Doing the hajj more than once isn’t obligatory, but here’s why I keep going back anyway

The pilgrimage is not something one can truly understand while in the midst of undertaking the journey. Often, the biggest lessons become clear to you once you have returned home

I have been lucky enough to have gone on hajj three times, most recently in 2018. This hajj was something my wife and I had planned since 2006, but for some reason or another it had taken 12 years for the two of us to go together.

It is an overwhelming experience, filled with lots of apprehension and a great sense of personal fulfilment.

For a start, when you set on the hajj journey, you are going there with the intention of starting afresh spiritually, knowing that you are one of the lucky ones that have been selected by Allah to visit his house. It is a true blessing for any Muslim to be given such an opportunity.

Hajj is the fifth and final pillar of Islam. It is a journey to the Kaaba in Mecca, which for Muslims is regarded as Allah’s house built by the prophet Ibrahim (known as Abraham by Christians and Jews). The purpose of hajj is to complete one’s faith in Islam, and to seek forgiveness for your sins.

The journey itself is somewhat surreal. At the outset, all men have to wear two sheets of white cloth known as ihram, which is done to ensure that in Allah’s house nobody is seen as being superior based on their ability to buy expensive clothes. Such a sight truly humbles you, as you don’t know whether the person praying next to you is a prince or a peasant.

Praying in the main mosque in Mecca for the first time is probably the most awe-inspiring thing that I have ever done. Just the sight of the holy Kaaba makes you tremble – as technically speaking you are standing right in front of the place that you face during your daily prayers. It is a difficult feeling to describe, and certainly very emotional.

Whilst hajj was performed by followers of the prophet Ibrahim, Allah’s last and final messenger Muhammad established the current way of performing the Hajj journey. The Hajj is not compulsory for those who are unable to afford the journey, or those that are not physically able to do so either.

For those who can afford it and are physically able to travel, it is obligatory to go on hajj at least once in your lifetime, as the prophet Muhammad did when he took the pilgrimage.

A few days after arriving in Mecca, you head out to Mina – a small place not far from Mecca where the hajj rituals begin.

The first part of the hajj, the Umrah, or the lesser pilgrimage, can be done at any time of the year. It involves completing a Tawaf around the Kaaba – which is circumambulation around it seven times while reciting passages from the holy Quran and other religious supplications.

This is followed by drinking some holy water from the Zamzam well, and then performing the Sa’ay – running and walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah, and getting your hair trimmed.

The dates for going to Mina are based on sightings of the new moon, and you have to be in Mina on the eigth day of Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah – which varies with the Gregorian calendar every year due to Islam following the lunar calendar.

Once you are in Mina, the real spirit of hajj comes to the fore, with people living in tents for a number of days just focusing on prayers and seeking forgiveness.

The ninth of Dhul Hijjah is the main hajj day. This is when everyone arrives in the plains of Arafat and “stands before Allah” to repent and seek forgiveness for their past sins. This is also the place where Muhammad spent an entire day asking Allah to have mercy on his followers and forgive them for their sins.

The true unselfish nature of this is only comprehendible once you are there, and you appreciate how Muhammad made life easy for the entire Muslim community and took us into his fold and asked Allah to show mercy on his followers.

Having spent the day in Arafat, pilgrims then move onto Muzdalifah, where the key task, apart from praying, is to collect some pebbles for the ritual stoning of Shaitan (the devil) over three days. Pilgrims repeat the symbolic gesture of “stoning the devil”, which represents Ibrahim’s act of throwing stones at Shaitan when he tried to tempt him to disobey Allah and not sacrifice Ismail as he had requested.

During this period, pilgrims also sacrifice one animal each. This not only represents the sacrifice made by Ibrahim, but is also an act of charity, with the meat being distributed to the poor.

After the sacrifice, pilgrims will generally shave their heads. This is the equivalent of being born again. Women only need to cut a small tip of hair.

Finally, there is a farewell trip to Mecca to perform Tawaf one last time – in order to complete the hajj. Depending on when you go to hajj, some people then either go to Medina, the second holiest city in the Muslim world. Others go there before starting their hajj journey.

For me, given the amount of travelling, walking, praying and the sheer number of people present, the hajj is not something one can truly understand while in the midst of undertaking the journey. Often, the biggest lessons become clear to you once you have returned home.

Hajj for me is all about solidarity with other Muslims and recognising that in the hereafter, it is not your worldly possessions that will matter, but how you remembered Allah through good and bad times and what you did for others without any reward that really counts.

Only once the hajj is over can you sit down and comprehend how lucky you have been to have been blessed, yet again, to be invited by Allah to his house and given the opportunity to seek forgiveness for your sins. And that is why I feel driven to keep returning.

Tanweer has spent his working career in financial markets in the UK and Singapore. He is also a photography enthusiast and is currently undertaking a masters degree at the University of Cambridge