A Call for Muslims To Respect Religious Acts During Hajj

Pilgrims prepare for the rites of Hajj. Almost nobody prepares for the crowd — and it is in the crowd, not in the rites, that most Hajj is spoiled.

Two and a half million people move through the same few square miles in the same week. Tempers shorten. People push at the Black Stone, shout at the Jamarat, argue over sleeping space in Mina, and discover in themselves a version of their character they had not met before. This short booklet is about that.

What It Addresses

• Reverence for the sacred sites — how a Muslim conducts himself at the Ka'bah, at Arafah, at Muzdalifah and at Mina, and what that reverence looks like in practice
• Conduct toward other pilgrims — patience, restraint of the tongue, yielding rather than pressing forward, and assisting the elderly and the weak
• Intention — purifying it before departure, and guarding it against display once you arrive
• Common failings — the behaviors pilgrims fall into without noticing, and what the texts say about them

Why This Is Not a Side Issue

The Qur'an addresses Hajj conduct directly, prohibiting obscenity, wickedness and disputation during the pilgrimage. This is not etiquette advice appended to the rituals — it is part of the legislation of Hajj. A pilgrimage performed with every rite technically correct, in a state of persistent anger at everyone nearby, has missed something the texts treat as central.

Size and Use

4.5 x 6.5 inches and a few sheets thick, made to be carried rather than shelved — which matters, because it is most useful on day three in Mina, not the month before departure. Inexpensive enough for Hajj groups, travel agents and masajid to distribute to every pilgrim in a party.

Related Reading

• How the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Performed Hajj — the Prophet's ﷺ own pilgrimage, step by step
• Hajj, Umrah & Ziyarah — the rulings of Hajj, Umrah and Ziyarah
• Fortress of the Muslim — the supplications to carry with you