Compare the Muslim Hajj with the Jewish Yom Kippur Essays - Hajj

Compare the Muslim Hajj with the Jewish Yom Kippur Essays - Hajj Compare the Muslim Hajj with the Jewish Yom Kippur September 08, 2014 Andre Key Module #4 Writing Assignment 3 Question: "Compare the Muslim Hajj with the Jewish Yom Kippur." Once a year, Muslims of every ethnic group, colour, social status, and culture gather together in Mecca and stand before the Kaaba praising Allah together. 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. 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. The Hajjis or pilgrims wear simple white clothes called Ihram. During the Hajj the Pilgrims perform acts of worship and they renew their sense of purpose in the world. Mecca is a place that is holy to all Muslims. It is so holy that no non-Muslim is allowed to enter. 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. gathered travel from Makkah to Mina, a small village east of the city. There they spend the day and night in enormous tent cities, praying, reading the Quran, and resting for the next day. On the second day of the pilgrimage, the pilgrims leave Mina just after dawn to travel to the Plain of Arafat for the culminating experience of the Hajj. On what is known as the "Day of Arafat, the pilgrims spend the entire day standing (or sitting) near the Mount of Mercy, asking Allah for forgiveness and making supplications. Muslims around the world who are not at the pilgrimage join them in spirit by fasting for the day. After sunset on the Day of Arafat, the pilgrims leave and travel to a nearby open plain called Muzdalifah, roughly halfway between Arafat and Mina. There they spend the night praying, and collecting small stone pebbles to be used the following day. On the third day, the pilgrims move before sunrise, this time back to Mina. Here they throw their stone pebbles at pillars that represent the temptations of Satan. When throwing the stones, the pilgrims recall the story of Satans attempt to dissuade Prophet Abraham from following Gods command to sacrifice his son. The stones represent Abrahams rejection of Satan and the firmness of his faith.After casting the pebbles, most pilgrims slaughter an animal (often a sheep or a goat) and give away the meat to the poor. This is a symbolic act that shows their willingness to part with something that is precious to them, just as the Prophet Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son at Gods command. Throughout the world, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, on this day. This is the second of the two major holidays in Islam each year. The pilgrims then return to Makkah and perform seven tawaf, turns around the Kaaba, the house of worship built by Prophet Abraham and his son. In other rites, the pilgrims pray near a place On the first official day of the pilgrimage, the millions of pilgrims that have now called The Station of Abraham, which is reportedly where Abraham stood while constructing the Kaaba. The pilgrims also walk seven times between two small hills near the Kaaba (and enclosed in the Grand Mosques complex). This is done in remembrance of the plight of Abrahams wife Hajar, who desperately searched in the area for water for herself and her son, before a spring welled up in the desert for her. The pilgrims also drink from this ancient spring, known as Zamzam, which continues to flow today. In the days and weeks after Hajj, many Muslims take advantage of their travel time by visiting the city of Madinah, 270 miles north of Makkah. The people of Madinah provided refuge to the early Muslim community, when they were being persecuted by the powerful Makkan tribes. Madinah became a center for the