Celebration

The Hajj and Umrah are both pilgrimages for all Muslims of the world. They are both performed at Mecca in modern day Saudi Arabia. Mecca is one of the holiest cities in Islam. It is where the Prophet Mohammed was born. There are a few things that are the same but not too many.

The Islamic faith is built on five “pillars” (faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage). Hajj is a great celebration for Muslims that is performed physically and financially.

Actually, Hajj takes place in the specific month of Dhul- Hajj (according to the Islamic calendar.) Basically a Muslim can perform Hajj if he/ she is financially and physically able, and only if he/ she can support their dependants during his/ her absence. It formally begins on the eighth day of Dhul- Hajj. This Pilgrimage leads Muslims from around the world to Mecca and all the Hajj duties in the month of Dhul- Hajj. Pilgrims spend the ninth day of Dhul- Hajj in Arafat. They spend the full day and say two prayers Zuhar and Asar there. Then they move from Arafat to Muzdulifa in the evening time. They stay there overnight and pray to Allah the whole night. The next day they throw stones (seven pebbles) at Satan (the devil). After that all return to Mina and there they sacrifice animals like camels, cows, sheep, lamb, etc. They share the meat with relatives, friends, and especially poor people. At the end they shave their hair!

Umrah is a smaller pilgrimage than the Hajj. We can perform Umrah in any month of the year. There is no specific month for Umrah. There are four things that a Muslim does during Umrah. The first thing is called “Ehraam” which are two big white cloths we wear to cover the whole body. The second thing is we must walk around the Kabah seven times. Kabbah is an ancient stone structure that was built and re-built by Prophets as a house of monotheistic worship. The third is “S'ay” when we walk rapidly between two holy hills called Safa and Marwah seven times. At the end, “Taqsir” or “Halq” is the shaving of men's hair. Umrah takes a very short time and we can do it in 3 or 4 hours compared to Hajj which takes 3 or 4 days.

My husband performed Umrah just recently. As a family (my husband, son and I), we all performed the Hajj in 2012. It was a really nice journey in my life and I will never forget it. In conclusion, I hope that I have taught you some similarities and differences between the Hajj and Umrah and that you have learned something new about your Muslim neighbours and their faith.