Hamdanids 327Birrell (1988; reprint, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1997).
hajj(hadjdj, hagg) The annual great pilgrimage to
MECCA, the hajj has always been one of the five pillars,
or arkan,of ISLAM. An umra,or smaller pilgrimage, was a
visit to the holy places undertaken at any time and was
less regulated by tradition. The hajj was a community
event, collective, and obligatory for all Muslim men and
women able to perform it once in their lifetime. It was to
take place once a year from the eighth to the 12th of the
last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Dhu al-hijjah.
The hajj has traditionally included a vast fair and allowed
a cultural and social mixing of Muslims. Its purpose was
to remove the stain of sin in the eyes of GOD.
RITUALS TO BE FOLLOWEDFollowing the actions of Muhammad’s last pilgrimage,
pilgrims were to undergo a rite of sanctification and
purification when they changed clothes and pronounced
a formula of consecration. They were then to be in a
state of ihram. From then on they were to abstain from
all sexual relations and dress modestly and simply for
the duration of the pilgrimage. After arrival at Mecca
they were to do the umraor seven circumambulations
around the KABA, the cubical building situated at the
heart of a sanctuary. These movements were to be fol-
lowed by PRAYER, then a run between two small hills
nearby, al-Safa and al-Marwa. The hajj itself was to begin
on the eighth day of Dhu al-hijjah. On the ninth day, the
pilgrims were to meet at the plains of Arafat, then travel
through the pass at Muzdalifa. At the valley of Mina, on
the 10th day, the pilgrims were to stone a pillar, the
jamarah,that symbolized the DEVIL. Then they were to
sacrifice an animal, usually a sheep; eat a ritual meal;
and shave the head. They were to continue such move-
ments and activities such as the stoning for the next few
days. The pilgrimage was to end with another procession
around the Kaba.
HISTORICAL CONTEXTThe Muslim hajj followed many of the rites of a pre-
Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca but consciously imposed
parallels, links, and ideas from the life of Abraham.
Access to the interior of the Kaba became more restricted
over the centuries. A more explicit but not obligatory
veneration of the spring of Zamzam became part of the
rituals. Caliphs modified the appearance of the sanctu-
ary; and the Kaba was apparently completely rebuilt in
693 by Umayyads. The hajj always played a political role
with the caliph, his representative, or rival present. From
969 the FATIMIDScontrolled Mecca, and the authority of
the ABBASID caliph over such pilgrimages was almost
completely compromised. After 1260, the MAMLUK
sultans of EGYPTcontrolled the ceremonies, and their
pilgrimage caravans were accompanied by a banner sym-
bolizing acknowledgment of their power.
Further reading:F. E. Peters, The Hajj: The Muslim
Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places(Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1994); A. J. Wensinck and R.
Basset, “Hadjdj,” Encyclopedia of Islam,3.31–38.al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah (al-Biamrallal) (985–1021)
sixth Fatimid caliph
Al-Hakim was born at CAIROabout 985 and became the
sixth FATIMIDand Shiite caliph as a boy of 11 in 996 on
the death of his father. In his youth, he frequented the
popular SUNNIcircles at al-Fustat. Arbitrary and erratic
seeming, madly, he executed SHIITEBerber court digni-
taries, persecuted JEWS and Christians, and ordered
the destruction of the HOLYSEPULCHERat JERUSALEM
in 1009. At times he was pious and compassionate.
He banned alcohol and forbade women to appear in pub-
lic. In 1017, some Persians unsuccessfully proposed
making him divine. However, in SYRIA, the DRUZEsect,
in which he played a prominent role, was founded.
Then, suddenly, al-Hakim abandoned all power to a
cousin, al-Zahir (r. 1021–36), his designated successor,
and restored property and religious freedom to minori-
ties, disappearing on February 13, 1021, into the desert
near Cairo, where he was perhaps murdered at the
behest of his sister.
See alsoFATIMIDS; ISMAILIS.
Further reading:Marius Canarad, “al-Hakim bi-Amr
Allah,” The Encyclopedia of Islam 3.76–82; Sadik A.
Assaad, The Reign of al-Hakim bi Amr Allah
(386/996–411/1021): A Political Study(Beirut: Arab Insti-
tute for Research and Publication, 1974).Halakah (Halachah [that by which one walks])
Halakah consisted of rabbinic literature and jurispru-
dence that focused on the religious obligations of mem-
bers of the Jewish FAITH. This included interpersonal
relationships, religious rituals, and interactions between
JEWS and their GOD. Halakah therefore encompasses
nearly all aspects of human life and behavior from birth,
from agricultural and commercial practices to wider
questions of ethics and even THEOLOGY.
Further reading:Jacob Neusner, The Halakhah: An
Encyclopedia of the Law of Judaism,5 vols. (Leiden: Brill,
2000).Hamdanids They were an Arab dynasty in MOSULand
ALEPPOwhose expansions from about 930 resulted from
the decline of the power of the ABBASID CALIPHATE. Their
greatest ruler, Sayf al-Dawla (r. 945–967), was a successful
adversary of the BYZANTINES, winning a victory over them
in 938 on the Upper Euphrates, thus staving off further
Byzantine inroads into SYRIA. However, Sayf al-Dawla’s