The Hajj: from pilgrimage to holiday

Upon returning from the holy places, the hajji would come back to a spectacular festival with large crowds of friends and relatives waiting for him and women showering popcorn and candies on him, followed by a large feast.

With the exception of few, the hajj constituted a turning point in the person's life: not only in the person's behaviour but also in their attire and attitude to life. Once one earned the title of Hajji, that person was expected to meet the standards anticipated of a hajji as a pious person and a Good Samaritan. The Hajji rarely relapsed to his old habits and frivolous ways as has been clearly put by Syed Abul Ala Maududi:

Together the piety and virtuousness, the incessant remembrance of God and the longing and love of Him pervading the mind of the pilgrim, all leave a firm impression on his mind which lasts for years to come.

While most of the hajj-bound people from other continents still struggle to make the lifetime journey with the same fervour, the same passion and the same difficulties, albeit less taxing ones than in the old days, there is a new phenomenon of a picnic-like hajj in the Arab Gulf countries. Due to economic affluence, proximity to the holy places and the lack of the quota system imposed by the Saudi Arabian authorities on other Muslim countries, many of the people in the region have the luxury of making the trip annually with no lifelong savings, no overwhelming passion and yearning, no arduous preparation, no tearful goodbyes, no sweat and toil and, sadly, no change in attitude and lifestyle upon their return.

It seems the whole ritual has been reduced to just hopping onto a plane or driving your latest luxury SUV and heading for the holy places as if to a holiday resort. It is a trend that makes hajj more akin to showing prestige and flaunting wealth than fulfilling a religious duty.

No doubt the hajj constitutes a watershed for believers who can afford but one trip in a lifetime to the holy places: they have to prolong their state of purity for the rest of their life. The wealthier hajj participants , however, may not see the need to change as long as they can enjoy the luxury of diving into the pool of God's forgiveness every hajj season and while they can claim some bonuses on two or three Umra trips during the year also.

Viewing the hajj as the most conspicuous form of equality between human beings before their lord, one may lament to notice that the only common denominator between the old, arduous and once-in-a-life time journey to the hajj and the modern excursion is the timeless chanting of the Talbiya, echoing through the corridors of the holy places:

Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik ... Here I am, O God, at thy service! Here I am, O God, at thy service and thou hast no partners. All Praise, Blessings, and Sovereignty are Thine alone. Thou hast no partners.