(Arabic; derived from the root 畍-j-j), meaning to betake oneself to, also, occurs in other Semitic languages. The word Hajj usually refers to the annual pilgrimage by Muslims to the Ka平ba in Mecca, also called the Great Pilgrimage, in contrast to the 平Umra, the Lesser Pilgrimage. The Islamic Hajj owes most of its rituals to the pre-Islamic pilgrimage. Currently, it takes place over five days, the 8th-12th of the twelfth month (Dh笛’l-畍ijja) of the Muslim lunar calendar. On the 10th day of Dh笛’l-畍ijja, pilgrims offer an animal sacrifice to commemorate Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son. The day is celebrated by Muslims worldwide as 平暢d al-a畍畍ツ. Muslims from diverse ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds come together to perform the ritual. It was only in the 8th year of the Hijra, 630 CE, when the first Muslim community performed the Hajj. The Prophets first pilgrimage as head of the Muslim pilgrims was in 10 AH/632 CE; it was also his last, whence the title, 畍ujjat al-wad平 (the farewell-pilgrimage).
