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Hajj: A Journey to Meet GodAlzahraa K. Ahmed, Intern, Department of Medieval Art and The

CloistersPosted: Monday, April 16, 2012

Hafiz-i Abru (d. 1430). Detail from "Journey of the Prophet Muhammad," Folio from the

Majma al-Tavarikh (Compendium of Histories), ca. 1425. Present-day Afghanistan, Herat.

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cora

Timken Burnett Collection of Persian Miniatures and Other Persian Art Objects, Bequest of

Cora Timken Burnett, 1956 (57.51.9)

The words "pilgrimage" and "sacred space," one evoking human

movement and the other performative space, are inseparable from one

another. Through pilgrimage, the pilgrim embarks on a spiritual path

toward the full submission to God in an often-distant sacred space. For

Muslims, pilgrimage, or hajj, is the most sacred ritual performance

through which pilgrims, al-hajij, annually unveil their sins to God for

purification. The core of the ritual takes place in the holiest cities of the

Arabian peninsula (al-jazeera al-‘arabiyya), Mecca and Medina (madinat

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About the

Author

Alzahraa (Zizi) K.

Ahmed is an

intern in the

Department of

Medieval Art and

The Cloisters.

She is also a

research

assistant for the

New York office

of the Abydos

Archaeological

Projects in Upper

2/17/2015 Hajj: A Journey to Meet God | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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al-munawarrah, or "Medina the Radiant"), during the first ten days of the

month Dhu al-Hijjah in the lunar hijri calendar of Islam.

Nestled among the mountain passes of central western Arabia fifty

miles inland from the Red Sea is the city of Mecca, or makkat al

mukarrama (the honored Mecca). Imbued with holiness well prior to the

rise of Islam, al-haram al makki (The Holy Site of Mecca) served as the

most sacred congregational place for tribes of the Arabian peninsula

since the erection of the Ka’ba. According to Islamic tradition, God

commissioned Ibrahim (Abraham) with the help of his son Isma’il

Egypt, and a

master's

candidate at the

Institute of Fine

Arts, New York

University, where

she studies the

art of Byzantine

and Islamic

Egypt.

About this

Blog

This blog

accompanied the

special exhibition

Byzantium and

Islam: Age of

Transition, on

view March 14–

July 8, 2012.

2/17/2015 Hajj: A Journey to Meet God | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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(Ishmael) to go and build an edifice, the Ka’ba, where people would

gather and worship only Him.

Authors

Annie Labatt (17)

Betsy Williams

(16)

Yitzchak

Schwartz (7)

Alzahraa K.

Ahmed (6)

Nazanin Hedayat

Munroe (6)

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Amir Khusrau of Delhi. "Muslim Pilgrim to Mecca Meets a Brahman on the Road," Folio

from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi, 1520–25. Iran. Ink, opaque watercolor,

and gold on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1913

(13.160.4)

Tribes came from all directions to visit the Ka’ba, bait Allah al-haram

(The Holy House of God) for pilgrimage and in order to commemorate

the God of Ibrahim. Over time, idolatry (Wathaniyya) became

widespread among the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. Quraysh,

the leading tribe of Mecca and its vicinities—amongst whom later

emerged the Prophet Muhammad—set idols around the Ka’ba, the

most important of which were Hubbal, Ilaat, and Na’ila.

Local, regional, and trans-regional tribes traveled to Mecca not only for

its religious significance, but also for its role as a commercial center.

The city's strategic location along the old caravan trade route

Umayyad (14)

Islam (11)

Mosaic (11)

Christianity (6)

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Newer: The Formation of

Islamic Art by Oleg Grabar

Older: Qusayr 'Amra

connecting South Arabia, East Africa, and South Asia with the

Mediterranean world attracted Arabs as well as non-Arabs. Both the

Romans and Byzantines, for example, long maintained commercial

relations with the people of Mecca, considering the city an essential

nodal point in trade circulation of the Red Sea.

After a long struggle between the Prophet Muhammad and the people

of Quraysh, which initially led to his emigration, or Hijra, from Mecca to

Medina in 622, the monotheism of Ibrahim returned to Mecca. In the

tenth year of his emigration, the Prophet Muhummad returned to Mecca

along with almost ten thousand Muslims. This was also the year in which

Muslims revived hajj as an Islamic ritual that was obligatory for every

male and female Muslim physically and economically able to make the

journey.

Through the centuries and until today, hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, has

served to gather millions of Muslims annually from around the world in

unity. Along with its religious significance, it has played important social,

intellectual, and economic roles by stimulating the meeting of people

from disparate locales, the exchange of ideas, and widespread

commercial exchange.

Department(s): Medieval Art and The CloistersTag(s): Islam, Arabia, Prophet Muhammad, pilgrimage

2/17/2015 Hajj: A Journey to Meet God | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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