Word: mecca
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With the conquest of Mecca eight years after the Hegira, Mohammed destroyed the idols and cleansed the sacred house of its pagan deities. He re-established it as a place of worship to God alone. Reverting it to its original use he could then perform the pilgrimage "hajj," setting an example for millions of his followers throughout the ages. All rituals of the pilgrimage are rich in traditions reflecting the religious actions of Abraham (Mohammed...
Yesterday, on the ninth of Dhu'l-Hijja, the Ka'ba was virtually deserted. It was the principal day of the pilgrimage, when all pilgrims assemble in the Valley of Arafat, 14 miles east of Mecca, between noon and sunset. The road to Arafat is inevitably blocked by heavy traffic and many pilgrims prefer to go on foot. The Saudi Arabian government enlists extra help to manage the traffic for this hectic day, and each year the road is widened in an attempt to ease the jamming...
...sunset a mass exodus from Arafat begins. The pilgrims head for Muzdalifa, in the direction of Mecca. There they spend the night in the open, under the star-lit sky. The stillness of the night closes upon each, inducing a feeling of direct communion between the worshipper and the Creator. They offer prayers and recite supplications as they keep vigil during this blessed night. As the night expires, the pilgrims resume their journey back to Mecca...
...Mecca the pilgrims end their state of "ihram" by a symbolic shortening of the hair. They resume their commitment to the present and the particular once more. They revert to their own dress. Many travel to Medina, the second most revered city in Islam, where Mohammed established the first Islamic state and where he is buried in a corner of the "Nabawi" Mosque...
Whenever the time for prayer occurs, the haaj and haaja stand facing the direction of Mecca and feel transported beyond time and space to those days when they stood in the Haram Mosque close to the Ka'ba, part of a multitude of worshippers bowing in acquiesence to the call...