Forty Gems of Beauty — Page 24
24 organization. Zakat thus plays a great part in regulating national wealth. 3. The third practical form of worship is Hajj. Hajj means journeying to a Holy Place, and in Islamic terminology, it means visiting the House of God at the Holy City of Mecca, and making a circuit of the S af a and Marwah Mounts, and halting to pray at the historic site of Arafat plain, 9 miles from Mecca, and on the return, stopping and worshipping at Muzdalifah, and in the end offering sacrifice at Min a , three miles from Mecca. Hajj falls on the 8th, 9th and 10th of the lunar month of Dhul- H ajj. It is not merely a pilgrimage to the holiest of places associated with the sacrifice performed by Abraham and Ishmael (May God shower His blessings on them), but the holy traditions of the early sufferings and sacrifices of the Holy Prophet (May peace and blessings of Allah be on him) are also bound up with it. Besides, Hajj offers a great opportunity to Muslims of different countries and diverse races to meet one another, to know one another and to consult one another in matters of general interest. The performance of the Hajj [pilgrimage] is obligatory once in one’s lifetime but, as is explicitly stated in another Hadith concerning the subject, good health, necessary funds to cover expenses of the return journey and peaceful conditions on the way are the necessary conditions precedent to the performance of Hajj. 4. The fourth practical form of worship consists of fasting during the month of Ramadan. It is obligatory on every Muslim who is of age, is neither sick nor is in the course of a journey. The sick and the traveller must fast at another time for the same number of days. Fasting is called “ S aum” in Arabic, which means “ holding oneself in restraint. ” This disciplinary form of