SARA: The Hajj is a pilgrimage all Muslims are expected to do once in their life if they can. Every year more than three millionmuslims make the journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to praise God or 'Allah' together. It's the largest annual gathering of people on Earth. The crowd is so big it would fill Wembley Stadium more than 40 times. Mecca is so special because it's the place where the Prophet Muhammed was born and received his first message from God. It's such a holy place only Muslims are allowed in. My family are saving up for the Hajj and I want to find out more about what it's like so I'm meeting Mary Batool Al-Toma a tour guide for Muslim pilgrims from the UK.
Salaam alaikum.
Salaam alaikum Sara. The first time you went to Hajj what were your first impressions and what did you do?
What really was quite awesome was the fact that I was in the midst of
Yeah!
about 3.5 million people鈥 鈥or the first time in my entire life. The atmosphere is wonderful and you've got people from all over the world from Malaysia Indonesia Turkey South Africa the Middle East you know Europe America Canada. So it's really really quite exciting.
So tell us what happens when you go to Hajj and when you're doing it.
Hajj is a very important rite-of-passage for Muslims. So you go to Mecca and this little cube-like building here is what we call the Ka'bah. It's very significant in the sense that it signifies the oneness of God and that we as Muslims all round the world wherever we are we all pray towards the Ka'bah signifying the oneness of God.
SARA: The Ka'bah is at the centre of the Grand Mosque in Mecca and it's the holiest site in Islam. It's the one place all Muslims turn towards when they pray wherever they are in the world. During the Hajj millions of Muslims walk around the Ka'bah seven times anticlockwise to submit to Allah. This is a piece of the cloth that covers the Ka'bah. Because it signifies God and God's house
Yeah.
We as Muslims want to elevate it and respect it as such. It's cleaned every year and then it it's covered every year with a new cloth. And this particular pattern is drawn out and is sewn into the cloth with gold thread.
Real gold.
Real gold thread.
That's amazing.
Yeah. So there are lots of people who spend the entire year of their lives making this cloth for the Ka'bah.
SARA: The next stage of the Hajj is to walk or run seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah. By the time you've done the circuit of the Ka'bah and done Safa and Marwah you have walked probably about鈥
Mm-hmm.
Three three and a half four five km.
That's a lot.
It's quite a lot.
SARA: Then the pilgrims travel to the Plain of Arafat which is where the Prophet Muhammed delivered his last sermon. And Arafat it's the most important day. It's the day when Muslims seek forgiveness from God for all their past you know鈥 鈥ittle mistakes. And they pray to God for a good life. To be able to try to thinkvery carefully about how they live their lives in the bestway possible.
SARA: Finally the pilgrims return to Mecca and perform one last important ritual. On their way there they stop at what we call the Jamaraat which are big stone pillars and represents the kind of bad omens of this world
Yeah.
And you know the temptations鈥 鈥f getting back into bad habits. So what we do we take these little pebbles and we throw them at the Jamaraat. It's about physically rejecting all the bad that might come and sort of tempt us to do wrong. And then we walk into Mecca to do our circumambulation of the Ka'bah again.
Mm-hmm.
And this is all walking Sara. It is hard.
So this is a very鈥
It is hard. Especially because it's so hot.
SARA: The Hajj takes place in temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius. Batool's job is to help look after people so they don't get lost or become ill from the heat. A trip like this takes a lot of planning.
This is the dress for Muslim men. It's two very large pieces of white towelling.
OK? So it's like a great big bath towel.
SARA: All Muslim pilgrims wear Ihram special clothes that unite them as equals before Allah. They put one part of this around their waist and then they pop the other one around the top part of their body and their shoulders.
And what do the women wear?
The women wear usually just one straight loose kind of dress. It can be any colour. Lots of women like to wear white because the men wear white. But it can be any colour. As long as they are covered and they maintain their respect. That's all they are asked to do.
SARA: The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the best things you can do as a Muslim. Every Muslim dreams of going. I think Hajj is going to be a really spiritual thing to do. The fact that you see like 3.5 million people that's quite overwhelming. It will be a really spiritual moment and I would really enjoy it.
Video summary
Eleven-year-old Sara is planning to go to Mecca on the holy pilgrimage called Hajj one day.
All Muslims must try to visit this holy city in Saudi Arabia at least once in their lifetime.
A tour guide describes the different rituals of the pilgrimage using a model of the city.
She shows Sara the clothes pilgrims wear, and video footage of herself among the millions of people who make the trip every year.
This is from the series: My Life, My Religion - Islam
Teacher Notes
Ask pupils to imagine they can visit one place on earth, wherever they choose, to help them to be a better human being.
Where would they go, and why? Suggest that the North Pole, the Rainforest or a tiny Island in the ocean might work better to make them a better person than Alton Towers or Disneyland.
Ask them to make a 5 point plan for their spiritual journey including who would go, how they would travel, what they would take, what they would do when they got there and what they would think about.
These clips will be relevant for teaching Religious Education at KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and First and Second Level in Scotland.
Prayer in Islam. video
Kaisan, a 12 year old British Muslim boy, explains how he prays five times a day, and says what it means to him in spiritual terms.
Ramadan and Eid ul Fitr. video
Sara, aged 11, explains why fasting is good: for devotion to Allah, for self discipline and for sympathy for the poor, explaining her religious practice.
Being a young Muslim. video
A young Muslim girl from London called Sara introduces herself, her Muslim faith and her family.
The Hijab. video
Sara, aged 11, has decided to start wearing the hijab as she begins secondary school. She explains why this matters to her and expresses her Muslim faith.
The Mosque. video
Kaisan, aged 12, shows us round the East London Mosque or Masjid, house of prayer.
The Qur'an. video
Kaisan and Naeem share ways that the Qur鈥檃n makes a difference to their lives.
The washing ritual, 'Wudu' video
Before prayer, Muslims make sure they are clean, using the washing ritual - 鈥榃udu鈥.
What is Islam? video
Young Muslim girl Sara gives a brief guide to the faith by describing the five Pillars of Islam: belief, prayer, giving, fasting and pilgrimage.
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