The final pillar and one of the finest institutions of Islam is the Iran or pilgrimage to Mecca. The performance of the Hajj is obligatory, at least once in a lifetime, upon every Muslim, male or female, who is mentally, financially and physically fit. The Muslim who is of responsible age, in fairly good health, and is financially capable and secure must make the Hajj at least once in his or her lifetime. The financial security here means that he should have enough to cover his own expenses and those of his dependents, and to pay his debts, if he is in debt, until he completes the course of Hajj.

The, course of Hajj is another unique characteristic of Islam. It is enjoined by God to serve many purposes among which are the following:

1. It is the largest annual convention of Faith where Muslims meet to know one another, study their common affairs and promote their general welfare. It is also the greatest regular conference of peace known in the history of mankind. In the course of Hajj peace is the dominant theme; peace with God and one’s soul, peace with one another and with animals, peace with birds and even with insects. To disturb the peace of anyone or any creatures in any shape or form is strictly prohibited.
2. It is a wholesome demonstration of the universality of Islam and the brotherhood and equality of the Muslims. From all walks of life, from all trades and classes, and from every corner of the globe the Muslims assemble at Mecca in response to the call of God. They dress in the same simple way, observe the same regulations, utter the same supplications at the same time in the same way, for the same end. There is no royalty, but loyalty of all to God. There is no aristocracy, but humility and devotion.
3. It is to confirm the commitment of the Muslims to God and then readiness to forsake the material interests in His service.
4. It is to acquaint the pilgrims with the spiritual and historical environment of Prophet Muhammad, so that they may derive warm inspirations and strengthen their Faith.
5. It is to commemorate the Divine rituals observed by Abraham and Ishmael (Ibraheem and Isma’eel), who, are known to have been the first pilgrims to the first house of God on earth, i.e., the Ka’bah at Mecca (Makkah).
6. It is a reminder of the Grand Assembly on the Day of Judgment when people will stand equal before God, waiting for their Final Destiny, and where no superiority of race or stock can be claimed. It is also a reminder of the fact that Mecca alone, in the whole existing world, was honored by God in being the center of monotheism since the time of Abraham, and that it will continue to be the center of Islam, the religion of pure monotheism, till the end of time.

In the performance of Hajj it can easily be observed that it is a course of spiritual enrichment and moral rearmament, a course of intensified devotion and disciplinary experience, a course of humanitarian interests and inspiring knowledge-all put together in one single institution of Islam.

The description of the rules and steps followed during the Hajj are rather lengthy. They will not be discussed here. For further details the reader may consult the elaborate works on the subject. However, it should be pointed out that during the whole course of Hajj there are informed guides always available to help the pilgrims with right instructions.

It should also be pointed out that the entire course of devotion is to God alone. The Muslims go to Mecca in glory of God, not to kiss a stone or worship a man or a semi-divinity. Kissing or touching the Black Stone at the Ka’bah is an optional action, not an obligation or a prescription. Those who kiss the Black Stone or touch it do not do it because they have faith in the Stone or attribute any superstitious qualities to it. Their Faith is in God only. They kiss or touch or point to the Stone only as a token of respect or a symbol of love for Prophet Muhammad, who laid the Stone at the foundation of the Ka’bah when it was reconstructed. That event has a special significance. It depicts Muhammad as a man designated for peace. When the Ka’bah was under reconstruction, some years before the advent of Islam, the, Black Stone was to be laid at its foundation. The tribal chieftains had a quarrelsome dispute over him who was to have the honor of restoring the Stone. This was a very serious matter and the shadows of civil war hung over the holy place. The Stone was held in especially high reverence by the chieftains, although ii was nothing more than a piece of stone. This reverence -may be attributed to the fact that the Stone was connected with Prophet Abraham, the Great Grandfather of the Arabs, and that it was, perhaps, the only solid stone remaining from the antique structure of the Sacred Edifice. Be that as it may, the Stone as such has no significance whatsoever as far as Islam and, the Muslims are concerned.

When the chieftain failed to settle the dispute among themselves, they agreed to let the first incomer decide the issue. Muhammad was the first incomer. He then decided to wrap up the Stone in a piece of cloth and asked the disputants to hold it together and restore it in such a way that each chieftain would have had a part in the operation. They were happy with his wise decision and put it into effect immediately. Thus the issue died out and peace was maintained. This is the moral of the story of the Black Stone. So when the pilgrims kiss the Stone or point at it with reverence, they do so in remembrance of Muhammad, the wise peace-maker. The point may become clearer by comparison. It is a natural thing for a good patriot returning from exile, or a fighting soldier coming back from the battlefield to do certain things upon reaching the borders of his beloved homeland. For example, he may kiss the ground at the borders, or embrace with deep emotions the first few compatriots he meets, or show admiration for some landmarks. This is considered normal and appreciable, but no one would think that the patriot or the soldier worships the ground or deifies his fellow compatriots or attributes some Divine qualities to the landmarks. The behavior of the pilgrims should be interpreted in a similar way. The Ka’bah at Mecca is the spiritual center of Islam and the spiritual homeland of every Muslim. When the pilgrim reaches Mecca his feelings would be those of a patriot coming home from exile or a triumphant soldier returning from a decisive battle. This is not a figurative interpretation. It corresponds with the facts of history. The early Muslims were expelled out of their home and forced to live in exile for years. They were denied the right to worship in the Ka’bah, the most sacred house of God in existence. When they returned from exile, the Ka’bah was their main destination. They joyfully entered the Sacred Shrine, destroyed all the idols and images that were there, and completed the rites of pilgrimage.

This interpretation is enlightened by some unusual experiences of extraordinary people. For example, a famous Hungarian writer fled his invaded country and took with him a handful of earth. Literary annals tell that the writer found his greatest comfort and deepest joy in that handful of earth. It was his source of inspiration and symbol of hope that he would return to a free homeland at last8 Similarly, a documentary called "The Palestinians" was prepared by CBS and televised on Saturday June 15, 1974. In it, a wealthy businessman, who fled the Zionist terror in Palestine, was interviewed at his extremely fashionable home in Beirut. When he was reminded of his good fortune in exile he smiled, pointing to a small bottle half-full of earth. To make his point, he added that he brought it with him from Jerusalem when he fled; that it is more valuable to him than anything he possesses; and that he would give up all his possessions to return to Palestine, his homeland. What is more significant about this interview is that the Man's family was more emphatic and expressed stronger feelings. It will not be at all surprising if it turns out that this man represents many others like him and if that small "earth treasure" becomes a very special, even a sacred, thing in the years to come.

In a more tangible sense, the Associated Press reported on October 14, 1973, that "The last Israeli strongpoints on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal surrendered . . . and 37 tired and bedraggled Israeli troops were paddled in dinghies across the waterway to captivity. ...Some of the Egyptian troops, carried away with the emotion of finally liberating this last stronghold (the Bar-Lev line), grabbed handfuls of sand and put it in their mouths. Others kissed the ground." (Dispatch Observer, p. 2A)

More recently, the same news agency, reporting on the returning Syrian prisoners of war, said that the first man off the plane "sat upright on a stretcher on the stumps of his amputated legs . . . ‘Legs are nothing. We are ready to give our soul . . .’ he shouted. He then insisted on being lifted from his stretcher and placed on the ground so that he could bend down to kiss the soil." (Dispatch Observer, June 2, 1974, p. 3A)

It is in this human perspective that the Black Stone story should be viewed. And it is in the light of such human experiences under extraordinary circumstances that it is best understood.

Concluding Remarks

The visit to the tomb of Prophet Muhammad at Medina (Madeenah) is not an essential obligation in making the Hajj valid and complete. But it is always advisable and strongly recommended that whoever can reach Medina should visit the Prophet’s tomb to pay his respect to the greatest teacher that humanity has ever known.

It should be remembered that the climax of Hajj is marked by offering a sacrifice, an oblation in the way of God, to celebrate the completion of this devotional course and feed the poor so that they may feel the universal joy of the ‘Eed Day. This duty is not undertaken by pilgrims only but by all Muslims with means in every comer of the globe.

Some Muslims have raised the serious question that during the Hajj season so many animals are slaughtered in sacrifice that enormous quantities of meat are wasted. The heat, lack of refrigeration facilities, inadequate transportation, and oversupply of meat over a few days leave most of that meat unused or unusable. This is a new situation with new problems. The conscientious Muslim wants to know what he should do in this case. It is not necessary to engage in legalistic debates over the learned opinions of respectable religious scholars, both classical and contemporary. But we must remember that Islam tolerates no waste of any kind or degree; that it responds first to the greater need and allows resort to the "lesser evil"; that it works with a system of priorities from the most important to the least important and from the least to the most undesirable; and that it is both resourceful and adaptive. Based on these principles, the problem can be solved easily. The solution derives from the spirit of Islam even though it may appear to depart slightly from some literal interpretations. The solution can be implemented in stages and on various levels.

First, the Muslims should do everything possible to provide adequate facilities for refrigeration so that the surplus meat may be conserved and used by the poor in and around the holy places throughout the year. Secondly, efforts should also be made to transport the surplus meat to the needy Muslims wherever they may be. The sacrifice animals can be slaughtered in Mecca and the meat may be canned or frozen and then transported to any part of the world where there are needy Muslims. Thirdly, the surplus meat can be sold and the money used for charitable purposes on a local, regional, national, or international scale. These are practicable measures which the Muslims should enact jointly. In the meantime and until such steps are taken, any Muslim who feels that the surplus meat will go to waste may delay or advance the date of his sacrifice. He may choose the proper time and place to avoid any waste. Or he could pay in charity to a legitimate cause the money value of the animal that was to have been sacrificed at Mecca during the days of Hajj.

One last remark relates to the question of sacrifice and what it actually symbolizes. As already stated in the discussion of the ‘Eeds, it is not the meat or blood that pleases God. It is the expression of thankfulness to Him, the affirmation of faith in Him, that historic event when Prophet Abraham (Ibraheem) was ordered to offer his son in sacrifice, an order which the father and son were ready to obey unquestioningly. But the son’s life was spared and ransomed by a ram. The offering of the sacrifice has become an annual celebration to commemorate the occasion and thank God for His favors. There have been two versions of which one of Abraham’s sons was to have been sacrificed, Ishmael (Ismaeel) or Isaac (ishaq).

The Muslims believe that it was Ishmael (Ismaeel), not Isaac (Ishaq), who was to have been sacrificed in response to God's command. But he was ransomed after he and his father were ready to obey God's ordinance. There are at least twenty arguments in support of this belief. However, none of these is meant to belittle the historical role of the Children of Israel or the light and wisdom delivered to them by Prophet Moses. On the contrary, the Qur’an points that out in numerous statements (e.g. 2:40, 47; 7:137; 17:2: 40:53; 45:16).

Among these arguments are the following:

1. The whole context of the event as recorded in the Qur’an (37:101-113) leaves no doubt that Ismaeel was the son to have been sacrificed by his father in response to God's command.

2. The present Old Testament (Gen. 2 1:5) says that Isaac was born when his father Abraham was 100 years old, while Ismaeel was born when his father was 86 years old (Gen. 21.16). For a span of fourteen years then Ismaeel was the only son of his father. At no time was Isaac in the same position. Yet the Old Testament (Gen. 22:2) states that the order was issued to Abraham to "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac ... and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering." The appearance of lsaac’s name in this context seems an obvious insertion. And it is not clear just where that land of Moriah was unless it was the mount of Marwah at Mecca, which supports the Islamic version.

3. The whole event took place around Mecca. And we know that it was Ismaeel and his mother who accompanied Abraham to Mecca, settled there, and helped him raise the Kabah as a sacred sanctuary (Qur’an, 2:124-130; 14:35-40).

4. Perhaps the most important argument in favor of the Islamic belief is this: the Jewish-Christian version leads to seriously objectionable conclusions: (a) discrimination between brothers just because the mother of one was a slave and that of the other was a free woman, (b) discrimination between people because of race, creed, or color, (c) claiming spiritual superiority in the name of one’s ancestors, and (d) denial of legitimacy to a child whose mother is a slave. All such inferences and conclusions are contrary to the spirit of Islam. Anything that may lead to them must be rejected by the Muslim. The status of one's ancestors, the nobility or humbleness of the mother, and the social origin or color shades have no bearings on the spiritual and human quality of man, at least not in the sight of God.