হজ্জ

## The First Pilgrims: Adam and the Angels

Islamic tradition holds that the কাবা শরীফ's history extends to the very beginning of human existence. Some scholars narrate that angels built the original structure, and that when Adam was sent down to earth, he was guided to মক্কা মুকাররমা where he performed তাওয়াফ around this first house of worship. While the specific details vary across scholarly sources — and the chains of narration for pre-Ibrahimic accounts are generally weaker — the theological point is consistent: হজ্জ to the House of Allah is as old as humanity itself. The কুরআন establishes the কাবা শরীফ as 'the first House established for mankind' (3:96), and many exegetes understand this to mean it was the first place of organized worship on earth.

## Prophet Ibrahim: The Father of হজ্জ

Ibrahim (Abraham) is the prophet most intimately connected with হজ্জ. He was commanded by Allah to leave his wife Hajar and son Ismail in the barren valley of মক্কা মুকাররমা, where the miracle of Zamzam occurred. He later returned to build the কাবা শরীফ with Ismail, raising its walls while praying for acceptance. Most significantly, Allah commanded Ibrahim to 'proclaim to the people the হজ্জ' (কুরআন 22:27) — a command that scholars understand as the formal institution of হজ্জ as a হজ্জ for all humanity. Every major হজ্জ ritual connects directly to Ibrahim: the সাঈ between Safa and Marwah recalls Hajar's search for water, the stoning of the জামারাত commemorates Ibrahim's rejection of Shaytan's attempts to dissuade him from sacrificing his son, and the Hadi sacrifice recalls Allah's substitution of a ram for Ismail.

## Prophet Ismail and the Continuation

Ismail (Ishmael), who grew up in মক্কা মুকাররমা and helped his father build the কাবা শরীফ, continued to maintain the house of worship and perform হজ্জ after Ibrahim's departure. He married from the Jurhum tribe and his descendants became the custodians of the কাবা শরীফ for generations. Islamic sources describe Ismail as a devoted guardian of the sacred precinct who upheld the monotheistic worship his father had established. The 'well of Ismail' (Hijr Ismail or Hatim), the semi-circular area adjacent to the কাবা শরীফ, is named in his honor and is considered part of the original কাবা শরীফ structure.

## The Seventy Prophets of the Valley

One of the most evocative narrations about prophets and হজ্জ comes from a hadith in which নবী করীম Muhammad (সাল্লাল্লাহু আলাইহি ওয়া সাল্লাম), passing through the valley of Azraq (near modern-day Jordan) on his way to হজ্জ, told his companions: 'Seventy prophets have passed through this valley, all heading for হজ্জ' (narrated by al-Tabarani and others). Some versions mention seeing Prophet Musa (Moses) in a vision, descending from the mountain pass with his companions, reciting the তালবিয়াহ loudly. Another narration mentions Prophet Yunus (Jonah) passing through the same valley on a red camel. While scholars discuss the grading of these specific narrations, the broader tradition that many prophets performed হজ্জ is well-established in Islamic thought.

## Prophet Musa and Other Biblical Prophets

Several narrations mention Prophet Musa (Moses) specifically in connection with হজ্জ. In a hadith in Sahih Muslim, নবী করীম Muhammad described seeing Musa during the Night Journey (Isra' and Mi'raj) and noted his appearance, and separate traditions connect Musa to the হজ্জ routes. While the Torah does not describe Abraham's descendants performing হজ্জ to মক্কা মুকাররমা, Islamic tradition maintains that the knowledge of the কাবা শরীফ and its হজ্জ was preserved among various prophetic lines, even as different nations developed their own forms of worship. The point is not historical documentation in the modern sense, but the theological truth that all prophets worshipped the One God and acknowledged His sacred house.

## Prophet Muhammad's Farewell হজ্জ

The most thoroughly documented prophetic হজ্জ is, of course, the farewell হজ্জ (Hajjat al-Wada) of Prophet Muhammad (সাল্লাল্লাহু আলাইহি ওয়া সাল্লাম) in 632 CE (10 AH). This was his only হজ্জ after the conquest of মক্কা মুকাররমা, and he performed it with meticulous care, instructing his companions at each station: 'Take your rituals from me, for I do not know if I will perform হজ্জ after this year' (Muslim). Over 100,000 companions accompanied him. His Farewell Sermon at Arafah addressed fundamental principles of justice, equality, and human rights. Every ritual detail of modern হজ্জ — from the তালবিয়াহ to the তাওয়াফ to the stoning sequence — is based on his actions during this single হজ্জ, preserved through multiple chains of narration with extraordinary precision.

## A Chain Linking All Believers

The concept that prophets across millennia performed the same essential rituals at the same sacred site creates a profound sense of continuity for today's হাজী. When you circle the কাবা শরীফ, you walk where Ibrahim walked, where generations of prophets walked, where Muhammad (সাল্লাল্লাহু আলাইহি ওয়া সাল্লাম) walked. When you run between Safa and Marwah, you trace Hajar's steps. When you stand at Arafah, you stand where নবী করীম delivered his final public address. হজ্জ is not merely a ritual obligation — it is participation in the longest continuous act of worship in human history, linking every হাজী to every prophet in an unbroken chain of devotion to the One God.