Hajj

Under the tenets of Islam, every (physically and financially able) Muslim, must carry out a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and this ancient religious tradition draws millions of people from around the world every year.

Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia, is the birthplace of Muhammad and the location in which Muhammad had his first revelation of the Quran. Islam regards Mecca as its holiest city, it also contains Islam’s most revered site – the Kaaba. Mecca’s population of approximately 2 million people is nearly tripled during the five days of the Hajj.

The Hajj is intended to demonstrate a submission to God, and to show the solidarity of all the world’s Muslims. The Hajj involves a series of rituals, such as walking counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba, and drinking water from the Zamzam Well.

The Hajj takes place from the 8th to the 12th of Dhul-Hiijah, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. As the Islamic calendar is roughly 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Hajj is generally ten or eleven days earlier than the prior year. For example, in 2013 the Hajj began on October 14, whereas in 2014, the Hajj began on October 3.