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Thousands of years ago, Abraham, the patriarch of all Abrahamic Faiths was commanded to take his first-born son Ismail and his mother Hagar into a barren land known as Becca (today known as Mecca) and to leave them there. At first, Hagar was distraught when Abraham just left them there and turned and walked away. After repeatedly asking why he was leaving them there, she asked if God commanded this. With Abraham’s affirmative answer she accepted God’s Will and returned to her son. With only a sack of dates and a single water skin their provisions did not last long. With food and water depleted, Ismail cried in hunger. Hagar ran to the top of a nearby hill and called out hoping someone would hear her. With no response she ran to a second nearby hill and called out again. She did this four times at each hill running between the two with no response from any other human. Suddenly, at the feet of her crying son, a spring miraculously erupted providing them with water. Shortly thereafter birds found the water and nomads following birds to water found it as well. Seeking Hagar’s permission to take water soon resulted in a settlement and caravan routes made Mecca an important refuge from the harsh Arabian desert.

Years later Abraham returned to find his son Ismail had grown and both were commanded to erect the walls of the first house of worship of God. As related in the Qur’an:

Truly! the first Sanctuary appointed for mankind was that at Becca, a blessed place, a guidance to the peoples;

In it are clear signs; the place where Abraham stood to pray. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And an obligation to God from the people is a pilgrimage to the House – for whoever is able to find the means to visit. But whoever disbelieves – then indeed, God is free from need of the worlds.

And remember when We prepared for Abraham the place of the (holy) House, saying: Ascribe thou no thing as partner unto Me, and purify My House for those who make the round (thereof) and those who stand and those who bow and make prostration.

And proclaim to the people the Hajj; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass –

That they may witness things that are of benefit to them, and mention the name of God on appointed days over the sacrificed beast of cattle that He hath bestowed upon them. Then eat thereof and feed therewith the poor unfortunate.

Abraham’s ancient proclamation still reverberates in the world today and each year with the start of the twelfth Islamic month, known as Dhul Hijjah, the faithful make their way to Mecca to fulfill the fifth obligation in Islam, the pilgrimage (Hajj in Arabic) to Mecca. During the Hajj the faithful engage in the rites commemorating the trials of Hagar and Ismail, the worship of God alone as the pilgrims circumambulate around the very House that Abraham and Ismail raised up for the worship of the One God, to pray in the location where Abraham prayed, and to run the course of Hagar in search of God’s help in this life between the two hills. The pilgrims also commemorate the events of God’s command for Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismail and how Satan attempted to dissuade Abraham from doing so. In their defense, they threw stones at the Devil and drove him off three times. Pilgrims will throw stones at three locations where it is believed Abraham and Ismail threw stones. The Hajj reaches its culmination on the Plain of Arafah about 13 miles east of Mecca where the pilgrims will congregate and beseech God’s forgiveness which emulates the Gathering of Souls after resurrection on the Day of Judgement.

The Hajj is unmatched as an expression of piety towards God. Each year in the twelfth month of the Islamic year an estimated 2 to 3 million pilgrims from all corners of the earth, from the richest to the poorest, from all social classes, from every skin color, from every language spoken on earth congregate doing the same thing, at the same place, at the same time, for one sole reason, to respond to the call of the Patriarch Abraham in worshipping and seeking the forgiveness of God.

Each year, we go out in search of that tiny sliver of light in the twilight sky signifying the beginning of the most incomparable devotional act of sacrifice, leaving everything in the world for a journey towards God. At the end of ten arduous days in the Arabian desert, pilgrims will have an animal, a lamb, cow, or camel, sacrificed and the food distributed to the poor around the world. For those not making the Hajj, they will celebrate by fasting the first nine days of the month, a fast similar to that of Ramadan, where food and water is not consumed from dawn until sunset. The following tenth day is Eid Al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice commemorated with a large communal prayer followed by sacrificing a lamb or goat and the meat distributed to the poor and needy in the community by those who have the means to do so.

To those on the Hajj, may your devotion be accepted and to all other Muslims, may you benefit from the blessings of the best 10 days of the year.

Peace to you all.

On Tuesday August 22, 2017 the new crescent moon, now devoid of the crown it wore just a day before while it was in union with the sun, appeared quietly above the horizon.  It is a special moon, marking the beginning of the Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca for the world Muslim community.  As I write, millions of people from all nationalities, races, ages, social and economic status the world round are making their way towards Mecca on foot, on animal, by car, boat or plane.  Seeking one goal.  Heeding the call of the Creator and hoping for His Mercy and Forgiveness.  A spectacle unlike any other in the world.

Dhul Hijjah, 1438

May all the Pilgrims have a blessed and accepted Pilgrimage.  And if any of you are going and are reading this, please keep me and my family in your prayers!

Peace to you all!

Thousands of years ago the Patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim in the Arabic), upon the commandment of our Creator, traveled with his family, wife Hajar and son Ismail, south out of Palestine and into the deserts of Arabia to a barren valley known at that time as Becca (today’s modern Mecca).  He left his wife and infant son there and turned around and started to walk away.  Despite the pleas of his wife he did not answer her until she asked him, “is this what your Lord commanded?”.  On that question he answered in the affirmative and continued to walk.  Hajar then replied, “then we shall persevere”.

A few days later their provisions ran out.  Her milk stopped.  The baby started to cry.  Hajar runs to the top of a near by hill, now called Mount Safa, and calls out for anyone to hear her.  She then runs down and to another hill about 1/4 of a mile away now known as Mount Marwah.  She calls out from there as well.  She runs between the two hills seven times calling out for help at each hill.  Her baby, down in the valley is crying and kicking.  Upon the completion of her seventh circuit between the two hills, she suddenly sees down by the feet of her son a spring of water had erupted and water was gushing forth.  This miraculous spring is known as Zamzam, and except for a short time when the ancient Meccans had buried it, it has flowed for thousands of years to this day providing travelers and pilgrims life sustaining water.

With the flow of water in that barren valley, birds began to fly there.  Caravans following the birds also soon arrived.  The great city of Mecca is built at that site.  About nine years go by and Ibrahim returns to visit his family and see the good fortune that was promised would come their way.  He finds a small city has grown around where he left his family.  It was at this time that he was commanded to build the first sanctuary for the worship of the One God and he lays down the foundation of that house.  It was also at this time that he was commanded to sacrifice his son Ismail.  It was this miraculous event where as he was about to draw the blade across his son’s throat, with his eyes closed unable to bear the sight of what he was about to do, hears his young son laughing heartily off to the side.  When he opens his eyes, he finds a ram in the place of his son.

He once again leaves his family only to return years later when his son is a young man.  At this time he and his son raise the house of worship, now known as the Ka’ba, a cubic shaped building.  Its corners are loosely aligned with one pair along the East-West line and the other pair along the North-South line.  Once they completed the house, Ibrahim calls out in supplication that the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth accept the effort that they made.  God replies to him by commanding him to make the call to all humanity to come and worship at that house.  Ibrahim then calls out in as loud a voice as he could.  It reverberated through all the canyons and ravines and every deep crack, and still echos to this day.

In response to that call made thousands of years ago,  on this night the faithful respond: “Hear we are in service O Lord Here we are replying to your call.  Here we are in service, there is no associate with You, Here we are!  Truly all praise is to you, all blessing from you, and to you is the dominion over all things.  There is no associate with You!”

And for the next 9 days, approximately 2 million Muslims of the nearly 1.75 billion on earth, begin to congregate on Mecca to perform the largest annual religious spectacle on the planet – The Hajj.

During the Hajj, Muslims sacrifice their livelihood by leaving it behind, leaving their families behind, their homes and trek out into the desert in worship of the One God, repeating the rites that were done by Hajar, Ibrahim and Ismail thousands of years ago.  Of course no human sacrifices are performed, being prohibited in Islam, but other sacrifices are made showing our devotion to God and our lack of care for material wealth.  It culminates in 9 days on the plain of Arafah 13 miles out in the desert and then back to Mecca on the 10th day where the faithful will circumambulate around the Ka’ba for 3 days during the Holiday of Sacrifice in commemoration of Ibrahim and what he did before they return home.  It is the biggest Muslim holiday of the year, being the second of only two holidays.

The start of the Hajj coincides with the beginning of the 12th month of the year Dhul-Hijjah, the month of the pilgrimage.  The month in the Islamic calendar, as always, starts with the sighting of the new crescent moon, which was seen world round this evening.  Here is the view from Campbell California.

Dhul Hijjah Moon, 1433

So to all my Muslims readers, Hajj Mabrur!

I am home today waiting for dinner.  I spent last night making pumpkin pie from scratch and was very proud of myself – it was the first time I ever made a pie.  This morning I finished the pumpkin puree by making two more pumpkin pies! 

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Then I made a middle eastern rice stuffing that I grew up eating and stuffed a 15 lb turkey with it, and put it in the oven to roast.  I needed some whipping cream for the pies later tonight and headed over to my local Whole Foods market to buy a pint only to find they were completely sold out!  I then made a 10 mile trek to the next nearest Whole Foods to get my pint of organic cream.  Along the way I started to think.

This year the holiday season here in the United States begins with Thanksgiving as the holiday season for the Muslim world comes to its end with Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  For me It will be five days of holiday starting with Thanksgiving and culminating with Eid.  And yet when thinking about these two holidays they seem so diametrically opposed, not in spirit but in practice.  In spirit Thanksgiving is about showing thanks for the blessings and bounty that we have.  I am sure originally thanks was given to God, but today I don’t know who exactly people thank.  Folks today in the U.S. believe in so many different things or in nothing at all that I have given up on trying to understand who thanks what anymore.  Growing up, Thanksgiving was always a strange holiday.  People cooked more food than they could possibly eat, then ate more then is healthy.  Someone, either a guest or neighbor, always consumed to much alcohol, became intoxicated and then spoiled the day with some boisterous diatribe about how the world was all wrong and he never got a fair shake.  The very act of giving thanks on that day seemed so contrived and disingenuous.  All the while there was the guy on the street corner, like today as I left Whole Foods, with a sign in his hand that read “hungry”. 

At the same time this year, 2 million humans converged on Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula, for the annual Islamic Pilgrimage. 

Mecca at Hajj

From all over the world and from every walk of life these people make a sacrifice to get there, and in some cases their entire life savings, and seek out forgiveness for the wrongs they committed in their life so far.  They sacrifice their time, leaving family behind in some cases, and make a trek into and through the desert for a glimmering hope of starting life a new without any mistakes to account for.  After 9 days of slogging through the desert these 2 million people make one more sacrifice.  They purchase an animal; lamb, goat, cow or camel, they have it slaughtered and the meat is given away to those hungry people in the world, wherever they might be.  The meat is processed there in Mecca, flash frozen and then distributed worldwide to those who need food.  After all the Eid that follows the pilgrimage is called the Festival of Sacrifice.  But all is not roses there during the Hajj.  There is wasted food, more waste than I think I have ever seen in my life when I made my Hajj 11 years ago.  Leftover food, half eaten loaves of bread, plastic bags filled with uneaten cooked rice and curry litter the pathways.  For a spectacle like no other where sacrifice and giving are the hallmark, it is utterly embarrasing and repugnant to see so much food discarded.  All the while beggars are every where asking for help.

Growing up in my home these two holidays were about feeding other people rather than feeding ourselves.  Each year my aunt calls me about a week or so before Eid and asks are you going to hold Eid this year?  What she means is – are you going to feed people?  This year she also asked if I and my family were going to spend Thanksgiving with her.  Like my dear departed mother, she has a obsession of generosity that is only placated by feeding people. 

It is said that it is always better to give than to receive.  Thankfulness for something given is expected.  Being thankful for the ability to give is another matter all together.  The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said ‘charity does not diminish wealth’.  What ever one gives out will return ten fold.  The ability to give to and sacrifice for others is deserving of thanks.  It is a state of well being that marks independence and fortune.  It pains me when those that have the ability to give hoard what they have for themselves and leave others to pine for what should be enjoyed by all.

This year my wife and I have the good fortune of hosting our extended family at our home for Thanksgiving.  It was a sacrifice for us as well as times are tough and we have had to tighten our belts a bit.  But the joy we feel in giving out, and receiving the blessings of family in our home is more than we could ever ask for.  This year, think about thanks and what you are thankful for and who you are thankful to for what you have and for what you have the ability to do.

Peace.

Wednesday evening marked the beginning of the Hajj, the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. The moon was stark, the sky was beautiful, and the air was bitterly cold. But when you do what you love, nothing can get in the way.

Dhul-Hjjah Begins

Good luck to all those making the Pilgrimage, may your scarifice be accepted and may you find what you seek.