History of Hajj

 In the second millennium BCE, the Prophet Ibrahim S established the Hajj tradition. Ibrahim had two sons, Ishaq (AS) and Ismail (AS), the latter of whom was the ancestor of the Arab tribes and the prophet's direct descendant. Ismail (AS) was the prophet's direct descendant. Between Safa and Marwah, pilgrims would participate in Sa'i. 

Ismail was born in the wilderness, and Ibrahim was instructed by Allah to leave him there with Hajar(AS) mother after Ismail's birth. The supply of food and water quickly ran out after Ibrahim abandoned both of them, and Hajar raced between the hills of Safa and Marwah seven times in desperation to find water. The Sa'i rite, which pilgrims perform during their journeys to and from Mecca and Medina, reenacts the actions of Hajar (AS) while searching for water in the Desert of Sin.

She returned to her son and discovered that the Angel Jibril S had created a miraculous spring of water from the earth that is now known as Zamzam. She was overjoyed to learn this news. The settlement grew as a result of Zamzam's success, and it became known as Makkah today.

During the Jahiliyah period, the people of Makkah abandoned monotheism, which resulted in the development of idolatry and polytheism hundreds of years afterward (the Age of Ignorance). There were 360 idols and statues surrounding the Kaaba at the time, depicting the deities who were openly worshipped, including human and animal deities. Tawaf was also performed by pre-Islamic Arab tribes in the vicinity of the Kaaba, sometimes in full view of the public.

The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) received his first revelations from Allah in 610 CE, which he used to re-establish monotheism in the world. Twenty years after receiving his first revelation in Makkah, the town where he was born and where he was severely persecuted by his neighbours, the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) had accumulated sufficient religious and political authority to bring about victory for the Muslims. He demolished the idols in and around the Kaaba and brought them back to their original desire to worship only one God.

The Prophet himself led his one and only Hajj, Hajjat al-Wida, in 623 (10 AH), shortly before his death, with thousands of companions, making it the largest Hajj in history. In his farewell sermon, he emphasised the equality and unity of the Muslim Ummah, which served as a symbol of the egalitarian nature of the Hajj pilgrimage. He was buried at Jabal Arafat. The Hajj, which was performed by the Prophet on that occasion, is still being performed today.