THE HAJJ, PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA

Islam has five pillars, actions obligatory for believers. One, the hajj, is a pilgrimage that every able-bodied Muslim should make once in his lifetime.

Pilgrims join millions of others in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the week before the annual festival of Eid al-Adha. They perform a series of rituals centering around a stone called the Kaaba, a journey between two hills, drinking from a well, and sacrificing an animal to commemorate God’s provision for Hagar when Abraham and Sarah sent her and Ishmael into the wilderness. (You can read the Biblical account in Genesis 16 and 21.) According to tradition, this is the place where God brought forth water to satisfy Hagar’s and Ishmael’s thirst in the desert.

God alone is the source of our provision, and He has provided Jesus, the Living Water. When Jesus came to Earth, he was the sacrifice who eliminated our need for rituals.

Read John 4:10-14. We pray Qataris would not feel compelled to perform rituals to please God. We pray Qataris would experience Jesus, who can meet them in their spiritual deserts and satisfy their thirst so they need never thirst again.

Tags: hajj, islam, pillar, prayer, religion