حج

## The First Pilgrims: Adam and the Angels

Islamic tradition holds that the کعبۃ اللہ'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 مکہ مکرمہ where he performed طواف 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: حج to the House of Allah is as old as humanity itself. The قرآن establishes the کعبۃ اللہ 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 حج

Ibrahim (Abraham) is the prophet most intimately connected with حج. He was commanded by Allah to leave his wife Hajar and son Ismail in the barren valley of مکہ مکرمہ, where the miracle of زمزم occurred. He later returned to build the کعبۃ اللہ with Ismail, raising its walls while praying for acceptance. Most significantly, Allah commanded Ibrahim to 'proclaim to the people the حج' (قرآن 22:27) — a command that scholars understand as the formal institution of حج as a حج for all humanity. Every major حج ritual connects directly to Ibrahim: the سعی between Safa and Marwah recalls Hajar's search for water, the stoning of the جمرات 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 مکہ مکرمہ and helped his father build the کعبۃ اللہ, continued to maintain the house of worship and perform حج after Ibrahim's departure. He married from the Jurhum tribe and his descendants became the custodians of the کعبۃ اللہ 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 کعبۃ اللہ, is named in his honor and is considered part of the original کعبۃ اللہ structure.

## The Seventy Prophets of the Valley

One of the most evocative narrations about prophets and حج comes from a hadith in which نبی کریم Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), passing through the valley of Azraq (near modern-day Jordan) on his way to حج, told his companions: 'Seventy prophets have passed through this valley, all heading for حج' (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 تلبیہ 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 حج is well-established in Islamic thought.

## Prophet Musa and Other Biblical Prophets

Several narrations mention Prophet Musa (Moses) specifically in connection with حج. In a hadith in Sahih Muslim, نبی کریم Muhammad described seeing Musa during the Night Journey (Isra' and Mi'raj) and noted his appearance, and separate traditions connect Musa to the حج routes. While the Torah does not describe Abraham's descendants performing حج to مکہ مکرمہ, Islamic tradition maintains that the knowledge of the کعبۃ اللہ and its حج 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 حج

The most thoroughly documented prophetic حج is, of course, the farewell حج (Hajjat al-Wada) of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) in 632 CE (10 AH). This was his only حج after the conquest of مکہ مکرمہ, 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 حج 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 حج — from the تلبیہ to the طواف to the stoning sequence — is based on his actions during this single حج, 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 حاجی. When you circle the کعبۃ اللہ, you walk where Ibrahim walked, where generations of prophets walked, where Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) walked. When you run between Safa and Marwah, you trace Hajar's steps. When you stand at Arafah, you stand where نبی کریم delivered his final public address. حج is not merely a ritual obligation — it is participation in the longest continuous act of worship in human history, linking every حاجی to every prophet in an unbroken chain of devotion to the One God.