This year, more than 1.35 lakhs Indian Muslims have undertaken the pilgrimage of Haj — a spiritual voyage to holy city of Mecca. It is obligatory for every Muslim at least once in a lifetime, if s/he can afford to travel to the holy city. Chanting “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik (I come to you, Oh my Lord, I come to you)”, Haj pilgrims are travelling to the city with great delight glaring through their faces.
Haj reminds us of the universal message well-embedded in the life of earlier prophets of mankind — Hazrat Adam (or Adam), Hazrat Ibrahim (or Abraham) and his son Hazrat Ismail.
Haj is primarily aimed to visit the Kabah, the holiest site of Islam in the city of Mecca, which was built by the first prophet Hazrat Adam and was later renovated by Prophet Ibrahim and his son, Ismail. The holy Quran says that Kabah is the first place dedicated to the belief and worship of one God.
Prophet Ibrahim was the first prophet who insinuated the pilgrimage to Kabah. The Hebrew Bible confirmed the existence of this pilgrimage to Mecca even before it was reiterated in the Quran, in these verses: “And proclaim to the people the Haj (pilgrimage); they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass.”
Haj brings all the spiritual seekers and pilgrims — the rich and the poor, the Arabs and the non-Arabs, the dignitaries and the common people on one equal pedestal. Thus, this pilgrimage helps them all remove the inhuman barriers of caste, creed, race, ethnicity and gender that distance them from other human fellows.
