Hajj 2019 (Pilgrimage to Mecca)

When is Hajj 2019?

The 2019 Hajj will be starting the evening of August 9 and ending on Wednesday August 14. Because of the Islamic lunar calendar, the exact start dates may vary.

This is a time when some 3,000,000 Muslims from around the world will be making pilgrimage to Mecca.

Here are photos and sound recordings from Mecca taken by Dutchman Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje’s in 1885.¹Cameras today are versatile and light. In 1885 they weighed about 80lbs.:

What Mecca and the Hajj looked like in 1885

Born in 1909, Dr. Martin Lings (also known as Shaykh Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din), was revered by people all over the world as a “Friend of God”: a man whose saintly radiance touched the lives of all those who looked to him for guidance. In 1938, as a young man in his late 20s, he embraced Islam, entering deeply into its spirit, and the books he went on to write bear witness to the profundity and the subtlety of that spirit which he came to embody and exemplify. In 1948 he performed the Hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. In this documentary film, Martin Lings recollects his experience of the Hajj, along with his insight into its historical background.

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To learn more about the Hajj, I’ve been watching Ali Gomaa. Ali Gomaa was the 18th Grand Mufti of Egypt, is a leading Islamic scholar and jurist, and taught for many years at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University—arguably the top Islamic University in the world. Ali Gomaa has been listed by the Jordanian Royal Islamic Studies Centre as the 10th most influential Muslim in the world out of its list of 500 people.

In this first video Sheikh Gomaa discusses:

Is it necessary to perform ablution while traversing between Safa and Marwa mounts? Can a woman experiencing her menses circumambulate around the Ka’bah? If someone is traversing between the two mounts and he heard the call to the congregational prayer, should he continue traversing or pause to pray?

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In this second video Sheikh Gomaa discusses the following questions about the Hajj:

Is it permissible for the pilgrim to cover his head with a bag to avoid the heat of the sun? Is it permissible for the pilgrim to start traversing from the Marwa mount or should the Safa mount be the starting point? Is there a certain supplication recommended in each round? Should the pilgrims stand on the Mountain of Mercy in the day of ‘Arafah? Is spending the 8th night in Menah an obligatory act in hajj? What are the etiquettes of the day of ‘Arafah?

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In this third video Sheikh Gomaa discusses:

Is it permissible to join the noon and afternoon prayer at the day of ‘Arafat before the Imam deliver the sermon in Namira mosque? Can the pilgrim pray the sunset prayer in ‘Arafat before leaving to Muzdalifah? Is it necessary for the pilgrim to spend the night in Muzdalifah? What is the difference between Hady and Udhiyah?

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In this fourth video Sheikh Gomaa discusses the following Hajj questions:

What is the right size of the pebbles required in stoning? What is the ruling of the pilgrims who stay behind after performing the ‘umrah of Ramadan until the time of Hajj and they don’t have Hajj visa? Is it allowed for the pilgrim to carry his luggage while he throws pebbles?