Posted by Eid al-Adha is the final act of the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca, which is performed during the early part of Dhu’l Hijja, the last month of the Muslim lunar calendar. A minor pilgrimage, umra, may be undertaken at any other time. The focal point of the pilgrimage is the Ka’ba, in Mecca, which was known as ‘Becca’ in ancient times. The Ka’ba, meaning ‘cube’ in Arabic, is believed to have been constructed by Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Isma’il by divine command for the exclusive worship of God (2:127-128). Its four corners are generally aligned with the four points of the compass. The Ka’ba is considered the first-ever House of God (Q 3:96).
At the southeastern corner of the Ka’ba is the Black Stone, whose origin remains a mystery although several traditions claim that God gave it to Adam; other traditions say the stone is a meteorite possessing supernatural powers.
In pre-Islamic times, the Ka’ba had became a sanctuary housing some 360 idols and was a point of an annual pilgrimage by the various tribes of Arabia. Prophet Muhammad “was charged to return it to its original monotheistic state and to remind the people of Mecca of their covenant with God,” reforming the rituals of the pilgrimage (Islam An Illustrated History p 101).
The formalised practices for the hajj link the Ka’ba to other nearby centres “to constitute the totality of pilgrimage rituals” (Nanji, IIS). The sequence of ritual actions performed by pilgrims were based on revelation and the practice of the Prophet. All pilgrims, women and men, wear a common dress, a simple white garment underlining the equality of all humans before God. “Upon entering the precincts, pilgrims perform the “circling” of the Ka’ba, seven circuits counter-clockwise” (Nanji, Almanac p 14). “The Ka’ba itself represents the three archetypal moments in the Quran where the world of time and the world of eternity come together: the creation (the stone of Ka’ba…), prophecy, and the day of judgement” (Sells, Almanac, p 217).
“After acknowledging the “station of Abraham” [located just outside of the Ka‘ba], marking the spot symbolising the space of worship built in ancient times, the pilgrims cross to the hills of Safa and Marwa and run or walk briskly between the two spots. This ritual act signifies the running of Hagar, Abraham’s second wife, as she sought water for their son Ishmael. According to Muslim tradition, Abraham had left Hagar and Ishmael there, while on a mission for God. As food and water ran out, Hagar ran between the two hilly spots, searching desperately for water in the blazing sun. Water miraculously sprang forth in a spot called zam-zam (Nanji, Almanac p 14). Its water is now circulated through a modern system of pipes and made available to pilgrims as is ancient Muslim custom” (Nanji, IIS)
“Next the pilgrims set out some distance away to a place called Mina where they spend the night. The following morning they proceed to the plains of Arafat and spend the whole day there in prayer, remembrance, and reading of the Quran” (Nanji, Almanac p 14).
“On the plain of Arafat, there is simultaneous re-enactment of [Prophet] Muhammad’s final sermon and pre-enactment of the final day of judgement or moment of truth…. as the Islamic community stands on the plain of Arafat and chants “labayka” (‘Here I am, Lord’) (Sells, Almanac, p 217).
“At sunset they go to Muzdalifa to spend the night. Before daybreak the next day, the pilgrims leave to return to Mina where they participate in the ritual stoning of three pillars, symbolizing the repudiation of evil by Abraham who rejected all temptation put before him so that he might fulfill God’s will by sacrificing his son. The theme is continued in the preparation of the festival that is to follow, which marks a formal end of each person’s pilgrimage” (Nanji, Almanac p 14).
“The rituals memorialise the ancient history of the Kaba and its founding as a sacred sanctuary by Prophet Abraham and its restoration by Prophet Muhammad” (Nanji, Almanac p 15).
The final act of the hajj, the sacrifice of an animal commemorating the sheep that God accepted in place of Abraham’s son, is celebrated as Eid al-Adha on the tenth day of Dhu’l Hijja. According to tradition, Prophet Abraham was commanded by God, as a test, to sacrifice that which was dearest to him, his son Isma’il. Prophet Abraham set out to comply with the divine command, but just before the sacrifice was made, God intervened, replacing Hazrat Isma’il with a ram or a lamb.
Prophet Abraham’s resolve to fulfill God’s command “reflects the absolute faith he and his son had in God” (Faith and Practice in Islam, p 74). The Qur’an states:
“It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah but your piety that reaches Him” (22:37).
The message revealed by Prophets Abraham and Muhammad, and other messengers of God, is essentially the same, connecting Muhammad to Ibrahim on the sacred plane “of divinely guided prophethood, a lineage chosen by God from the time of Adam (Q 3:33-34)” (Islam An Illustrated History p 101).
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“The shared destiny of the ethos of the Abrahamic tradition that unites Christians, Jews and Muslims is governed by the duty of loving care to help nurture each life that is born to its God-given potential.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Houston, USA, June 23, 2002
Speech
“We come from the same common religious heritage, descendants of Abraham, and it is enjoined on us to address the problems of society on the same ethical premises.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Lisbon, Portugal, December 19, 2005
Speech
Sources:
Professor Azim Nanji, Ka’ba or Kaaba, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Azim Nanji, “The Prophet, the Revelation, and the Founding of Islam,” The Muslim Almanac Ed. Azim A Nanji, Gale Research Inc., Detroit, 1996
Michael A. Sells, “Early Muslim Spirituality and Mysticism, The Muslim Almanac Ed. Azim A Nanji, Gale Research Inc., Detroit, 1996
Farhad Daftary, Zulfikar Hirji, Islam An Illustrated History, Azimuth Editions in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 2018
Malise Ruthven, Azim Nanji, “Growth of the Hajj and Other Places of Pilgrimage,” A Historical Atlas of Islam, Harvard University Press, 2004
“Eid al-Adha,” Secondary Curriculum, Faith and Practice in Islamic Tradition, Volume 2, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
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