(Arabic; derived from the root ḥ-j-j), meaning ‘to betake oneself to’, also, occurs in other Semitic languages. The word Hajj usually refers to the annual pilgrimage by Muslims to the Kaʿba in Mecca, also called the Great Pilgrimage, in contrast to the ʿUmra, the Lesser Pilgrimage. The Islamic Hajj owes most of its rituals to the pre-Islamic pilgrimage. Currently, it takes place over five days, the 8th-12th of the twelfth month (Dhū’l-Ḥijja) of the Muslim lunar calendar. On the 10th day of Dhū’l-Ḥijja, pilgrims offer an animal sacrifice to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. The day is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as ʿĪd al-aḍḥā. Muslims from diverse ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds come together to perform the ritual. It was only in the 8th year of the Hijra, 630 CE, when the first Muslim community performed the Hajj. The Prophet’s first pilgrimage as head of the Muslim pilgrims was in 10 AH/632 CE; it was also his last, whence the title, ḥujjat al-wadāʿ (‘the farewell-pilgrimage’).
