Celebrating the hajj pilgrimage and Eid ul Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice

The hajj pilgrimage is one of the most distinctive features of Islam, and a major occasion in the annual Muslim calendar,  drawing millions of  pilgrims to Makkah from around the world.

Muslims will save for a lifetime to travel to the holy city of Makkah, where they join with their co-religionists to undertake a physical and spiritually demanding journey over several days. Their communities gather to mark their departure, asking to be remembered by the pilgrim when they reach Makkah, and praying for their safe return.

This year at least 1.8 million foreign visitors and anywhere up to three million pilgrims in total have gathered for the hajj.

They dress in simple white clothes which create equality between all and  represent their journey towards purification and renewal.

Today the pilgrims are in the plains of Arafat praying for forgiveness. Tomorrow the pilgrims, with Muslims around the world, will celebrate Eid ul Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice.

As pilgrims go on to complete the hajj, they hope that their white clothing symbolises their new pure status, cleansed of spiritual worries and burdens.

When they return home, their fresh start is celebrated by family and community, who will often come to the airport to greet them with garlands, and throw a feast to mark the occasion. The past is cast behind them, and their communities give them space for a new beginning by giving them the lofty and highly respected title. The men are called ‘Hajji’, and the women are known as ‘Hajja’, pointing to their status as someone who has completed the sacred journey, one of the fundamental duties and aspirations of all Muslims.

This is a time of joy, revival and celebration for Muslims wherever they are in the world.

Ogilvy Noor wishes all the pilgrims, and Muslims all around the world, a very happy and blessed Eid!

Image credit: By Muhammad Mahdi Karim