God calls us to himself to be a guest at his house as we fulfil the once-in-a-lifetime ritual of hajj.
Muslim pilgrims pray on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy on the Plain of Arafat near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Each year, millions of pilgrims visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina for the pilgrimage. (Hassan Ammar / The Associated Press)
This column is part of our ongoing opinion commentary on faith, called Living Our Faith. Find this week’s reader question and get weekly roundups of the project in your email inbox by signing up for the Living Our Faith newsletter.
Imagine yourself amidst millions of people.
As you begin to look around at the different faces and the different colours of people walking all around you, speaking in languages that you possibly never heard in your life before, what is the feeling you experience?
Read Also: Hajj 2020: Emergency rescue officers to be selected as Hajj officials
You freeze.
The mere sight will blind you from seeing individuals as you will begin to see an ocean of them. Similarly, the sounds of their voices speaking languages you don’t know are drowned out as the awe of where you are taking over, and you hear your internal voice saying to yourself, “This is amazing.”
And why not? For this is hajj. This is the Islamic pilgrimage. This is the fifth pillar of Islam for the close to 1.8 billion Muslims around the world.
In Islam, pilgrimage isn’t just an act of worship. It is an invitation from God himself.
In all the commandments of Islam, believers are required to fulfil the obligations and practices that are incumbent upon them wherever they may be. The hajj pilgrimage is also a command, but with a unique twist.
Dallas Morning News
