When Ibrahim AS was instructed to rebuild the Kaaba, he was also instructed to call people to it. He questioned Allah ﷻ and asked how his call would reach the masses. Allah instructed him to make the call and said He would make it reach people. Performing the Hajj is a response to this ancient call that he made.

وَأَذِّن فِى ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْحَجِّ يَأْتُوكَ رِجَالًۭا وَعَلَىٰ كُلِّ ضَامِرٍۢ يَأْتِينَ مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيقٍۢ 

“Call all people to the pilgrimage. They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel from every distant path…” (Surah Al-Hajj 22:27)

At the core of Hajj lies this submission. As calls of ‘Labbayk Allah’ fill the air, pilgrims mirror the steps of the Prophet ﷺ and take part in the legacy of Ibrahim AS. 

Resisting the profound nature of the call of the talbiyah is nearly impossible. Labbayk Allah, translating to ‘Here I am, oh God’, is powerful. It’s a testimony that beats all others, a commitment that throughout the physical challenges of Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafah, I am here for one reason. Here I am, dedicated to this journey, in submission to God and longing for nearness to Him. Here I am, ready to tackle the heat and the walking and all other barriers which will surely arise. Here I am, ready for this journey of a lifetime, a journey of transformation, and a journey from which I will be returned anew. 

Taking part in Hajj 2025 was a surreal experience. One that was emotional and testing, spiritual and tiring. There are five days of Hajj: each day follows the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as he carried out his farewell Hajj in the tenth year after the migration of the Muslims to Medina. During this farewell pilgrimage, he clarified the rituals of Hajj, the essence of which is to submit to one God, an ode to monotheism and a rejection of the polytheism that had plagued Arabia up until that point.

Day 1 of Hajj

On 8 Dhul Hijjah, we made our way to Mina, wearing our ihram clothing, having made our intention to perform Hajj. Seeing the tent city for the first time was almost unfathomable. Tents were splayed as far as the eye could see. The reality was setting in. This was day one of Hajj, and every moment of preparation up until this point was about to come to fruition. 

As the coach pulled up to the camp we were assigned, I felt nervous and remembered the lectures I’d heard, which reminded me that a healthy level of fear that my efforts would not be accepted should be the best motivator. I gathered my belongings and made my way inside. 

Pilgrims are assigned to tents, which are segregated by gender. In my tent, there were around 30 other women, and all of us felt the same buzz of excitement, the nerves and the desire to be close to Allah as our priority. As we settled in, the gratitude and anticipation for the rituals to begin were strong. I was grateful for my ability to pack light, given the space in the camp was limited, and crucially, I was thrilled that I’d packed my noise-cancelling headphones, which offered me the ability to switch off from the world and seek connection with Allah.

On this day, there’s no specific rite of Hajj except to pray the five prayers and prepare mentally, physically and spiritually for the second day of Hajj – the day of Arafah.

Day 2 of Hajj

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Hajj is Arafat.” (Tirmidhi)

The Day of Arafah is the most important day of Hajj and an obligatory part of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims make their way to the plains of Arafah, where they settle into tents and get ready for a day of calling upon Allah, abundantly, in need of His mercy and in a state of desperation. On this day, the power of dua is tangible, and pilgrims are supposed to join Dhuhr and Asr prayers to dedicate the rest of the day to calling upon Allah. Unlike the coverage on TV, not all pilgrims make their way to the mountain, Jabal al-Rahmah. We stayed in our tents and were encouraged to do so in the sweltering heat. At around Asr time, when it got a bit cooler, we were encouraged to leave the tent and find a quiet area for contemplation and to call upon God with sincerity and certainty in private.

Before the day of Arafah, I was nervous. I’d prepared a dua list, but I wasn’t sure if I’d find myself racing through it, left with no other duas to make, but the opportunity for dua kept presenting itself. From seeing the sincerest expressions of dua and tears rolling down the cheeks of strangers I’d never met, to the staff and guides who were going above and beyond to clean the toilets, provide us with food, spray water on us to keep us cool and serve us in any way, to the random people who’d pop into my mind – friends, family, people I’ve not spoken to in years. The overwhelming thought dawned upon me that Allah wanted me to include them in my duas, and how beloved to Him they must be. 

The perfect dua is not as we imagine – in silence and quiet reflection. Rather, the better dua is one where we resist the distractions and temptations around us, the calls to chatter away the day, the pinging of your phone to update relatives on your pilgrimage, or the temptation to find comfort and rest instead of prayer.

It’s on this day that the following verse was revealed:

“This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as a religion.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:3)

And as Maghrib came in and this beautiful day left us, the scholars in the group reminded us that the biggest losers on this day are those who are still unconvinced that Allah has forgiven them. His mercy and forgiveness are so abundant on this day that every believer must be sure of the certainty of it. 

The night of Muzdalifah

As we left Arafah, we made our way to Muzdalifah, where we prayed Maghrib and Isha. On a normal day, we’d never delay Maghrib, but on this day, we followed the sunnah of praying Maghrib and Isha combined, in Muzdalifah. This is the part of Hajj that feels the most equal. Gone are the VIP tents, the 24/7 buffets, and air conditioning. This is the night when every pilgrim sleeps under the night sky in Muzdalifah. The sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ was to rest in Muzdalifah. Here, he ﷺ didn’t spend time in extra worship as he ﷺ often did, but rested and slept. We combined Maghrib and Isha, collected pebbles for the days of pelting and then settled down for the night.

Day 3 of Hajj

Waking up in Muzdalifah feels dystopian. A sea of white can be seen for miles into the distance, with pilgrims walking in the same direction, each one dusty and dishevelled. Everyone is going to the Jamarat, three stone structures in Mina, to do their first day of pelting. This is a powerful ritual. It commemorates the actions of Prophet Ibrahim AS, who, when commanded to sacrifice his son, Ismail AS, was tempted by the Shaytan in three different spots to disobey Allah’s command. Ibrahim AS, despite his devotion and love for his young son, was more devoted to his Lord and pelted the Shaytan at three different spots to prevent the Shaytan from dissuading him. 

As pilgrims mirror this step, the atmosphere is powerful. You hear cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ as each pebble is thrown at the pillar. The clatter of the pebbles hitting the stone pillar in unison sounded like rainfall. Just as rain cleanses the earth, this ritual felt like a sacred cleansing of the souls, washing away sin.

Just as Ibrahim AS pelted the Shaytan tempting him, pilgrims are pelting their inner demons, the things that stop them getting closer to Allah. Negative character traits, procrastination that makes us lazy in our prayers, social media doom scrolling and anything that takes us away from our natural purpose. A piece of advice I received before this step was to visualise a sin or something I was struggling with, and with each throw, make a commitment to myself and Allah that from this day on, I’d be better. 

Sacrifice

Following the pelting comes the sacrifice. This ritual is far more removed from pilgrims than it historically has been. Tour providers take this duty on, and we waited for a text message to say that our sacrifice had been completed, after which the men in the group were able to shave their heads and the women were able to cut their hair to symbolise exiting the minor state of ihram. 

After this, it was time to make our way to the Sacred House and to walk around it seven times, then walk between Safa and Marwa – the last obligation of Hajj.

By this point, the tiredness is setting in, but the buzz of being next to the Kaaba and knowing that the obligations of Hajj have almost come to an end keeps you going. 

Knowing that this Sacred House, built by Ibrahim AS and dedicated to Allah, has witnessed so much history on the path of the Prophet ﷺ.

Mirroring the steps of Hajar AS, a desperate mother in need of sustenance for her infant son and imagining the feelings she must have felt and the survival instincts that must have kicked in for her. 

At the end of the tawaf and sa’i, the dua that sprang to mind is the same dua of Ibrahim AS after he’d completed the building of the Kaaba and turned to the Heavens and called out, “Our Lord, Accept this from us. You are indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:127) 

A full circle moment. 

Days 4 and 5 of Hajj

For the last two days of Hajj, pilgrims spend half the night in Mina and repeat the stoning of the jamarat. The third day of pelting the jamarat is optional as mentioned in the Qur’an:

 وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فِىٓ أَيَّامٍۢ مَّعْدُودَٰتٍۢ ۚ فَمَن تَعَجَّلَ فِى يَوْمَيْنِ فَلَآ إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ وَمَن تَأَخَّرَ فَلَآ إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ لِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ 

And remember Allah during ˹these˺ appointed days. Whoever departs swiftly on the second day is not sinful, neither are those who stay behind ˹till the third—seeking additional reward˺, so long as they are mindful ˹of their Lord˺. And be mindful of Allah, and know that to Him you will ˹all˺ be gathered. (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:203) 

As the Hajj ends

As Hajj comes to an end, with the final stones cast, the never-ending duas whispered, and the last, trudging steps of the farewell tawaf completed, there’s an overwhelming feeling. The body may ache, but the heart has never felt more devoted or more sincere on its path to Allah and His message. The pilgrim comes out of those five days feeling a resolve to worship Allah earnestly, sincerely and with full devotion. 

Hajj has ended, but this is the beginning of a new way for the believer with the lessons and reflections said to last a lifetime.

May Allah invite us all to perform Hajj and grant us an accepted Hajj in which there is no deficiency. May He, in His glory and magnitude, allow us to be transformed through the Hajj and keep us on the purest and most beautiful paths, dedicated to Him and the path of His Messenger, may peace and blessings be upon him. Ameen.