Recounting Hajj pt. 4 – The Places Of Hajj

People who come back from Hajj often talk about a bunch of places, rituals, and events that you've probably never heard of. In trying to understand Hajj, this doesn't really help. It's one thing that you haven't attended, but it's another to have a bunch of unfamiliar terminology and places that confuse you.

While there's a lot to learn about Hajj, and you won't really know most of it until you actually go, learning about the major places of Hajj and what happens there can go a long way. Here's a look at them and what they mean for a pilgrim.

The post is pretty long, but instead of splitting this section into parts, it can serve as a basic one-stop shop for reference on what the major parts of Hajj are. I wrote this post with help from my wife. I covered Mina and Jamarat while she did ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah.

Mina

On the 8th of Dhul Hijjah, the first official day of Hajj begins upon your arrival to Mina. It’s here that you stay for almost every night of your days during Hajj.

The first thing you notice upon arriving is the massive size of the place. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, stayed in this area during his Hajj, and since then, staying arrangements have been made throughout the ages that have nearly filled up the entire area with tents to fit 2 to 3 million people. Your Hajj group makes arrangements for your stay in one of them.

There’re so many tents, Mina is better known as Tent City. Meaning you literally enter a city of tents probably the size of the Loop in downtown Chicago, all filled with tents and walkways in between. This makes it really easy to get lost if you’re not careful. The tents all look the same and are set up in patterns throughout the different sections.

Each area is split up by continent, and then by country, for the most part. You’ll see flags along walkways and bridges that overlook the tents that will give you an idea of where people are coming from.

Meals for our group were given in our tents. They were small hot trays of food, each meal being lightly cooked rice and some kind of meat.

Here’s what one of the tents looks like inside. This is a standard and very typical arrangement for a pilgrim.

Hajj groups give out sleeping bags and sometimes tents will have mattresses and pillows.

While staying here, you begin your process of change. You’re sleeping with people who are all on the same boat as you, there to perform Hajj and be forgiven for your sins. You start to share your food with them, pray in the same tents together, watch each others’ bags while going to the restrooms, talk about stories and experience, and more. The experience of brotherhood is unmatched and builds your character (granted that you choose to let it do so).

Also, specifically for us Muslims coming from Western lands, we get to exorcise a lot of our comfortable demons while staying in Mina during Hajj. The bathrooms at Mina are horrendous for most people. The food, unless you pay over $10,000 for your package per person, is nothing special and gets repetitive. You learn the value of water without being close to easily accessible taps or bottled water. You recall how much of a luxury cars and public transportation are when you walk for miles all day from Mina to other places.

All in all, the experience in Mina builds you up perfectly while you perform the upcoming rituals of Hajj, acting as a home away from home during that time with sweet memories you carry with your forever.

‘Arafah

On the 9th of Dhul Hijjah, the Hujjaj pack up from Mina, and head out to the plain of ‘Arafah. The Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalaam has said, “Hajj is ‘Arafah.” It is the most important day of the five days of Hajj. In fact, unlike the other manāsik (rituals) that are part of Hajj, if a Hajji misses going to ‘Arafah, there is no penalty or fee that can be paid; instead the entire Hajj is nullified!

What you may have seen in the past is pictures of people standing on a mountain making du‘ā’. This mountain is called Jabl Rahmah.

While many pilgrims find the strength to climb the mountain and make du‘ā’, the vast majority do not. There is no requirement to be on the mountain, so many people sit under tents, or find secluded places to make du‘ā’ quietly without any distraction. The only requirement for ‘Arafah is that you are within its limits.

The time to be at ‘Arafah starts around midday. There is a khutba delivered in Masjid Namira. Not every pilgrim can attend because of the trip from Mina to ‘Arafah, so instead they listen via radio or have a khutba in their own group. After it finishes, pilgrims pray both Dhuhr and ‘aṣr combined. This is a rukhsa, or gift, given from Allāh so that each Hajji is free of any obligatory prayer for the rest of the daylight hours.

From then on, the entire afternoon is spent making du‘ā’ to Allāh. All the Hujjaj are gathered on a plain in front of Allāh dusty and dirty, begging for His Mercy. It’s a parable for the Day of Judgment, except this time, the pilgrims have come voluntarily. And this time they have the opportunity to change their ways, and fix themselves before they are all called before Allāh once more.

It is an amazing sight to see millions of Muslims gathered together all making du‘ā’ to Allāh. It is truly something that will boost your Ä«mān and make you realize the Glory and Might of Allāh. It is Allāh who is Al-MujÄ«b and Al-QarÄ«b. He answers and He is close. There is no discrimination because is the Just; all those who make du‘ā’ to Allāh are treated equal. The people gathered there come from all walks of life, with different problems, different requests, different dilemmas, hopes and dreams. It doesn’t matter if they are American, European, African, or Asian; Allāh answers all their du‘ā’ and is close to all of them.

The afternoon is filled with strong emotions. Hearts are on a roller coaster, coming up out of fearful lows and soaring to hopeful highs. There is assurance from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that the du‘ā’ made on the day of ‘Arafah are the best du‘ā’, and that no du‘ā’ made on this day goes unanswered. So make sure, for your future Hajj trip, that you make an extensive du‘ā’ list and are prepared to ask for any and everything your heart desires.

As the daylight dims, it is time for Maghrib prayer, but there is no sunset prayer in ‘Arafah. Everyone wipes their eyes, grins from ear to ear, and leaves ‘Arafah knowing anything they asked for is theirs, inshā'Allāh.

Muzdalifah

From ‘Arafah the Hujjaj once again pack into buses and move forward to Muzdalifah. Once they arrive they pray both Maghrib and Isha together.

The rest of the night is meant for sleeping. On the morning of the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, everyone prays Fajr at Muzdalifah and moves back to Mina.

The night in Muzdalifah is probably the best night’s sleep during all of Hajj. The pilgrims arrive emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally exhausted. They are met with absolutely no accommodations; no tent, no mattress, no water, no food.

But despite all of that, there is comfort and contentment as they lay down on the ground. Above them are dazzling stars in the deep night sky. Around them are tall, protective, strong mountains. Their companions are relaxed and spirits are high. As they all fall asleep, laughter, smiles, and relief fill the air knowing that the time in Arafah has passed and was, insha’Allāh, accepted.

In the middle of the night, if you were to wake up and look around you, all you will see is death—the Hujjaj sleeping. Millions of bodies wrapped in white cloth, laying lifeless on the ground, only to wake up in the morning for Fajr. It is a time for rebirth and second chances. And so it is on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah that the Hujjaj shave their heads and make a sacrifice, just as they did as a baby when they are born into this world.

Jamarat

After you finish up going to ‘Arafah on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah and staying the night of the 10th in Muzdalifah, you still have three to four days of Hajj left. It’s during these days that you head out to the Jamarat to perform ramī, the stoning of the devil.

Located within Mina itself, this is the place where you’ve seen the pictures of thousands of pilgrims crowding around a huge stone and throwing small rocks at it. Each day remaining of Hajj, you have to go to this area to throw rocks at the large stones there while spending the nights in Mina in your tents.

The routes there get mega packed as millions of pilgrims leave their tents to go perform the stoning. The sight of throngs of people all going to one place isn’t all that at first, since you travel all at the same time. But when you get to the area and look back at how many people there are, it’s unreal! Besides the fact that the system the Saudi government created superb, you will never find yourself not amazed as to how many people come for Hajj, accepting the ancient call of Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him.

And it’s Prophet Ibrahim that comes to mind with this ritual of Hajj. As he went by order of his Lord to slaughter his son Isma‘īl, peace be upon him, Shaitan came and whispered to him in three different spots to stop him from obeying the command of Allāh.

He threw stones at Shaitan at each of these three instances, and Shaitan was expelled away. It’s that same stoning that we perform today in Hajj at the Jamarat, with three different stones: ṣaghīr, waṣaṭ, and ‘aqabah, or small, medium and large.

The Saudi government has built up a massive 5 level stoning facility to facilitate the flow of the millions of pilgrims. It’s huge. A giant… thing. Looks like a massive parking lot the size of a football field. In it, there are three huge stones that go up throughout each level of the facility to allow people to stone from whichever one they’re on.

Naturally, the first floor is more packed, because it’s the ground level and people want to throw from the level by which not only Prophet Ibrahim threw, but also Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings be upon him. The top floors are much easier to throw on, with escalators leading to them to facilitate elders and families.

Many thoughts come to mind with this ritual. First, is that of death. Every once in a while you hear about people dying at Hajj or stampedes that occur. This could probably be at Jamarat, because millions of people leave throughout the day to perform their stoning, with some times being more crowded than others.

“The Jamarat are upgraded, but the roads to them aren’t,” my group leader Shaykh Muhammad Alshareef said. “That’s where you find most deaths and stampedes.”

So whether you hear about deaths that occur then, or even in your planning to go perform stoning at a less intense time such as after ‘Aṣr, you are reminded of death.

Secondly, you are performing an ancient act of incredible obedience to Allāh that goes back all the way to Prophet Ibrahim. Not only are you performing a pillar of Hajj, but you’re also symbolically stoning Shaitan the same way Prophet Ibrahim did. Your whole life he has whispered evil inspirations to you, influencing a life of sin and disobedience to Allāh.

Now, after a day of asking for forgiveness in ‘Arafah and being reborn in Muzdalifah, you throw seven pebbles at each symbolic stone representing him in a way of riding his past influences on you even further.

Even if you don’t feel a connection in the symbolic connection to Prophet Ibrahim’s act because you’re throwing rocks at a huge stone made by the Saudi government in an air conditioned facility, as Imām Al-GhazālÄ« said in Iḥyā’ ‘UlÅ«m Al-DÄ«n, you’re still “throwing them in the face of the Shaiṭān and you are breaking his back with them, because nothing annoys him except your obeying the command of Allāh out of veneration for Him, simply because of His command, and the soul and mind have nothing to do with it.”

Conclusion

Now that you have a brief glimpse of the major bits of Hajj, you can understand them a bit better when you hear people talking about them and as you prepare to make your own Hajj inshā'Allāh. For those of you who've gone, which of these events and places did you love the most, and what was your experience like there and then?