Lesson video

Hello and welcome students once again, it's me Mr. Latif.

And today in our learning, we're looking at the fifth of the five pillars, which is the Hajj.

The most sort of really interesting parts of the Hajj actually is the pilgrimage itself.

So if you're watching this as part of remote education, remote learning at home because of a pandemic, or maybe you're watching this post the pandemic as I'm recording this on the 24th of July, 2020 is actually the month of Hajj right now.

So the Hajj will start on the 28th of July.

Now we'll get into the origins and what the Hajj is, which is a key interesting thing I like to share with you all today.

So the Hajj itself is performed by many, many thousands if not millions, actually of pilgrims. So many pilgrims come from all across the world to do the Hajj.

So the estimate is around two to 3 million people at this one place at one time.

Now of course your question may be actually, what does that look like in a pandemic? So the country where it occurs Saudi Arabia has actually decreased the amounts of pilgrims. So those that can only do the pilgrims are those of the Saudi nationals themselves.

So for the first time after actually many years, the Hajj will be really empty.

So it'd be really interesting actually to see images and footage of the Hajj 'cause these individuals would get an opportunity like no other individuals.

They'd be really able to actually perform the Hajj in a very special and very personal time because they'd be able to do it without the huge crowds.

So that's a really interesting part of the Hajj.

So maybe at the end of this lesson, try and find some footage if you can or images of the Hajj of 2020.

Now what are we going to be looking at in today's lesson? Today's lesson we'll look at the origins of the Hajj, we cling to the life of the Prophet Ibrahim to understand what is performed on the Hajj and to also understand what impact the Hajj has on the person who does the Hajj known as a Pilgrim or as a Hajji.

Now key things you need as always please ensure you have the five following things.

Some lined paper, your exercise book, a different coloured pen, a black or blue pen actually as well, those attentive ears, and that curious brain.

Now once you have those five things, let's get into our learning for today.

So welcome to our learning today on the Hajj, which is your title.

So just a reminder of those three things that we'll be looking at in today's learning.

We'll be looking at the origins of the Hajj, to understand what is performed at the Hajj, and to also understand the impact that the Hajj has on the person who performs the Hajj, the pilgrim also known as the Hajji.

Now a key thing just to remind you as always, please ensure that you have the following five things, if not, this is a great opportunity for you to pause the video, to ensure that you've got them.

If you have them, let's continue.

Let's look at the origins of the Hajj before we can actually understand what occurs at the Hajj.

So the origins of Hajj go back to about 4,000 years ago when the Prophet Ibrahim was told by Allah to take his wife Hajira and her son Ishmael to Arabia.

And when they go to Arabia, they go to a place where there's no habitat.

It's a hot, hot, hot desert.

So they're told to go there and they're told to take the things that they only have, their own supplies.

So what they can carry, you know, by themselves.

And you have to remember, Hajira has a young child as well.

So you can imagine how hard it is for her and her young child Ishmael.

Now after a few days, the supplies had run out and the young baby Ishmael and the mother Hajira were suffering from severe dehydration.

Now at this point, Prophet Ibrahim is told to leave them in the desert.

Now Hajira ran between these two Hills.

These Hills known as Safa, this Hill known as Marwa.

Running, back and forth again, again, searching and looking for water.

You know, to look for some water or to look for a well.

Now she's pleading to God.

Yeah, she's pleading to God and she's asking Allah for help.

Now at this point, there's a miracle that occurs.

You can imagine how hard and difficult it is for this mother.

Her child is suffering from severe dehydration.

Severe dehydration can lead to death and she's in a desert.

And in a desert without a husband, just her and her child.

So she feels a bit helpless.

As she feels helpless, she remembers I'm going to ask God for help because God is the provider.

Now at this point when she asked God for help and miracle occurs.

The heel of Ishmael struck the ground of the desert and gushing of this water comes from the earth.

Now this gushing of this water hydrated them, is seen as Allah responding to the person who pleads for something.

So we can understand from the origins of the Hajj, the spring of water came.

Now this water today is known as a Zamzam and this is found in the Zamzam well.

The Zamzam water is seen as a miracle of Allah and it actually shows that Allah listens to the calls of his servants and those that performed the Hajj drink from the Zamzam well and they drink from this water.

So this is seen as a water that is a special miracle given by God.

Now as part of the story of Prophet Ibrahim, later on many tribes start to actually settle in Makkah.

So this is the place where the Safa and the Marwa mountains are.

And the reason for this is because of the water source.

Now we know when there's resources, people tend to flock.

They all go there, parts of history.

Now Muslims believe after this that the Prophet Ibrahim was given an instruction by Allah to build the foundations of the Kaaba, which is known as the House of Allah today.

Now he did this with his son, Prophet Ishmael.

Who's often seen as I mentioned just before, a Prophet in Islam.

So this was a command.

A command given to the Prophet Ibrahim to construct the House of Allah.

And as we can see from this image just here, this is the Kaaba.

This is where Muslims go to perform the Hajj.

You remember as well from our previous lessons in Salah, Muslims all face the Qiblah, the direction, which means that facing the Kaaba when they are praying.

And the Hajj is really important and the Kaaba itself is really important when we look at the actual events and the rituals that occur at the Hajj.

So the Kaaba was built by the Prophet Ibrahim and his son, Prophet Ishmael.

And it became a place of pure worship.

And then Ibrahim was instructed to proclaim the pilgrimage to humankind to which then the first Hajj occurred.

So you could see the origins of the Hajj occurred 400 years ago.

Now after the death of Prophet Ibrahim, Makkah historically later, then it became a place of monotheism.

Then slowly going back to things that shouldn't have been, polytheism.

Which we know from our previous lesson is seen as a major sin because it's a sin of Shirk, associating God with anything else or worshipping God alongside anything else as well.

Now later on, it then goes, restores to monotheism in the time in the life of Prophet Muhammad.

Now there's a key thing we have to remember about the time in the life of Muhammad.

Before he does the Hajj, which comes a bit later part of his life and before he received a first revelation of the Quran, which occurs also later parts of his life, the Kaaba actually then became a place which house idols.

So it really became a place of what it wasn't instructed by God.

God instructed it to be a place of complete monotheism.

But Prophet Muhammad, what he did during his lifetime is he taught people about monotheism until Tawheed to which they rejected the idols.

And then it was restored the Kaaba the House of God, to a place of complete Tawheed and monotheism.

Now for this task, I'd like for you to do the following.

I like for you to spend 10 minutes.

And I'd like for you to explain the origins of the pilgrimage.

So I've got some key terms there just at the bottom.

So I'd like for you to spend 10 minutes and at this part of the video, I'd like for you to pause the video.

So I'll see it in 10 minutes.

So welcome back, let's go over our feedback here together.

So how did you do? How was your sentences on the origins of the Hajj? So what I've got here for you is I've got some key terms and key things at different colours.

And as you go over your answer, as I recite it for you, please ensure that you're adding anything that may be missing.

So it is believed by Muslims that the origins of the Hajj can be found in a time of Prophet Ibrahim around 4,000 years ago.

Prophet Ibrahim was instructed by Allah to take his wife Hajira and his son Ishmael to Arabia.

He was then told to leave them for a few days.

After a few days, the young child and mother was suffering from dehydration.

Hajira ran between two Hills of Safa and Marwa seeking water for her dear child.

It was then while praying to Allah that Ishmael's foot struck the ground upon a the miracle occurred and the Zamzam water appeared.

This shows that Allah listens to the calls of his servants.

Muslims believe after this, Ibrahim was commanded by Allah, apologies, to build the Kaaba in dedication.

It was Ibrahim and his son Ishmael who built the Kaaba and it became a place of worship.

This then became the start of the Hajj pilgrimage, which is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Now if there's anything that you need to make as a correction, please pause the video now.

But if not lets continue.

So we've looked at the origins of the Hajj, but it's one thing that I've missed for a reason.

'Cause we're going to go look at it together.

And that is something that you may have learned already with me on Islam beliefs and the life of Ibraham.

The sacrifice, so remember that key term that I'm saying.

'Cause it's a key part of origins of the Hajj with that.

But we'll look at that in just a moment.

So the five pillars of Islam and Hajj.

Hajj is a pilgrimage journey, and this is the final pillar of the five.

And it's obligatory for Muslims to perform and it should be made at least once in their lifetime.

Now if you are ill or if you are poor, you are excused from doing the Hajj.

But many may choose to donate to support you to do the Hajj.

Or maybe for example, imagine you were severely ill and you're unable to do it.

Someone can do it on your behalf.

So someone can do the Hajj for you.

So imagine I've got person A.

Person A has a father and his father unfortunately died.

And his father was very ill, but he had an intention to do the Hajj.

So person A, the son or the daughter can perform the Hajj for his or her father during their lifetime and then for themselves as well.

Now this is a really fascinating image I've got here.

So this was a Hajj during the 50s and 60s.

I mean you can see the Kaaba there, I mean seen a thousands of people there.

So it's actually grown in terms of, you know, throughout history.

And today we have around two to 3 million people that do the Hajj at one given time, once a year.

Now the Hajj itself is a visit of the Holy city of Makkah and it takes place over four days.

And the many pilgrims will also aim to visit Madinah.

'Cause this is the city of the Prophet.

And they will go to the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad and send their Salam along to him.

Yeah, so they send their peace and blessings to him.

And Madinah is a very important city as well 'cause it's the place where the Prophet Muhammad migrated to as part of the Hijra.

So though is not part of the actual Hajj, many Hajjis or many pilgrims will try to go to Madinah to go visit and send their Salams to the Prophet Muhammad and go and see the sacred city.

So Makkah and Madinah are the two sacred cities of Islam.

Now there's a chapter in the Quran named after the Hajj, which we call Sura Al Hajj.

And as I mentioned before, around 2.

5, 3 million pilgrims attend the Hajj each year.

Now if you're watching this in 2020, just a reminder this year there probably won't be 2.

5 to 3 million pilgrims during the Hajj because of the pandemic.

So as I mentioned just before, it'd be really interesting for your own, you know, interest in IRE to try to find some video footage and images of the Hajj of 2020.

I can guarantee you it'll be very, very different to 2019 and previous years as well.

So what does the Quran say on the Hajj? "And due to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House for whoever is able to find thereto a way." So really interesting verse there.

That the Quran commands the person, the Muslim to go and perform the Hajj.

And what is the purpose of the Hajj as well? So it is visiting the Kaaba, visiting the House of Allah, but it's developing a spiritual journey.

And I've mentioned this in so many lessons because this is so important within Islam.

To the development of Taqwa, God consciousness, the inner peace, the tranquillity, and also the Hajj shares equality and unity.

And we see this in terms of the action that are performed of the Hajj.

So there's unity of humankind, calling and submitting themselves to God alone.

So you can see from this image that we have on the ground floor, the Kaaba and hundreds of thousands of people.

Now if you can see from the image as well.

where am I going? Just here, there, there, just there as well, we also have another floor.

So for those that can visit the Kaaba, 'cause it becomes very, very busy on the ground floor, they do go to Tawaf on the second floor.

And itself in terms of Makkah, Madinah, overtime, especially the last 60 years is really built, you know, to a substantial amount.

And the reason for it is because so many people want to go to the Hajj.

So you can see in the background kindly, you can see that clock tower and all those hotels.

Those hotels and clock tower are there to provide apologies accommodation for those performing the Hajj.

But those clock towers and hotels weren't even there like 40 or 50 years ago.

So as I said before, if you get an opportunity to do so, please look up previous pictures of the Hajj and mark City of Makkah and Madinah.

Because you can really compare how it's developed and constructed over time.

So at this part of the video, I like for you to do the following.

You need to pause the video in a second and it needs to either open up or download the resource sheet titled "A Walk Through Hajj" and there's subtitles for each things there.

Now once you have it ready or printed, we'll go over what actually occurs at the Hajj.

So so far we've looked at the origins of the Hajj.

Now what we're going to look at, is what is done at the Hajj.

So the actions itself.

So could I please ask for you to pause the video and to get your resource sheet ready and then we'll go over our learning together.

Okay, now let's look at what actually occurs at the Hajj and hopefully find these images fascinating as well as its information.

So first you have to prepare yourself for the Hajj and is through the wearing of the Ihram before the Hajj.

So before a Muslim actually performs the Hajj, they have to have the correct Niyyah, which is the intention.

And what I'm going over now is something that you should be adding onto your notes as you listen to me and to ensure that you got the notes for each step that we're going over.

And also before a Muslims performs the Hajj, they may actually ask their friends and families for forgiveness.

And the reason for that is they'll seek forgiveness 'cause it's an important thing.

They're going to the Hajj to also seek forgiveness from God.

So they want to ensure that their correct any of their wrong actions and to seek forgiveness before they go.

They may actually ask their friends and family as well.

Do you want me to make a special Dua as application when I go and perform the Hajj? So the Niyyah is very important.

Now when a Muslim goes there, they wear the Ihram, which consists of two plain white shrouds in terms of clothes.

Now what this signifies is something, which is really important in Islam.

It signifies equality of all humankind before God.

So what's really important here? When Muslims are praying at the Makkah and Madinah, and they're all wearing the two white shrouds, it shows equality between humankind.

There could be a king next to a servant or someone and they're praying, you know, next to each other.

You wouldn't be able to tell who's a King and he wouldn't be able to tell who's a servant.

'Cause they're both wearing the two same white shrouds.

So sense of unity and Ummah.

And what's really interesting if you're interested in the history like I am, Malcolm X.

Malcolm X, when he performed the Hajj, he really said something really interesting about the Hajj.

He said "Actually the answer to America's race problem is Islam." Islam is the only religion which shows equality of all humankind and doesn't have a race issue.

And he said, when he went and did the Hajj, in one of his letters, he said, "It's the first time I was able to see the unity of people that had black skin, white skin, red skin." And he mentioned these things in his letter.

He said, "I ate from the same plate, I drank from the same cup, and I slept in the same tent with people from all different races, the diversity." And this really showed me according to him, Malcolm X, he said, "The unity of humankind before God." So if you ever do a bit of history I really ensure that you've read the letters of Malcolm X when he perform the Hajj.

Now if there's anything that you need to add onto your notes, this is a great opportunity for you to pause the video, to ensure you how those fantastic notes for the first part.

If not, let's continue.

So continuing on, day one, the Tawaf.

And as you can see from this image, they are walking around.

So Muslims walk around the Kaaba seven times.

And you can imagine this thousands of people doing this at once.

And it's actually quite interesting to see it in a video.

They're all doing it once.

It's quite therapeutic to watch.

So many will try kiss or touch the black stone on the Eastern corner as sunnah.

A Muslim believe that this black stone actually came from heaven.

Once upon a time it was white, this stone, and due to the sins of humanity over time, it's turned from whites to black.

And the key thing here with this stone as well, it's seen as a sacred and a special stone from the heavens.

So many Muslims would try to either point that's it if they can't touch it, or they would try to if they can't touch it or kiss it.

And this shows that the Tawaf, the unity of believers, all worshipping one God and one God alone.

So this image, actually you can see there's a bit of space between each individual.

But during Hajj season, it becomes severely busy.

Because you can imagine, remember what I said, about 2.

5 to 3 million people doing the Hajj at one given time.

So if there's anything that you need to add that you haven't already from my explanation for your second box, please ensure that you pause the video now.

If not, let's continue.

So continuing on with day one, we don't have Safa and Marwa and the Zamzam.

So the origins of the Hajj, Muslims reenact the running of Hajira running between the two Hills.

And this reminds Muslims when Hajira ran between the two Hills to seek water for her son Ishmael.

And it reminds them of the Zamzam, the Holy water, that gushed from the earth as miracle.

And then this is drunked by the pilgrims. Now today, the construction of a Makkah as a city, they've made the place from the two mountains or two Hills a place of air conditioning.

Yeah, and place where you can just walk it.

So they're not going over the actual hill, you know, climbing up the Hills, et cetera.

And there's also a wheelchair accessible for those that have disabilities or for those that cannot walk.

So it's really accommodating for those individuals.

And also they don't have to go through the hot, hot heat as Hajira did 'cause we've got this air conditioned units that are running between the two Hills.

So they go between the two Hills.

Many Muslims would run it, other Muslims would walking it.

And you've got to remember, you have to think about.

If there's 3 million people there and all doing at the same time, it's probably more suitable and it's probably best for them to actually walk it.

'Cause in the past, during historically there have been stampede with the Hajjis.

So many people have actually died performing the Hajj due to stampedes.

Now, as always, if there's anything that you need to do or add on, please ensure that you pause the video.

But if not, let's continue.

So day two, now we have the standing at Arafat and the camping at Mina.

Now Muslims believe in a day of judgement.

And the key thing about this place where they're going to, Muslims believe when they visit and stand at Arafat that this is the place where the Prophet Mohammad did his final sermon.

So the final sermon is a really important part of the life of Prophet Muhammad.

This is the final thing he says to all of his Ummah and it's a final warning.

So this isn't a revelation.

This is what he says.

And a really important thing is it actually links back to the point I mentioned about Malcolm X and this letter of Hajj.

Because within the last sermon, the Prophet Muhammad speaks about a unity.

He says an Arab is no greater than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not greater than the Arab.

And He also talks about the rights of the women and also talks about the rights of the orphans and the rights of each other.

So it's here that the Muslims, the pilgrims stand and they make Dua.

Remember Dua is a supplication.

And it's known as the Mount of Mercy.

And they're asking God for forgiveness of their sins.

Now when the Muslim is here, they're almost imagining that it's the day of judgement and the almost imagining that God is before them.

So that many Muslims spent hours there crying, asking for forgiveness, asking for forgiveness of their maybe siblings, their parents, their friends, their families, et cetera.

So it's a very emotional time.

They're imagining they're before God and they're asking for forgiveness of their sins.

Then they travel to Muzdalifah and this is a place where they kept the stones.

Now these stones are actually linked to the origins of the Hajj that I didn't mention before.

But let's look at it together.

Now before we look at it as always, if there's anything I need to add, please ensure you do.

But if not, let's continue.

So now we're on day three and this is a stoning at Mina.

So seven stones are thrown at the pillar of the devil.

Now these stones and the pillar of the devil today is constructed in a way, which is much more safe.

'Cause I mentioned before, previously there've been stampedes and there's been a stampede here as well.

So this reminds Muslims of the origins of the Hajj.

And it reminds Muslims of the story of Ibrahim's rejection of Shaytaan.

So when Ibrahim was commanded from a dream to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, Shaytaan tempted Ibrahim.

He says, "why would you want to sacrifice his son? Why would God need to the sacrifice his son?" So each time Shaytaan on tried to tempt Ibrahim, which is the term for Satan, he was throwing stones to chase away the devil.

So the key thing here, Muslims are reminded to resist temptations.

And this has spiritual significance.

So the battle between good and evil.

So Muslims will get stones and throw them at this.

And it signifies, you know, resistance to temptations of Shaytaan.

And I've seen videos in the past yeah, I've seen videos in the past where certain people get really, really emotional.

Yeah, so I've seen a video of an uncle if he gets his slipper and he's throwing them at the pillar yeah.

'Cause he's getting really angry at the devil.

Yeah, but the actual way that you should do it is a throwing of the seven stones.

So does anything that you need to add to a day three, please ensure that you pause the video.

But if not, let's continue.

So now we Id ul-Adha.

So this is the second of the two Eid's that we find in Islamic calender.

And on this Eid, all the Hajjis, the pilgrims, they'll sacrifice an animal, not themselves, they may do it by through a charity or they may do it through a slaughter house.

And the sacrificing of the animal and the distribution of the meat to the poor.

Now the Eid festival reminds Muslims to share with the poor.

And it also symbolises the story of Ibrahim that I mentioned before, in terms of the origins of the Hajj.

It actually shows the significance of Ibrahim showing his submission to God.

Now remember Ibrahim is told to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, they both go to the mountain and he's going to do it because you know, if God's command him to do it.

He shows that he's a righteous servant.

Now just before he's about to sacrifice his son, God tells him to stop.

And he tells him that he's passed the test and the sacrifice of a goat or Ram is given instead.

So it shows his willingness, the fact that he's obeying God.

So we can see from all these different events, we've got certain origins and also the impact that has on the life of a Muslim.

Now if there's anything that needs to add on to your notes, please ensure you do.

If not, let's continue on.

So still on box six, the cutting of the hair.

And this represents a new state, a new start.

It's almost like being reborn.

So the pilgrims do this as a sign of a new spiritual start for them.

And for the men is the shaving of all of their hair, which signifies that there are Hajji and they've perform the Hajj.

And for the woman is a cut of a bit of hair.

Just a bit of hair.

So this is really important.

It signifies a fresh start.

It signifies that you go back into your society and you become almost like a new person.

That you are actually no longer being lazy.

You're no longer being disobedient.

You're no longer sinning.

Yeah, because you've gone to the Holy place, which is the sacred house of Allah.

As always, if there's anything that you need to add, please ensure you do.

If not, let's continue.

And now we have the final events, the final Tawaf.

So one final Tawaf is done before leaving and finishing the Hajj.

And this symbolises being in a hurry to respond to God.

So what impact does the Hajj have? They've completed the fifth and final pillar by obeying Allah and his Prophet, spiritual growth concept of Taqwa that I mentioned, and actually become more thankful.

So it's a really significant event in the life of a Muslim.

So as we can see there, the Hajj itself is a very important event.

There's many rituals that are done that link to the origins of the Hajj and the life of Prophet Ibrahim.

And there's this concept of a unity of humanity and the concept of submission to one God or one God alone.

And it's a very sacred time for the Muslim.

It's a very spiritual time for the Muslim.

They have completed something which a sinner and probably Muhammad did it, the Prophet Ibrahim did it and Allah commands them to do so.

So now let's look at what verses in the Quran speak about the Hajj.

So for this task, I like to give you 10 minutes.

And what I like for you to do in a moment is to copy the table on the next slide.

Now for the task, I'd like for you to pause the video and to copy the table, and then afterwards we can go over it together.

So you're going to copy the following table, if I just disappear.

Could I please ask you now to spend 15 minutes to do the following.

Can you copy this table for five minutes? And then to spend 10 minutes to tell me and to examine what do these verses from the Quran tell us about the Hajj.

So at this part of the video, will I please ask for you to pause the video and then we'll go over the answers together.

Welcome back, so let's go over these answers together.

" Purify my house for those who perform Tawaf and those are staying there for worship and those who bow and prostrate in prayer." So this tells us that the Quran mentioned Tawaf.

And Tawaf is one of the rituals of the Hajj.

And it shows that Hajj is an act of worship.

"And proclaim to the people the Hajj, they will come to you on foot and on every on lean camel, they will come from every distant pass." So this tells us actually that those visit.

So this tells us that those, that visits to perform the Hajj come from both near and far.

And there are minds Muslims of the unity and brotherhood of humankind worshipping one God as a community.

And as I mentioned before, 2.

5 to 3 million people from all across the globe come and perform the Hajj.

So if there's any corrections that you need to make, please add them onto your notes now.

And do you pause the video.

If not, let's continue on.

I tell you what, as an IRE teacher, I find pilgrimages so interesting, whether it's the Hajj, that of Lourdes, or Iona.

Every litany signify this importance of, you know, individuals of a religious faith going to seek something.

So in summary, let's look at the Hajj.

Hajj is the final pillar of the five pillars of Islam.

It's obligatory action for all able Muslims to do once in their lifetime.

If you're unable to do it because maybe you passed away and you were ill, someone can do it on your behalf.

It's history and significance links to the ritual at a time of Prophet Ibrahim.

It's a spiritual transformation, which aims to develop someone into becoming a better person to have Taqwa and to show values of justice, equality, and kindness.

And finally it shows the unity of humankind before the oneness of God and the equality of all the pilgrims. So really interesting parts of Islam and practises.

And that in summary is the five pillars that we've been learning about over the course of the last few weeks.

Now as always, you can share your work with Oak National and if you'd like to, please ask your parent or your carer to share your work with the hash tag Learn with Oak or at Oak National or Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

And it gives me, Mr. Latif a fantastic opportunity to see all your hard work on the Hajj.

And I can see if you understood that you've understood the Hajj to such a high level of understanding as a good IRE student.

And the one final thing left for you to do, please ensure you have a go at the quiz at the end, the five questions to test the knowledge.

And on that note, I will see you soon, take care.