Muslims have entered the time of the hajj. Believers all around the world have the hajj on their agenda; some have intended to go even if they do not have the means, while some who have the “means” set off on their journey to Mecca. Hajj resembles Ramadan and fasting as it is limited to a specific time. However, among other religious duties, Hajj stands out for its distinctive condition, its location. For each practice, there are conditions such as time and place, but hajj is unique as it requires the fulfillment of it within a specific time and in a specific place.
One of the pillars of Islam is that Muslims perform hajj at least once in their lifetime if they have the means. As this condition of “means” involves wealth and power, it has become a common belief that hajj is a practice particular to rich people. The difficulties experienced in the past and some new problems that have emerged due to the increasing “means” have made the hajj an exceptional practice and reduced it to “fard al-kifayah” (collective duty), only performed by a limited number of Muslims. The fact that Umrah is Sunnah, not compulsory yet recommended, is pertinent to the special status of the pilgrimage. Being an exceptional practice does not degrade the place of the hajj in religious life. Prayer and fasting being in the first place, hajj is also a constituent practice shaped around some rules concerning worship and morality.
First of all, the pilgrimage is a practice of contemplation that brings out a unique vision regarding humankind and the world. In this respect, the history of the hajj and Kaaba reflects the arduous journey of humankind and its purpose on earth. One performs the hajj to explore his “self,” the world and the meaning of life. That is, the hajj requires each Muslim to reflect upon themselves, remember their existence on earth and reconsider the story of humankind on their great journey. The first man, Adam, is considered to be the first prophet in the religious tradition, which means that he had authentic knowledge about God. Mecca, where the Kaaba is located, is not the first place Adam was sent to but the place where he received the divine revelation. The Kaaba is also reported to have been built upon a divine revelation in this city. In fact, the Quran mentions that the first temple was built in Mecca. Even though the Kaaba was destroyed and faded into oblivion in time, the Kaaba, as we know of today, was rebuilt by the Prophet Abraham, who traveled from Jerusalem to Mecca to revive the religion of his ancestors.
While contemplating humankind, we should keep in mind that the first man was a prophet, and the first building was a temple. This perspective obviously contradicts the “progressive” historical assertions supported by anthropological research in modern thought. When Islam claimed that the first man was a prophet, it implied that there has been a civilized society even from the beginning. Then again, this society has also been familiar with moral values and belief in God all along. That Adam turned his face to God after committing a sin was an indicator of this state.
On the other hand, the socialization of people could be reinterpreted differently in light of this belief. Humankind might not have experienced a process of socialization formed merely around weaknesses and desperateness or at least instead of fears and survival instincts, virtues and high values might have been effective for the formation of a civilization.
Islam’s perspective on human beings is based on the idea that humans reach their true destination through knowing God. When a person knows God, the concept of “rational creature” finds its true meaning, which gives us a new definition of human beings. While from this thought, metaphysicians later reached new explanations for “man for God” or “the world as the will of God,” the idea of the first man as the first prophet designates the framework of religious thinking. Therefore, the knowledge acquired in the practice of the hajj would be the principles of this understanding of humankind. The hajj is a practice of remembering and going back to the beginning.
The Kaaba is called "the house of God." In other religions, there are various places relatively corresponding to the Kaaba such as rivers, mountains, specific temples, or cemeteries. In this respect, religion provides a basis for abstract thinking as it acknowledges “a place” as its starting point. Also calling the Kaaba “the house of God” evokes some associations that should be interpreted and explained. The fact that the most abstract and transcendental reality is associated with a place can be acknowledged as “the authenticity” of religious life crystallized between the ideal and the reality. There is no limit to this on both ends: One knows no bounds in affirming similarity; neither does he in declaring incomparability. Religion, on the other hand, asks for worship, which brings together closeness through embodiment and contemplation through incomparability.
In the first sense, religious practice aims to achieve a closeness with God and the remembrance of the bond with Him. Moreover, when religion tries to establish such a relationship, it disregards human capacity and tries to find a narrative in which anyone can participate. This is the “tashbih” (anthropomorphism) side of the practice. However, when a vassal turns his face to God, he will experience continuous progress. This progress is achieved morally and spiritually as much as mentally. The second aim of religion is this transcendental development.
Calling the Kaaba “the house of God” is the actualization of the first aim, while contemplating God as a being associated with no place is the actualization of the second aim. In this case, the Kaaba becomes the focus of religious life by being the direction (qibla) of the thought progressing from having a place to having no place.
