Islam Its Belief and Practices - Radical Truth

84 ISLAM ITS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES THE PRESCRIBED DUTIES as
The Rites of the Pilgrimage.
The rites of the pilgrimage commence from the last
stages of the pilgrims' journey called Miqat. These
stages are situated on each of the various roads leading to
Mecca at a distance of about 5 or 6 miles from the city.
The names of the five such Miqat are as follows: 1. All:lalifa.
on the Medina road; 2. Jukhfa. on the Syrian
road; 3. Qbat-ul-'Iraq. on the Iraq road; 4. Qaranu'l­
Manazil, on the Nejd road; 5. Yalamlam, on the Yaman
road.
The Ihram, the Pilgrim's Garb.
At his respective Miqiit the pilgrim bathes himself,
and then divests himself of his clothes and assumes the
pilgrim's garb, consisting of two seamless new white
wrappers each six feet long by three and half broad. The
one is wrapped round the waist and is called izlir, and the
other is thrown loosely over the shoulder and is called
rida. The shoulder and the head being left uncovered.
Sandals may be worn, but not shoes or boots.
This distinctive robe is called It>ram, prohibiting.
The term, IQ.ram, is also applied to the state in which the
pilgrim is held ·to be from the time he assumes his Ihram,
the pilgrim's garb, until he lays it aside at the conclusion
of the l:lajj.
Things Prohibited During the Period
Of Ihram.
During this period the following things are prohibited
to him:
(1) Wearing a shirt, drawers, shoes, turban.
(2) The use of perfume; the atonement for having used it
is a sheep.
(3) Shaving, paring nails; the atonement for transgressing
by any such act is a sheep.
(4) Conjugal relations; the atonement for violation of this
rule is a cow or seve.n sheep.
(5) Kissing or self-pollution; the expiation for such an
act of transgression is a sheep.
(6) Killing. game; the expiation for such transgression is
cattle of the value of the animal killed. The pilgrim.
however, is allowed to kill a lion. a biting dog,
a snake or scorpion.
On the Way to the House of Allah.
The pilgrim having now entered upon the state of
It>ram faces Mecca and makes the Niyat, that is, he proposes
to himself the intention of performing the l:lajj.
He then proceeds on his journey to the sacred city and
on his way he recites or sings in a loud voice, the invocation
called Talbiyah. It literally means waiting, or
standing for orders, and it runs as follows: "I am
waiting for Thy service, 0 God! I am waiting! I am
waiting! There is no partner with Thee! I am waiting for
Thy service! Verily Thine is the praise, the beneficence,
and the kingdom! There is no partner with Thee I"
The Ceremonies at Mecca.
On reaching Mecca he goes through the following
ceremonies:
(1) Ablution. He performs ablution (wUlju) and kisses
the Black Stone.
(2) Tawaf or circuit. He performs the Tawaf in the following
manner: He encompasses the Ka'ba seven
times, three times at a quick step and four times
at a slow pace. Each time as the pilgrim passes
round the Ka'ba, he touches the Ruknu'l-Yamani,
and kisses the sacred Black Stone.
(3) Prayer at Maqam-i-Ibrahim. He now visits the
Maqlim-i-Ibrahim where he recites a Namliz of two