This Religion Is a Science 149and some ancient relics. Yet in its utter simplicity, the Ka‘ba and the
rites associated with it function as a communal meditation on the
Oneness and Unity of God (a concept that will be more fully explored
below).
The Hajj begins when the pilgrims cross the consecrated thresh-
old of the Grand Mosque, which surrounds the Ka‘ba, separating the
sacred from the profane. To come into the presence of the sanctuary,
pilgrims must rid themselves of their ordinary clothes and don the
sanctified garments—two seamless white pieces of cloth for men; any
similar plain garment for women—that signify a state of purity
(ihram). The men shave their heads and trim their beards and nails;
the women clip a few locks of hair.
Once this sanctified state has been reached, the intention to per-
form the rites is voiced, and the pilgrim embarks on the tawaf: the
seven circumambulations of the sanctuary, which still function as
the principal ritual of the pilgrimage. While in every corner of the
world—from the farthest fringes of sub-Saharan Africa to the affluent
suburbs of Chicago—Muslims face the Ka‘ba in prayer, when they are
gathered in Mecca, the Ka‘ba becomes the axis of the world, and every
direction is the direction of prayer. It is, one might say, the centrifugal
force of praying in the presence of the sacred shrine that compels the
worshipper to orbit the sanctuary.
Once the circumambulations are complete, the pilgrim moves on
to a series of rituals that, according to tradition, were established by
Muhammad in the last year of his life. These include running back
and forth between the twin hills, Safah and Marwah, to commemorate
Hagar’s search for water; traveling to Mt. Arafat (the refuge of Adam
and Eve after they were exiled from Eden, and the site of Muham-
mad’s final sermon); the stoning of three pillars at Mina, which repre-
sent the Devil; and finally, the sacrifice of sheep, cows, or lambs to
mark the end of the pilgrimage (the meat is then distributed to the
poor). When the rites are complete, the pilgrim removes the sancti-
fied garments and reenters the world of the profane as a Hajji; the next
time the garments are worn will be as a burial shroud.
The Hajj is the supreme communal event in Islam. It is the only
major Muslim ritual in which men and women participate with no
division between them. In the sanctified state, when every pilgrim is