This festival marks the annual completion of the hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the most important rites of obligation for Muslims. All Muslims in good health and reasonable financial standing should at least once in their lifetime visit the house of Kabah in Mecca. Hajj takes place during the first days of the last lunar month, with the ninth of the month being the climax. If the visits are made in other months it is called a lesser pilgrimage hajj umrah and it is shorter. The rites of hajj center on complete submission and devotion to Allah. Sacrificing a sheep at the festival of sacrifice commemorates Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at Allah’s command.

The Muslims refer to the house of Kabah as the sacred house (bait al-haram). It is a small rectangular stone structure inside the compound of the sacred mosque (masjid al-haram). Muslims believe that Abraham and Ishmael originally built the house and it is the first sanctuary on earth. The celebrated black stone placed in the corner of the house is a meteorite and Muslims believe it was part of the original structure blessed by Abraham himself. All Muslims praying should face Kabah and the dead at the time of burial will be buried facing the same direction. The structure existed long before Islam and housed a number of deities before Prophet Muhammad proclaimed his new fate.

Amongst the most famous deities that were placed in the house and are mentioned in Quran were al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat. All three were female deities and represented the Sun, the planet Venus and Fortune respectively. As Allah means ‘the god’, so al-Lat means ‘the goddess’. She represented Sun and was called ar-Rabbah, "the Lay" in other parts of Arabia. She is mentioned by Herodotus and is present in old Arabian inscriptions; and in pre-Islamic poems; and was the great mother goddess who, under various names, was worshipped all over the ancient world. Al-Uzza was also very important and constantly present from fourth century AD. She was also worshiped by the northern Semites and was regarded as "the Mightiest" and represented planet Venus. Manat the goddess of Fortune and fate was a representative of the all-pervading mystery of life and death and a household deity.

Carl Brockelmann in his book ‘history of the Islamic peoples’ describes Allah’s history as follows; "Allah himself was a deity associated with creation and represented the greater god of the worlds. By the time of Prophet’s birth, Allah had already replaced the old moon –god Hubal as the lord of Kabah. In one pre Islamic poem by the Christian poet: adi ibn-Zayd, Allah is called on next to the Messiah as witness to an oath. He also was the guardian of contracts, alien guests and ordained fate was regarded to be his will. By 7^th century all other deities were loosing influence while Allah was gaining strength. By this time the three goddess though much older than Allah himself attained the status of his daughters".

The disintegration of the local cults was accelerated by the influence of monotheistic religions, which for a long time were established in the area. Judaism was quite powerful in South Arabia and well established since first century AD. Many local rulers were already converted and at times fought against the spread of Christianity. The main Jewish settlements were Tayma, Khaybar, Yathrib (Medina) and Fadak. Christians on the other hand dominated northern Arabia and influenced inner Arabia as far as the important trading city Hijaz. In addition, the desert itself was an asylum for several sects persecuted by the established Orthodox Church. Islam has incorporated many of these varied elements in its doctrine and rituals.

Making the pilgrimage to Mecca involves several rituals mostly ancient pre-Islamic Arab rites taken over and spiritualized. The ones that were inconsistent with monotheism like worshipping idols were discarded while others were preserved or transformed into new rituals. The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that gods and spirits inhabited blocks of stone, rocks, trees or wells. These items especially rocks served as altars and blood sacrifices were carried out with blood smeared or poured on rocks while people danced around and kissed or touched the stones. By such actions the worshippers believed they would gain holiness by contagion. This practice has remained and is part of the rituals of hajj. Nilus a Christian writer gives a fairly full account of such rites to ‘Uzza’ in his descriptions of Arab worshippers before Islam. The house of Kabah was not the only sanctuary of this kind. Nejran on the Saudi-Yaman border and Sana also had Kabah shaped temples before Islam. Trees were also regarded as sacred by all the ancient cultures of the area including Arabs. People believed deities inhabited them and the practice of hanging straps of clothing, rags and other personal belongings on the branches of trees still is practiced by many. Ancient Zoroastrians of Iran believed in this concept as well and there are still shrines throughout the country with sacred trees and sometimes wells as well.

The rites performed at Hajj involve circumambulating the Kabah and that of running between two mounds called Safa and Marwa. Before reaching the house ritual blessing is required. Men are unshaved and wear two pieces of unsewn white cloth called ihram. Women can wear ihram too but should cover their bodies and hair. The original ritual before Islam required the pilgrims to be nude. The Prophet banned this practice. Cutting hair (all body hairs), nails, shaving and sex are prohibited during hajj. Pilgrims greet the sacred structure by chanting "Here I am at Thy service" (labbaika). Then they will circle the house seven times and kiss the black stone. A sevenfold running between the two mounds finishes the primary rites.

The highlight is on the ninth of the month. The believers will stay on the hill Arafat, eight miles away from Mecca. Sermons are given at this place at noon hours. On the way back throwing seven pebbles three times at a certain place symbolizes the ‘stoning of Satan’. This happens at a place called Mina. It is believed that here Satan tried to persuade Abraham not to kill Ishmael. Abraham was ordered by God to sacrifice Ishmael to show his obedience. Satan intervened and did his best to make Abraham disobey God’s command. He whispered three times in his ear telling him that Allah did not command him to kill his son and this was only a bad dream. Abraham was not deceived and proceeded to sacrifice his son before God relieved him from this act.

On the tenth day each pilgrim slaughters a sheep remembering Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at Allah’s command. At the end pilgrims will take back a small vessel filled with water from the close by well Zamzam. The well is part of the story of Abraham and his two sons. The Muslims believe that sometimes in the second millennium BC, Abraham left his home city Ur ( Ur of Chaldees in the Bible) for Palestine. His aged wife Sarah appeared to be barren and encouraged Abraham to wed a slave called Hagar. She bore him a son called Ishmael. Later on Sarah gave birth to her own son Isaac. There was friction between the wives and the children. Abraham took Hagar and Ishmael to the valley of Mecca. He left them there with some provisions and went back to Sarah. They ran out of water and Hagar became desperate. She ran helplessly between the two mounds looking for water and Zamzam suddenly appeared at God’s will when Ishmael rubbed his heel through the sand. The well attracted other settlers. Abraham eventually went back and built the house of Kabah with Ishmael. Some Muslims believe that Hagar is actually buried in the house of kabah. She is believed to be the mother of all the Arab people. The Quranic version is similar to the Biblical account of the story.

For the faithful hajj is a journey toward God. It is the merging of the individual with the community. The ones who finish the pilgrimage are called Hajji. Any one dying during the process will be regarded as a martyr for the faith. The universality of the faith brings Muslims from every corner of the planet. All dressed alike and performing the same acts while praying and expressing submission and obedience to the almighty. Every pilgrim must start with a niyyat (good intention), the circling around the house is called tawaf and running between the two mounds is called Sa’y. The lesser hajj ends here while the proper hajj continues.

After the stoning of Satan and sacrificing the animal people will stay behind for a few days, normally three days to contemplate, meditate, discuss the experience, exchange views with others and shop. Many Muslims still sacrifice a sheep on this day even if they are not at hajj and will give part of the meat with or without other food items like rice to the needy. The rest will be consumed with friends and relatives believing that the family will be blessed by such actions. In the past people finishing the pilgrim and returning home safely had great prestige and were addressed as Hajji or Hajjieh Khanom; meaning lady hajji. On their return people would visit them, congratulate them and at times sheep or lamb were sacrificed once they arrived. They would be regarded as blessed and were treated with great respect.

At the present, Saudi government strictly regulates all pilgrimages to Mecca. There are specific tours that are licensed by the Saudi authorities. Unless one manages to get a special permit, all pilgrims must join one of these tours. Travel agencies dealing with the Muslim population in North America operate these tours. They are present in all the major cities and many Muslim oriented sites on the Internet advertise them regularly.

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