What Hajj is, and why it is the fifth pillar
Hajj in a page: what the word means, why it is both a bodily and a financial worship, who owes it, and where Umrah and the visit to Madinah stand.
Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. It is a journey to the Kaʿbah in Makkah, where you do certain things at certain times.
The Kaʿbah is the House of Allah. It is the place every Muslim turns towards when they pray, wherever in the world they are.
Prayer and fasting are things you do with your body. Zakat is something you do with your money. Hajj is both at once; you travel there, and you spend to get there.
Hajj must be done once in a lifetime by a Muslim who is grown up, in their right mind, well enough to travel, and who has enough money for the journey and enough left at home for their family until they come back.
1There is a shorter journey to the same places called Umrah. It is not compulsory, but the Prophet ﷺ did it and encouraged it.
After Hajj and Umrah, people go to Madinah to visit the Prophet ﷺ at his blessed grave. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever visits him after he has died is like someone who visited him while he was alive.
اَللّٰهُمَّ ارْزُقْنَا لَذَّةَ النَّظَرِ إِلٰى وَجْهِكَ وَالشَّوْقِ إِلٰى لِقَائِكَ
Allāhumma'rzuqnā ladhdhata'n-naẓari ilā wajhika wa'sh-shawqi ilā liqāʾik
O Allah, grant us the sweetness of looking upon Your Face, and the longing to meet You.
Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam. The four already set out (faith, prayer, zakat and fasting) divide between them: prayer and fasting are acts of bodily worship, and zakat is an act of financial worship. Hajj is the one that combines both.
In ordinary Arabic, ḥajj means to set out with intent towards something noble. In the language of the Sacred Law it means performing specific rites at specific times: circumambulating the Kaʿbah, standing at Arafat, and the rest.
The Kaʿbah stands in Makkah. It is the House of Allah (Bayt Allāh), and facing it is a condition of the validity of the prayer, wherever in the world the worshipper stands.
فِيْهِ اٰيٰتٌۢ بَيِّنٰتٌ مَّقَامُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَۚ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًاؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ اِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلًاؕ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ٩٧
Wa lillāhi ʿala'n-nāsi ḥijju'l-bayti mani'staṭāʿa ilayhi sabīlā
Therein are clear sighs; the place where Ibraham stood and whosoever enters it, is in security. And for the sake of Allah, the people is to perform pilgrimage to this House, who could find a way thither. And who denies, then Allah is independent of entire world.
Qurʼan 3:97, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever performs Hajj and avoids sinful speech will return from it as pure as the day his mother bore him.” In another narration he warned that one who does not perform Hajj despite being able to will face severe punishment, and that such a person is at risk of dying as a Jew or a Christian.
Hajj is obligatory (as prayer, zakat and fasting are) but only once in a lifetime, and only on a Muslim who is sane, mature, and healthy enough to travel.
123The means must be real: wealth beyond one’s basic needs, free of debt, sufficient for the provisions of the journey and for the maintenance of one’s dependants until the return.
123Umrah (a pilgrimage to the same sacred places, outside the days of Hajj) is sunnah muʾakkadah. The Prophet ﷺ described it as an expiation for what falls between one Umrah and the next.
12When Hajj and Umrah are done, the act of devotion that remains is the visit to the blessed tomb of the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah, the greatest object of a believer’s longing, and a means of success in this world and the next. The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever visits his grave after his death is as one who visited him in his life.
اَللّٰهُمَّ ارْزُقْنَا لَذَّةَ النَّظَرِ إِلٰى وَجْهِكَ وَالشَّوْقِ إِلٰى لِقَائِكَ وَارْزُقْنَا شَفَاعَةَ سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ آمِيْنَ
Allāhumma'rzuqnā ladhdhata'n-naẓari ilā wajhika wa'sh-shawqi ilā liqāʾik, wa'rzuqnā shafāʿata sayyidi'l-mursalīn, āmīn
O Allah, grant us the sweetness of looking upon Your Face and the longing to meet You, and grant us the intercession of the Master of the Messengers. Amin.
Ḥajj is the fifth rukn of Islam. Of the four preceding it, ṣalāh and ṣawm are ʿibādah badaniyyah and zakāt is ʿibādah māliyyah; ḥajj is the single obligation that is both at once, and its conditions of obligation are drawn accordingly from bodily capacity and from means.
Lexically ḥajj is al-qaṣd ilā shayʾ muʿaẓẓam: to set out with intent towards something held in honour. In the ʿurf of the Sacred Law it is the performance of manāsik makhṣūṣah at awqāt makhṣūṣah: ṭawāf of the Kaʿbah, the wuqūf at ʿArafah, and what follows them.
The Kaʿbah in Makkah is Bayt Allāh, and istiqbāl al-qiblah towards it is a sharṭ of the validity of ṣalāh; the same House is thus the qiblah of the daily prayer and the object of the pilgrimage.
فِيْهِ اٰيٰتٌۢ بَيِّنٰتٌ مَّقَامُ اِبْرٰهِيْمَۚ وَمَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًاؕ وَلِلّٰهِ عَلَي النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ اِلَيْهِ سَبِيْلًاؕ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ٩٧
Wa lillāhi ʿala'n-nāsi ḥijju'l-bayti mani'staṭāʿa ilayhi sabīlā
Therein are clear sighs; the place where Ibraham stood and whosoever enters it, is in security. And for the sake of Allah, the people is to perform pilgrimage to this House, who could find a way thither. And who denies, then Allah is independent of entire world.
Qurʼan 3:97, Aal-E-Imran, from Zujajah.org
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever performs Hajj and avoids sinful speech will return from it as pure as the day his mother bore him.” A second narration carries the warning: one able to perform it who does not will meet a severe punishment, and is warned that he may die a Jew or a Christian. The manual reports both without naming their sources.
| Pillar | Kind of worship | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Prayer | Bodily (badaniyyah) | Five times daily |
| Fasting | Bodily (badaniyyah) | Annually, in Ramadan |
| Zakat | Financial (māliyyah) | Annually, on qualifying wealth |
| Hajj | Bodily and financial together | Once in a lifetime, on the capable |
The manual sets Hajj apart on exactly this ground: it is the obligation that draws on both the body and the purse.
Ḥajj is farḍ ʿayn, like ṣalāh, zakāt and ṣawm, but its obligation is discharged by a single performance in a lifetime (marratan wāḥidatan fi'l-ʿumr) and attaches only to one who is Muslim, ʿāqil, bāligh and bodily able to undertake the journey.
123Istiṭāʿah is material as well as bodily: wealth surplus to ḥawāʾij aṣliyyah, clear of debt, sufficient for the zād and rāḥilah of the journey and for the nafaqah of those in one’s charge until the return.
123ʿUmrah, performed at the same sacred places outside the days of Ḥajj, is sunnah muʾakkadah in the Hanafi school. The Prophet ﷺ made it kaffārah for what falls between one ʿUmrah and the next.
12The ziyārah of the blessed tomb of the Prophet ﷺ at Madinah is, in the manual’s own ordering, the act that remains once Ḥajj and ʿUmrah are discharged: the greatest maqṣad of the believer and a cause of falāḥ in both abodes. The narration cited is that whoever visits his grave after his passing is as one who visited him in his lifetime.
اَللّٰهُمَّ ارْزُقْنَا لَذَّةَ النَّظَرِ إِلٰى وَجْهِكَ وَالشَّوْقِ إِلٰى لِقَائِكَ وَارْزُقْنَا شَفَاعَةَ سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِيْنَ آمِيْنَ وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ
Allāhumma'rzuqnā ladhdhata'n-naẓari ilā wajhika wa'sh-shawqi ilā liqāʾik, wa'rzuqnā shafāʿata sayyidi'l-mursalīn, āmīn. Wa ākhiru daʿwānā ani'l-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi'l-ʿālamīn
O Allah, grant us the sweetness of looking upon Your Face and the longing to meet You, and grant us the intercession of the Master of the Messengers. Amin. And the last of our call is that all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
This is the English translation of Nisab Ahle Khidmaat Sharia, exactly as the book has it, for the passages this page was written from. About 528 words. Switch back to Guide for the rewritten version.
Rulings of Fasting Introduction
Explanation of Hajj:
Before this, the four pillars of Islam—faith, prayer, almsgiving (zakat), and fasting—have been discussed. Among these, prayer and fasting are physical acts of worship, while zakat is a financial act of worship. Now, the topic of Hajj, which combines both physical and financial acts of worship, will be discussed. Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam.
The meaning of Hajj in linguistic terms is to intend to go towards something noble. In the terminology of Islamic law, Hajj refers to the act of performing specific rituals at specific times, such as circumambulating the sacred Ka'bah and staying at Arafat.
The Ka'bah, located in the holy city of Makkah, is the sacred place towards which Muslims face in prayer, and its direction is essential for the validity of prayer. It is also known as Bayt Allah (House of Allah). Hajj is an immensely important act of worship, and many virtues of it have been mentioned in Islamic teachings. In the Qur'an, Allah says:
وَ لِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً
"And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way." (Surah Al-Imran, 3:97)
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "Whoever performs Hajj and avoids sinful speech, will return from it as pure as the day he was born from his mother." In another narration, he said that those who do not perform Hajj despite being able to do so will face severe punishment, and such individuals are warned that they may die as Jews or Christians.
Hajj, like prayer, zakat, and fasting, is obligatory for Muslims [Due to this reason, the detailed rulings of Hajj have not been included in this brief treatise; they can be learned in due time.], but it is only required once in a lifetime for those who are sane, mature, healthy, and financially capable. They must have enough wealth beyond their basic needs, free from debts, and sufficient provisions for the journey and for their dependents until their return.
Apart from Hajj, there is another pilgrimage to the same sacred places called Umrah, which is a Sunnah Mu'akkadah (emphasized practice). The Prophet (ﷺ) described Umrah as an expiation for the sins committed between two Umrahs.
Once Hajj and Umrah are completed, the most important act of devotion remains—the visit to the sacred tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). This is a significant act of love, the greatest goal for the faithful, and a source of success in both this world and the Hereafter. Visiting the Prophet's grave is an essential practice in Islam, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said that anyone who visits his grave after his death is like one who visited him during his life.
May Allah grant us the honor of visiting His House in Makkah and the Prophet's tomb in Madinah, and may He accept our pilgrimage and grant us success in the Hereafter.
اَللّٰهُمَّ ارْزُقْنَا لَذَّةَ النَّظۡرِ إِلٰى وَجْهِكَ وَ الشَّوْقِ إِلٰى لِقَائِكَ وَ ارْزُقْنَا شَفَاعَةَ سَيِّدِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ اٰمِينَ . وَاٰخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالٰى عَلٰى خَيْرٍ خَلْقِهٖ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَ أَصْحَابِهٖ أَجْمَعِينَ .
Terms on this page
Related
- The obligation of Hajj Why Hajj is obligatory (fard) on every able Muslim, drawn from the Qur'an and hadith, and that it is owed only once in a lifetime.
- Returning home after Hajj The dua for arriving back in one's own city, praying at the first mosque, and what an accepted Hajj should change afterwards.
- Visiting Madinah, and the etiquette of the Prophet's ﷺ grave The virtue of visiting Madinah, entering the Prophet's ﷺ mosque, and the words of greeting at his grave and those of Abu Bakr and Umar beside it.
- Virtuous acts in Madinah, and the dua on leaving Fasting, seclusion in the mosque (i'tikaf) and visiting the blessed wells in Madinah, and the farewell prayer, supplication (dua) and keepsakes taken on departure.