On the 9th Dhul Hijjah before noon the pilgrims come to Arafat which is a barren and plain land. Here they stand in contemplative vigil. They will offer supplications, will repent for sins they have committed, and seek the mercy of Allah. They will listen to the sermon carried out by Islamic scholars. Lasting from noon through sunset, or known as wuquf, it is said to be one of the most important rites of Hajj. The pilgrims will offer noon and also afternoon prayers at Masjid al-Namirah together at noontime. The pilgrim needs to spend the afternoon on Arafat or else the Hajj is regarded as being invalid.

The Hajj is regarded as one of the pillars of Islam. All able-bodied Muslims need to perform it at least once in their lifetime. Hajj allows one to wipe clean their past sins and begin fresh. Many people aim to deepen their faith and some ladies take on “hijab” or the Islamic hair covering when they return from Hajj.

Hajj is the greater Muslim pilgrimage that occurs to Mecca. It happens in the last month of the year. All Muslims need to at least perform Hajj once in their lifetime, if they are able to afford to do so. It is also one of the Five Pillars that Islam has.

There are three forms of Hajj, i.e. Tamattu, Ifraad and Qiran. The following tells you about the Tamattu form of Hajj. This is what the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) encourages people to perform. It consists of:

• Preparation and Intention – You need to make niyyah or intention before going to perform Hajj.
• Going into the state of Ihram- Next you will go into the state of Ihram or ritual purity.
• When you arrive in Makkah, you need to first perform Umrah. You will need to do Tawaf and Sa’i. Tawaf is when the pilgrim walks in circles around the Kaa’bah. This is in an anti-clockwise motion. A single Tawaf consists of seven complete circles. You can even offer voluntary prayers so as to thank Allah (SWT) for reaching safely and to begin this special journey.
• Safa and Marwa- When you have performed Tawaf, you will need to perform Sa’i. This includes walking and running particularly between the two hills that are of Safa and Marwa.
• Clip or shave the hair- When Sa’i is completed, the men need to get their hair clipped or shaved. A women will clip her hair which will be to the length of her fingertip. When this is done, the completion of Umrah occurs. You can then leave Ihram till the 8^th of Dhul Hijjah.
• Resting plus praying- When Umrah has been performed, for the rest of the month, you will remain in Makkah to finish the Hajj. You should perform sincere acts of worship at this time. The Hajj will start on the 8^th Dhul Hijjah.
• Re-entering the state of Ihram- The 8^th day of Dhul Hijjah will be the start of the days of Hajj. It will be the next stage of the spiritual journey. You need to purify yourself then go into the state of Ihram again.
• Arrive at Mina- Here you will go to your allocated tent. You need to pray Salah or obligatory prayers. This will encompass Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, ‘Isha and Fajar. You need to shorten the four-unit prayers to two units each. This is without combining them. You will stay the night and pray, reading the Qur’an. You will prepare for day two.
• Day of ‘Arafat- After sunrise you will go to the plains of ‘Arafat. You will recite Istaghfar and make supplications.
• Arrival in Muzdalifah- After sunset you will leave ‘Arafat and go to Muzdalifah. When you reach Muzdalifah you need to perform Maghrib and ‘Isha Salah. You can collect pebbles from here to perform Rami.
• Rami and Hady- The 10^th of Dhul Hijjah is the Day of Sacrifice. You will perform the Hady and start the first of three days of “stoning the devil” rite.
• Qurbani and Eid al-Adha- This will be on the 10^th of Dhul Hijjah. You will offer Qurbani or sacrifice.
• Shaving the head- After the Hady you will shave or trim the hair if you are a man. A women will trim her hair that will be by the length of a fingertip. You can leave Ihram now.
• Tawaf al-Ifadha and Saai’- Now you will go to Makkah where you will perform Tawaf al-Ifadha. Then another circuit of Saai’.
• Second day or Rami- On the 11^th of Dhul Hijjah you will carry out second day of Rami.
• Spend night in Mina- When the second Rami is done, you will go to your camp in Mina then spend the time in worship.
• Third day or Rami- On the afternoon of the 12^th of Dhul Hijjah will be the final stoning day.

Tawaf al-Wida- This Tawaf will be performed before leaving the boundaries of the Haram.

Mina is a valley that is surrounded by mountains. Pilgrims spend the nights of 8^th, 11^th and 12^th of Dhul Hijjah here. They occasionally can spend the night of the 13^th here also. Mina Hajj is even an important symbol for the stoning ritual because it is where the three stone pillars of Jamarat are present.

It is important to stay in Mina because pilgrims spend a full day as well as night within the tents located at Mina. This is knowns as Layali al Tashriq. Pilgrims will read the Holy Quran and offer prayers. They will worship Allah SWT and perform Zikr. They also listen to Islamic lectures.

At Mina three hard stone pillars get struck by pilgrims. This is part of the ritual of stoning the devil.

Pilgrims spend two or three days in Mina.

Muzdalifah consists of an open and level area close to Mecca in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It is southeast of Mina and on the route present between Mina and Arafat.

The 9^th of Dhul Hijjah is spent at Muzdalifah. This will be under the open sky. Here pilgrims will gather pebbles to throw at the pillars of Jamarat.

When at Muzdalifah the pilgrim can pray to Allah SWT. They will ask for blessings and forgiveness. Here they can rest so that they are prepared for the next three days of Hajj.

Before sunrise the pilgrims will leave Muzdalifah for Mina.

The Day of Arafat occurs on the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah. Muslims go to Arafat to pray and supplicate to Allah SWT. The following ayah was also revealed on this day therefore it is even regarded as being important “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.” (Surah al Maa’idah 5:3)

The Day of Arafat is when many Muslims’ sins get forgiven by Allah. It is known as the day that Allah perfected Islam. The above verse was also revealed on this day.

It commemorates the finality of revelation as well as the completion of the Hajj.

Muslim pilgrims will throw pebbles at three walls known as Jamarat.

Jamarat means a small piece of a pebble or stone.

Seven small stones are thrown at Jamarat.

“Inna s-safa wa l-marwata min sha’a’iri llah(i)”. It means that indeed, Safa and Marwa are from the signs of Allah. After this, pilgrims would have to recite the following Dua – “Abda’u bima bad’allahu bihi”. This Dua says, I begin with that which Allah has begun with.

The supplications are needed to be recited once prior to Saee. They should not be at the start of each lap. It is thought that Dua is accepted much during Saee.