Essay Example on the Sacred Mecca: Uniting Muslims from Across the Globe

Introduction

Muslims consider Mecca to be a holy place for their worship, divine that no non-Muslim can go there. Each year, Muslims multiple backgrounds, cultures, social status, and even color assemble in Mecca before the Kaaba (The holy stone) to offer praise to the almighty.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

It is a tradition that has existed for many centuries and is meant to promote Islamic sisterhood and brotherhood by showing that all people are equal in Allah's eyes. This paper provides a detailed discussion of how the Muslims conduct the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, how the perspectives of this Tradition changed over time, and finally, how the culture impacts global culture.

The Tradition and where it is Practiced

At least once in a lifetime, every Muslim is required to travel to the holiest city, Mecca in Saudi for the yearly Hajj commemoration. The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of the Muslim religion and which happens during the last month of the Islam calendar, the Dhu Al Hijjah.

The Mecca tradition means, "To attend a journey" and symbolizes both the inward act of faith contemplation and the outward act of physical traveling (Hadid, 2016). The set of traditions during this annual event requires the faithful people to repeat specific rituals that were first executed by Prophet Mohammed thousands of years ago.

The Tradition is very spiritual involvement for the Muslims whereby each believer desires to be involved at some point in their lives if they are in that capacity to attend. Believers who are unable to participate in the pilgrimage send someone to perform the rituals on their behalf (The National, 2019). However, the Sharia guidelines provide that these people should fund the person who is representing them.

Some of the Mecca traditions date back in 1813 BC during the time of Prophet Ibrahim. God commanded Ibrahim to abandon Hagar his wife and Ismail his son in the desert (Hadid, 2016). While desperately searching for drinking water for his son, Hager ran seven times between two mountains, Al Marwa and Al Safa. It is believed that Ismail kicked the ground with his leg, and water started to trickle out, which later became the Zamzam springs. In the present day, hajjis walk between the two hills and drink water from this spring as part of the Tradition in commemoration of the miracle.

Prophet Ibrahim then build the Kaaba to honor Allah. The prophet would invite other Muslims for the pilgrimage. Long afterward, Prophet Mohammed performed the first Hajj in 632 AD, and since then, his actions in Mecca are conducted in the same way till now on an annual basis (The National, 2019).

How the Perspectives of This Tradition Changed Over Time

Most of the aspects remain unchanged even after many years. Muslims follow a specific pattern of activities while they visit Mecca. On their journey to Mecca, pilgrims must first make their intentions for the pilgrimage known when they approach Meqaat. According to Hadid (2016), "Men chant loudly, here I am, oh Lord, here I am, and women repeat this phrase audibly, but in a low voice."

In the modern-day, the real purpose of the journey to Mecca appears to be sidelined. Other than enjoying the whole experience, pilgrims seem to be stressed due to the tight programs of the rituals, transport, food, poor housing, and the ignorance from their guides. There is less time to interact with fellow hajjis.

The Mecca tradition is becoming an ordinary congregation with millions of believers that have no opportunities for interaction. According to Ahmad (2009), "The immigration requirements, the increasingly high cost of hajj, restrictions on movement and general apathy leaves the pilgrims with few chances to interact or empathize with the brotherhood of believers." On their journey, pilgrims are grouped based on their passports and are made to know they are state members and not a family of believers. Their freedom lies with the Saudi authorities.

Though the Tradition was considered to a holy act, it appears to have lost meaning to some extent, especially among the young generations. Other than going to worship, less informed individuals perceive it as a tour to visit the old fortresses and have fun. Some young people fail to adhere to the ihram requirements as they view the Tradition as just an ordinary activity. Over the years, Islam has lost its spirituality and is turning to be a sort of fun-fair where pilgrims are swapping prayers with whistling and clapping and losing respect for the Kaaba.

Additionally, the landscape of the Mecca journey has been altered by the Saudi authorities to match that of tourists. The alteration is disconnecting pilgrims from the holy land and the meaning of the annual event. Also, compared to the past, when the Tradition was considered sacred and peaceful, currently, this journey is characterized by divisions, especially from Muslims from war-torn countries like Yemen and Iran (Ahmad, 2009).

On a positive side, the Tradition has also attracted international bodies such as the World Health Organization who provide vaccinations for the pilgrims visiting Mecca. People who wish to attend the pilgrimage in Mecca must apply for a visa to ensure that the right channels are followed, thus minimizing accidents due to overpopulation.

How Tradition contributes to social processes

The Tradition of visiting Mecca unites Muslims from all corners of the world regardless of the culture, race, and color. It promotes social processes by creating a sense of equality where people interact without fear of being judged. As a result, this Tradition develops positivity among Muslims, enabling them to become tolerant (Caidi, 2019). It is through this event that pilgrims observe the social behavior from their fellows, thus learning how populations intermingle and behave.

Moreover, this cultural Tradition develops a more favorable approach to promote humanity regardless of the cultural differences as well as working to spread Allah's love to all people, including non-Muslims. The pilgrims also learn the concept of forgiving others and praying for them (Caidi, 2019).

Conclusion

The Tradition of traveling to Mecca is of considerable significance to the Muslims as it strips ways all elements that may bring divisions among them, including pride, social status, and wealth. In performing this cultural Tradition, pilgrims wear white clothes known as Ihram, which they use to conduct worship acts to renew their purpose in life. Over the years, Muslims have tried to preserve the rituals that occur during this journey.

Though the traditions have been successful to a large extent, modernization and political issues appear to be corrupting some of the practices. Regardless of the several differences, the journey to Mecca remains to be one of the important traditions in promoting social processes among all Muslims irrespective of the background.

References

Ahmad, S. N. (2009, November 20). Is the meaning of Hajj being lost? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/22/hajj-2009-saudi-arabia-security

Caidi, N. 2019. Pilgrimage to Hajj: an information journey. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI), 3(1).

Hadid, D., 2016, September 9. What Muslims Do on Hajj, and Why. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/world/middleeast/hajj-muslim-pilgrimage-mecca.html

The National. (2019, August 10). Hajj 2019: the Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah explained. https://www.thenational.ae/uae/heritage/hajj-2019-the-islamic-pilgrimage-to-makkah-explained-1.885598