The Journey of a Lifetime

“I felt like I was standing, alone, naked before God. I cried and cried and didn’t even know why. ”

That epiphany happened in the city of Arafat. It is the moment Imam Yusuf Hasan, staff chaplain at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Lenox Hill Hospital, remembers most about making the Hajj , or pilgrimage to Mecca. Translated loosely as "journey," the Hajj is performed by over two million Muslims each year. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam that all Muslims who are able should make this journey once in their lifetime.

" I was so excited to go," said Chaplain Hasan. "I’ve been wanting to make the Hajj since 1980, when I was studying to be an Imam. So when Father Smith (The Rev. Dr. Walter J. Smith, S.J., The Chaplaincy’s CEO) began encouraging me, I started to make my preparations."It was the first time Imam Hasan had been out of the United States.

The Rituals of Hajj
For Muslims, the Hajj is an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the prophets Abraham and Mohammed, and to visit the Ka’bah (House of God) inside the Holy Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Ka’bah is the focal point toward which Muslims turn their worship five times each day. It was built by Abraham and rebuilt by Mohammed after many years of idolatry had destroyed it.

The Hajj begins on the eighth day of Dhul-Hijjah(month for Hajj), the 12th month of the Islamic year, and lasts for as long as six days. Over the course of the Hajj, pilgrims travel the nine miles from Mecca to the Plain of Arafat and back, stopping at the sacred sites of Mina and Muzdalifa to perform prayerful rituals.

Before Muslims can set foot in Mecca, they must don an Ihram—two pieces of plain white cloth for men, a simple white dress for women—which symbolizes purity and the equality of all people in the eyes of God. Before they can remove the garment, they must perform Umrah ,a ritual that includes a seven-fold circling, or tawaf , of the Ka’bah, a distance of almost four miles.

" It was amazing how well thousands of people, all walking through the same place, were able to get along," recalls Imam Hasan. The Holy Mosque can hold over a million people. "It shows us that peace is possible," he said. He also noted that men and women pray together during Umrah and Hajj.

Before beginning the actual Hajj, Chaplain Hasan stopped in Medina, the burial place of Mohammed. "Being in Medina was very moving for me," Imam Hasan said. "It was sad to leave—I felt like I was leaving family. " He and the other pilgrims left Medina for Mina, also know as the "City of Tents." "We stayed in tents, thousands as far as the eye could see, to recreate the hardship of the Prophet and his followers," he explained.

Purifying the Soul
From Mina the pilgrims journeyed to Arafat for most important rite of Hajj. Here they pray for forgiveness on or around the Mount of Rahmah (Mountain of Mercy). Many Muslims are moved to tears at this closeness with God. They proceed solemnly from Arafat to Muzdalifah, where they sleep under the stars in the cold desert night. Here they collect pebbles to be thrown at three Jamrahs ,or pillars, a ritual that symbolizes the conquering of one’s own personal demons.

During the Hajj Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Adha—the Feast of the Sacrifice.
Each Muslim contributes to having a lamb or another animal slaughtered to commemorate Abraham’s great act of faith in his willingness to slaughter his own son. Then they partake in a great feast which is celebrated by Muslims all over the world.

	Over the course of the Hajj, pilgrims travel the nine miles from Mecca to the Plain of Arafat and back, stopping at the sacred sites of Mina and Muzdalifa to perform prayerful rituals.

Renewal Through Challenge and Endurance
The Hajj is a physically challenging journey. Pilgrims walk for miles, sleep outside in the desert, and endure crowds and other difficult conditions.
Yet these faithful followers feel renewed by the Hajj. "I came home feeling as pure as a newborn baby," Imam Hasan emotionally recalls.

" This experience was very humbling for me," he said. "It reminded me that life is not a bed of roses. It’s difficult to live out in the world. But on Hajj, being with people from all over the world, I learned that we can live together peacef ully, as God wants us to."