Haj is the fifth pillar of Islam. A Muslim man or woman is required to perform it once in a lifetime if he/she can afford it financially or physically, but these days many charitable organizations do provide financial help to many Muslims around the world to help them perform Haj. Every year thousands of Muslims perform Haj as guests of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. This is a tradition started by the founder of modern-day Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz; and his sons, King Saud, King Faisal, King Khaled, King Fahd and King Abdullah, followed in his footsteps. Madinah and Makkah governorates begin preparations months before the Haj which falls in Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the lunar calendar.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman are in direct contact with all concerned authorities during the Haj.
Saudi Arabia provides unprecedented care and services to the Haj pilgrims. The Kingdom allocates billions of dollars annually to ensure comfort and safe environment for the millions of pilgrims. During Haj the government provides hundreds of hospitals, thousands of medical staff, train services, security personnel, ambulances, fire proof tents, helicopters, state-of-the-art monitoring systems, wheelchairs for the elderly, civil defense modern equipment, passport controls and much more. And all these services are provided to facilitate Muslims perform pilgrimage with ease and comfort. There are many unique characteristics of Haj in addition to its religious character.
Millions of Hajis come from all over the world. They arrive in the Kingdom by air, land and sea. After they arrive, they move in groups from one place to another. It is not that they would come to the Grand Mosque in Makkah and stay there. In a few assigned days, these millions of people do different rituals at different places at specific time. And this is what makes it a challenge. The Hajis are men, women, old and young from different parts of the world. Many of them have nothing in common with others except that they are all Muslims. These millions of Hajis will visit the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifah, Arafat and other places. During these days, they also stay in the largest tent city in the world at Mina. And it is not an average tent city. It is a tent city with the most advanced gadgets and services and with state-of-the-art transport system. The most difficult task is moving this huge number of people who come from every corner of the earth. The Hajis belong to different sects of Islam and come from different countries with various social backgrounds, but during Haj they are all unified in a way we don’t see anywhere in the world. During Haj, Muslims become the most organized people and most law-abiding worshippers. When the call for prayer is given we see three million worshippers scattered all over the place. But, when the imam begins the prayer by saying Allah Akbar, these millions of people line up in a military-like formation in less than ten seconds. Yes, three million men, women, old, young and handicapped will be in straight lines in less than ten seconds. And the majority of them don’t speak the language used by the imam (Arabic).
Lining for up for prayer and standing before Allah as equal is a very simple form of Islamic unity. Muslims from different races, colors and sects all stand before the Almighty Allah wearing only two pieces of white sheets to cover their bodies and this shows how humble and easy is the Islamic religion. The rich, the poor, the strong, the weak, the white, the black and the yellow all stand before the Almighty Allah. This is Islamic unity at its best. So, why can’t Muslim nations around the world unite in the same harmonic way we see it in the Holy places and why can’t Muslims learn to live in peace with each other like they do during the Haj? Why can’t Muslims learn from the few days of Haj?
Haj is there for a few days where Muslims from different parts of the world meet. It is the largest gathering of Muslims which takes place annually, but there are many things Muslims can learn from these few days of gathering. It is sad to see many Muslim countries in disarray. And what is worse, is to see many Muslims hate and kill each other in the name of religion. We see sectarian violence between Muslims from Pakistan to Iraq, from Syria to Libya, from Somalia to Yemen and from Egypt to Lebanon. But, Islam prohibits all these acts which are committed in the name of Islam which is a religion of peace.
Muslims around the world must learn from the few days of Haj. Islam is not only a religion of worship. It is a religion of good conduct in the daily life of a Muslim. Islamic religion is about fighting corruption, having a clean body and soul, seeking more knowledge, respecting others, being humble and performing honestly in the work place. Muslims must learn from the Haj the meaning of unity. With unity comes peace and love for the others and this brings stability to the Muslim world. Muslims have gained nothing from being disunited and they can only gain by being united.
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