Hajj & The day of Sacrifice

The Hajj, or annual pilgrimage, is one of the pillars of Islam. Every year from the seventh to tenth day of Ze-l’hajja, the last month of the Islamic calendar, pilgrims don the Ihram (refers to both the sacred state of mind and the seamless white garments worn for the pilgrimage) and visit the Kaaba sanctuary, or the sacred House of God. They kiss the black stone, Hajar al-Aswad; perform seven circumambulations of the Kaaba; and ascend, descend, and run between Mt. Safa and Mt. Marwah seven times. For the second stage of the ritual, pilgrims proceed from Mecca to Mina, a few miles away; from there they goes to Arafat, where it is essential to hear a sermon and to spend the afternoon. The last rite consists of spending the night at Muzdalifah, between Arafat and Mina, the following day proceeding to Mina, collecting pebbles on the way with which to stone the devil, represented by pillars, and offering animal sacrifice on the last day of the Ihram, which is the Ayd-e Qorban, or Festival of Sacrifice. Symbolically reliving the time Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son as proof of his devotion to him (Sura XXXVII (Saffat): 100–111), each pilgrim offers a lamb in sacrifice to God. The sheep must be purchased the day before the holiday. In some parts of Iran, on the day of the festival, henna is applied to the lamb’s head and back. The edges of its eyelids must be rubbed with kohl, and sugar is put into its mouth before it is sacrificed. When the sheep is slaughtered, it must be facing Mecca, the Sacred House of God, and it must be killed with a single gash in the neck (zebh), but without severing the head (halal). The meat is divided into three parts: One portion goes to the family, the second portion goes to friends, the third portion goes to the poor. The skin is usually kept as a rug and sometimes the intestines and the right eye are dried and preserved since they have the power to ward off evil.