Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Hajj

The Hajj 2010

The world's largest pilgrimage, The Hajj, is happening now as we speak in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. At least 2 million faithful Muslims annually converge on Mecca as part of The Hajj. The Hajj is a mandatory pilgrimage required at least once in a Muslims lifetime demonstrating the pilgrims solidarity with other Muslims and their subservience and submission to God's will.

The Hajj dates back to the time of Abraham and the ritual itself is thousands of old. There are many components to this event. One of them, is the "Stoning of the Devil" that is taking place today. This is where everyone takes their turn throwing rocks at a wall in a symbolic gesture of refuting Satan. How charming! The most well known task is the gathering at the Kabba, the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, with the faithful walking in counter-clockwise circles and pointing to the Black Stone, the cornerstone of the Kabba, as seen in the picture above.

The Black Stone is believed by modern scholars to be a meteorite, as traditions dictate that it "Fell from Heaven." The Muslims worship this stone and say it was cast from heaven to show Adam and Eve where to build an altar to God. The stone was lost during Noah's time. It's location was revealed by an angel to Abraham who set into the Kabba, where it has been worshipped to this day.

This tradition is remarkably similar to the ancient Egyptians who worshipped the "Ben-Ben" stone at Heliopolis for millenia. The Benben was also a "Stone from Heaven" and is thought to have been a meteorite. This Benben tradition gave rise to the ancient stories of the Phoenix - a miraculous being who could resurrect its dead self from flames and rise into a brand new entity.

It's all very fascinating - the core of ancient religions. The more you read and learn the more you question everything - The historical timeline, the events themselves and the very "cast and crew" of this play called Life on Earth.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i think is true,, just because the people were going there before the genetion become,, cuz god is from the hebrew,, and i think is true,,

Anonymous said...

and all of the people have a religion and do respect each other,, cus all we have is creation of god,, no any one can judge,,no bodies perfect,,