from crime to the Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam after the hajj.Journey to Mecca
2009 CE · 1430 AH†An IMAX docudrama dramatising Ibn Battuta's first pilgrimage in 1325, filmed alongside real modern hajj footage inside the Haram.A Sinner in Mecca
2015 CE · 1436 AH†A Sinner in Mecca.A Road to Mecca: The Journey of Muhammad Asad
2008 CE · 1429 AH†Georg Misch's Austrian documentary retracing Leopold Weiss's transformation into Muhammad Asad — Vienna to Jerusalem to Mecca — through his book The Road to Mecca.99 Lights in the European Sky
2013 CE · 1434 AH†An Indonesian film following a Muslim couple in Vienna who trace the Islamic heritage of Europe while facing Islamophobia — a major Indonesian box-office success.The Porridge Vendor Goes on Hajj
A long-running Indonesian series about a poor porridge vendor saving for the hajj — the country's longest-running religious drama and a Ramadan staple.One Day in the Haram
2017 CE · 1438 AH†Abrar Hussain's documentary observing a full day in Masjid al-Haram through the eyes of its muezzins, imams, cleaners and guards.
What is missing? Tell us · A theme is open when it has a reviewed guide, 10 questions, 25 entries across 5 classes, and voices from several traditions and regions.