Worship Practices and Moral Significance
Senior 3 · Religion and Ethics
Worship Practices and Moral Significance
Lesson 3 of 4
25 min
Every year, believers set out on long journeys that are not holidays and not business trips. Some walk for days along the roads of East Africa to a shrine; millions of Muslims travel from every continent to Mecca. They go to pray in a holy place, but also to be changed on the way: to leave ordinary life behind for a while, to meet God and to return home different. Such a journey is a pilgrimage.
Definition
Pilgrimage: a journey made for religious reasons to a holy place. The traveller is a pilgrim.
Shrine: a holy place linked to a saint, a holy event or a sacred object, where people come to pray.
Hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the fifth pillar of Islam, required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who is able. The shorter Umrah can be made at any time of year.
Ihram: the state of purity a pilgrim enters for the Hajj, marked for men by two plain white cloths. Tawaf: walking seven times around the Ka'bah.
The Qur'an makes the Hajj a duty for those who can manage it:
"And pilgrimage to the House is a duty unto Allah for mankind, for him who can find a way thither." (Qur'an 3:97, part)
"And proclaim unto mankind the Pilgrimage. They will come unto thee on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every deep ravine," (Qur'an 22:27)
Muslims trace the Hajj back to Abraham (Ibrahim), who with Ishmael raised the foundations of the House (lesson 2 of unit 1). The rites follow a fixed order over several days:
In ihram, rich and poor wear the same simple clothes, a sign that all are equal before Allah. The day of standing at Arafat is a day of prayer and repentance. On the 10th, Muslims all over the world, including in Rwanda, celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, sharing meat with family, neighbours and the poor.
For Christians, pilgrimage is a valued practice but not a duty. It has roots in the Bible: Jesus' family went up to Jerusalem every year for the Passover ("His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover.", Luke 2:41), and the Psalms are full of the joy of going to God's house: "I was glad when they said to me, “Let’s go to the LORD’s house!”" (Psalm 122:1).
| Place | Why pilgrims go |
|---|---|
| Jerusalem and the Holy Land | to walk where Jesus lived, died and, Christians believe, rose again |
| Rome | the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul; the centre of the Catholic Church |
| Namugongo, Uganda | the shrine of the Uganda Martyrs, young Christians killed for their faith in the 1880s; Catholic and Anglican pilgrims from across East Africa gather there for their feast on 3 June |
| Kibeho, Rwanda | the shrine of Our Lady of Kibeho, where young people reported visions of the Virgin Mary in the 1980s; in 2001 the local Catholic bishop recognised the visions of the first three as authentic |
In both faiths the outward journey stands for an inward one. Pilgrims leave comfort behind, share hardship with strangers, pray, repent and return home renewed. Many Christians also speak of the whole of life as a pilgrimage towards God, and many Muslims who return from the Hajj speak of a new start.
| Christian pilgrimage | Hajj | |
|---|---|---|
| Required? | no; a voluntary act of devotion | yes, once in a lifetime for those able |
| Where | many shrines: Jerusalem, Rome, Namugongo, Kibeho and others | Mecca and the places nearby: Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah |
| When | any time; often on a feast day | 8th to 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah |
| Shared meaning | leaving everyday life to meet God; prayer and repentance; unity with fellow believers; returning changed | |
Video: "What is the Hajj?", ReligionForBreakfast. A scholar of religion explains the history and rituals of the Hajj. Follow the stages on the diagram above as they are described.
Tip
Hajj order: Mecca (tawaf) → Mina (8th) → Arafat (9th) → Muzdalifah (night) → Mina (10th, Eid al-Adha) → Mecca → Mina → farewell tawaf.
Warning
Common mistakes. (1) Saying every Muslim must go on Hajj: it is required only of those who are physically and financially able ("for him who can find a way thither", 3:97). (2) Saying Christians must make a pilgrimage: for Christians it is voluntary. (3) Confusing the Hajj (fixed dates) with the Umrah (any time).
Discuss. A pilgrim spends a lot of money travelling to a holy place while neighbours at home are hungry. Is the journey still a good act? What would both faiths say about balancing pilgrimage and charity?
Practice
Remember
Sources and credits
