The video Road to Makka is an insightful and descriptive account of a Muslim family making the pilgrimage to Mecca. German converts to Islam, the family experiences the awesome oneness, tradition, and holiness of Hajj in front of the camera, allowing the viewer to begin to appreciate the scale and significance of the journey. By comparing this video with the experiences of my own family, I was able to understand how universal in effect and importance Hajj is upon Muslims of all creeds, race, nationality, and social status.
Hajj is more than a journey, it is a pillar of the faith. Every act performed therein is replete with meaning. For example, the visit to Muhammad's Tomb in Medina, though not technically a requirement of the pilgrimage, is a payment of respect to the founder of the religion. The prayers at the plain of Arafat are in honor of Abraham's faith in Allah and his willingness to sacrifice his son for Him. Stones from Arafat are thrown at representations of the Devil in the town of Mina, symbolizing Abraham and Ismail's faith against the influence of evil, as well as each pilgrim's own struggles with temptation. The rite of s'ay, running seven times between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, honors Hagar, wife of Abraham, and her desperate search for water to sustain her son in the desert, and the water of ZamZam that nourished them is a holy, sacred source from which the pilgrims drink and wash.
The most symbolic act of Hajj is the circumambulation of the Ka'ba, an act of worship that has roots in the Pre-Islamic past. Built by Abraham, the Ka'ba had been the center of worship by pagan Arabs for centuries before the advent of Muhammad. The spiritual locus of Islam, Muslims all over the world orient their prayers so that they face towards it. By walking around it seven times, the pilgrims are orbiting the center of their faith, and in effect coming as close as possible to Allah as mortals ever can.
By accompanying the family throughout the pilgrimage, the viewer gains an understanding of the emotional and spiritual impact upon the mind, body, and soul of the pilgrims. One of the fundamental messages sent by the experience was the unity and equality of all Muslims before God. In the video, emphasis is placed upon the ihram, the white garment that renders all men indistinguishable before each other - kings and peasants alike don the garb and pray side by side. The faces of the people wearing them represent every nation and race on earth, an international assemblage diverse beyond the dreams of affirmative action. Despite their Teutonic origin, the family in the video was warmly welcomed and made to feel a part of the whole. In Madison's own mosque, I have observed the same unity and diversity, though not on the same scale of course. My mother recalls. "There was a sense that everyone is the same, from all over... a sense of oneness, something holistic. Rich, poor, all were Muslims, and they were there with one intention: to perform Hajj."
The continuity between past, present, and even future is omnipresent. In the video, the family sought continuity with the mainstream religion, something that was partially missing as converts not born into the faith. Hajj was a way for the family to experience this continuity. The father of the family comments, "Hajj puts life in perspective... you are an atom in Creation, a drop in the sea." For my parents, the experience was that of immersion in the distinctly Muslim world, the world of Muhammad centuries ago, thousands of miles removed from the Western World.
But the main function of Hajj is the change in world-view that it stimulates. The attributes of patience and humility are brought out, but the magnitude of the change is deeper. Faith is renewed and strengthened, a stage in a person's life is ended and a new, more enlightened, fulfilled stage is begun. The German family in the video come away from the experience bolstered in their faith, with renewed conviction and the strength to withstand the prejudice and rudeness of the society in which they live. My father commented, "It is compulsory, true, but once you go, you realise the compulsion is a good thing. Otherwise you wouldn't know what it [Hajj] is all about."
Hajj is much more accessible today than in ages past, courtesy of the Saudi government. People routinely died enroute, were ambushed by brigands, or suffered from lack of basic amenities. The video made this graphically clear: Hajj is far more realistic a possibility than it has ever been before, involving far less hardship and danger. Though much has changed in the last 1400 years, the essence of Hajj has remained as inviolate as the Qur'an. The prayers, the rituals, and the customs are the same. They will always remain the same, regardless of differences in race, nationality, or ethnicity. The spiritual awakening and importance to the individual's faith remain the same. The road to Mecca is well-traveled, but all who use it take the same journey. By the experience of others who have taken this road, I am inspired to do my own Hajj someday and take my place among the masses of history.