Islam Definition Essay

For the past few months I have been overseas working in the wonderful country of India. I’ve observed many different things; many unusual things about this country. India has a wide variety of cultures and religions. The holiday I have learned about is called Hajj. Hajj means ‘to set out for a place’. Hajj is the pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah or also called Mecca , Saudi Arabia, and is one of the five basic requirements of Islam. It is a religious high point of a Muslim’s life and is an event that every Muslim dreams of being part of. Hajj is a religious obligation to be fulfilled at least once in the course of the life of each Muslim law grants, and is a series of detailed rituals. It is a Muslims obligation to be mindful of their friends and family and to all humans whatsoever. Islamic followers believe that every nation should have a unity so they can all worship God. They believe that through culture people will come together as a whole to praise God, and learn each other’s difficulties. All official duties are suppose to be completed between the ninth and thirteenth day of Hajj. There are three main pillars that are to be performed during Hajj. The first pillar is to get into a state of â€Å"Ihram† and intend to perform the pilgrimage. The second pillar is to stay at the field of â€Å"Arafat† on the ninth day of Hajj. If the person cannot complete the pilgrimage then he/she will have to try to complete it the following year. The third pillar is additional circling of the â€Å"Ka’ba† which is done after the first pillar and is performed from the tenth day of Hajj till the end of the month. These past couple months in India have been a great experience. I’ve learned a lot of new things, which has been something different for me. I would love to come back and visit all of the people that I have met, because everyone was so nice. Learning about the Hajj was very interesting to me, and I will go back and share all of my experiences with everyone back home.