Pilgrimages
In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search
of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred
place or shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members
of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes
such a journey is called a pilgrim.
The Hajj was based on a pilgrimage that was ancient even in the time
of Muhammad in the 7th Century. According to Hadith, elements of the
Hajj trace back to the time of Abraham, around 2000 BC, and it is
believed that Prophet Abraham was ordered by God (Allah) to leave his
son Ismael and his wife in the desert. The wife agreed to the orders
of Allah and so did Prophet Abraham.While Abraham's wife ran back and
forth seven times searching for water for her son Ismael, he started
to cry and he hit the ground with his feet and the water of the Zam
Zam started coming up from under his feet and that is how the Zam Zam
well came to be. Each year tribes from all around the Arabian
peninsula would converge on Mecca, as part of the pilgrimage. The
exact faith of the tribes was not important at that time, and
Christian Arabs were as likely to make the pilgrimage as the pagans.
Muslim historians refer to the time before Muhammad as al-Jahiliyah,
the "Days of Ignorance", during which the Kaaba contained hundreds of
idols representing totems of each of the tribes of the Arabian
peninsula. The idols represented multiple faiths, from pagan gods to
symbols of Jesus, Mary, Hubal and Allah . Muhammad was known to
regularly perform the Umrah, even before he began receiving
revelations. Historically, Muslims would gather at various meeting
points in other great cities, and then proceed en masse towards Mecca,
in groups that could comprise tens of thousands of pilgrims. Two of
the most famous meeting points were in Cairo and Damascus. In Cairo,
the Sultan would stand atop a platform of the famous gate Bab Zuwayla,
to officially watch the beginning of the annual pilgrimage.
In 632 AD, when Muhammad led his followers from Medina to Mecca, it
was the first Hajj to be performed by Muslims alone, and the only Hajj
ever performed by Muhammad. It was at this point that the Hajj became
one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The Kaaba had been cleansed of the
previous idols, and Muhammad ordained it as the house of God.
After I get the information about the pilgrimage, First, I think It is
a ritual that is designed to promote the bonds of Islamic brotherhood
and sisterhood by showing that everyone is equal in the eyes of
Allah.Secondly,The Hajj makes Muslims feel real importance of life
here on earth, and the afterlife, by stripping away all markers of
social status, wealth, and pride. In the Hajj all are truly equal.
Finally,For Muslims, the Hajj is the fifth and final pillar of Islam.
It occurs in the month of Dhul Hijjah which is the twelfth month of
the Islamic lunar calendar. It is the journey that every sane adult
Muslim must undertake at least once in their lives if they can afford
it and are physically able.
This Day at Assisi has helped us become more aware of our religious
commitments. But is has also made the world, looking at us through the
media, more aware of the responsibility of each religion regarding
problems of war and peace.More perhaps than ever before in history,
the intrinsic link between an authentic religious attitude and the
great good of peace has become evident to all.What a tremendous weight
for human shoulders to carry! But at the same time what a marvelous,
exhilarating call to follow.Although prayer is in itself action, this
does not excuse us from working for peace. Here we are acting as the
heralds of the moral awareness of humanity as such, humanity that
wants peace, needs peace.Peace awaits its prophets. Together we have
filled our eyes with visions of peace: they release energies for a new
language of peace, for new gestures of peace, gestures which will
shatter the fatal chains of divisions inherited from history or
spawned by modern ideologies.
References
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrimage - 94k - Cached - Similar pages
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj - 84k - Cached - Similar pages
www.vatican.va/.../speeches/1986/October/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19861027_prayer-\
peace-assisi-final_en.html
- 20k - Cached - Similar pages