page_title: History of the Hajj
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Hajj
caption_attribution_description: English: Amr Zakarya
context_page_description: Islamic writers claim it started from the time of Abraham through the establishment of the Islamic Hajj by Islamic prophet Muhammad, to the present-day hajj where millions of Muslims perform their pilgrimage annually. In Islamic tradition, pilgrimage was introduced during the time of prophet Ibrahim. Upon God's command, he built Kaaba which became the destination of pilgrimage. For the pagan Arabs in the Pre-Islamic Arabia, Kaaba was still the center of their worshiping. The present pattern of the Islamic Hajj was established by Muhammad, around 632 CE, who made reforms to the pre-Islamic pilgrimage of the pagan Arabs. During the medieval times, pilgrims would gather in chief cities like Basra, Damascus, and Cairo to go to Mecca in groups and caravans comprising tens of thousands of pilgrims.
  In the fairly long history of hajj, the nomadic tribes of desert – known as Bedouin – had been a somewhat persistent security issue for the hajj caravans. Again, throughout the history, the pilgrimage journey to Mecca had offered the pilgrims as well as the professional merchants the opportunity to conduct various merchandising activities both on route and in Mecca, Damascus, and Cairo.
context_section_description: Islamic writers claim it started from the time of Abraham through the establishment of the Islamic Hajj by Islamic prophet Muhammad, to the present-day hajj where millions of Muslims perform their pilgrimage annually. In Islamic tradition, pilgrimage was introduced during the time of prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). Upon God's command, he built Kaaba which became the destination of pilgrimage. For the pagan Arabs in the Pre-Islamic Arabia, Kaaba was still the center of their worshiping. The present pattern of the Islamic Hajj was established by Muhammad, around 632 CE, who made reforms to the pre-Islamic pilgrimage of the pagan Arabs. During the medieval times, pilgrims would gather in chief cities like Basra, Damascus, and Cairo to go to Mecca in groups and caravans comprising tens of thousands of pilgrims.
  In the fairly long history of hajj, the nomadic tribes of desert – known as Bedouin – had been a somewhat persistent security issue for the hajj caravans. Again, throughout the history, the pilgrimage journey to Mecca had offered the pilgrims as well as the professional merchants the opportunity to conduct various merchandising activities both on route and in Mecca, Damascus, and Cairo.
caption: The Kaaba in Mecca is the destination of pilgrimage for the Muslims
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