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Indulge in Islamic Pilgrimage Tour in the Holy Month of Ramadan
The Muslim religion considers that the five pillars of Islam viz
- Shahadah - to declare that there is no God except Allah and his messenger Muhammad)
- Salat - Ritual prayer for five times a day
- Zakat - to give 2.5% of one’s savings to the poor and needy people
- Sawm - to fast and control oneself during the holy month of Ramadan
- Hajj - a Pilgrimage to Mecca atleast once during one’s life time
Thus, undertaking pilgrimage during the holy month of Ramadan is considered to be the most sacred of all. This system of pilgrimage during Ramadan month is considered sacred both by both Shia and Sunni Muslims, the two sects of Islam, however, they call them with different names.
Umrah is a smaller pilgrimage voyage, apart from the annual Hajj yatra. This Umrah being completed during Ramadan is considered more sanctified and many have a prayer to that effect. One can see many Muslims visiting Saudi Arabia during Ramadan to perform Umrah. There are people who undertake such visit every year. However, it is to be noted that many report that deadly respiratory diseases creep up during the Islam’s fasting month of Ramadan, so proper care should be undertaken.
Out of the Islamic pilgrimages undertaken during the month of Ramadan, Pilgrimage to Mecca is considered to be the most revered which is one of the five pillars of Islam and considered to be a religious duty. The person, who is fit both physically and financially, is known as mustati. Here, a man demonstrates his solidarity to God and his total submission to the almighty Allah. Hajj means ‘TO INTEND A JOURNEY’ relating to both outward journey and inward intentions. Pilgrimage Tours of India also includes the visit to Hajj every year.
This Hajj is also related to the lift of Prophet Muhammad however the visit to Mecca is related to very old practice of say over thousands of years to the time of Abraham (Ibrahim). A series of rituals are performed by the pilgrims including walking around Ka’aba, drinking from Zamzam well, spending night in Muzdalifa plains and throwing stones at sacred pillars of Satan at Zamarat, shaving off their heads, animal sacrifice and celebrating of three days festival of Eid-ul-Adha are the notable things.
The pilgrims undertake the journey in groups to express their unity and since the last 100 years, there has been seen a huge increase in the people taking pilgrimage during Ramadan month, which is said to have increased to over 3000 from 60000 in 1920 to 1800000 in 2013 which is indeed a great number.