The Hadj

Review of: The Hadj : An American's Pilgrimage to Mecca.
For this book review, I have decided to focus mainly on the extreme devotion and the accompanying emotional responses associated with the Hadj as depicted throughout Michael Wolfe's book, especially in chapter 16. It is amazing to see such examples of devotion that we in western culture rarely see, and even more rarely experience.
You can see the extreme devotion of these pilgrims in many ways. Firstly, this devotion can be witnessed through the sheer number and variety of people who make the spiritual and physical pilgrimage to the holy city, Mecca. The Hadj is a rather physically and emotionally taxing task for a person to undergo. The very fact that several million people at a time are willing to complete such a journey is evidence enough of their devotion to God and the Islamic faith. To understand why, it may be necessary to explain the tradition of the Hadj (or Hajj as it is sometimes spelled).
The Hadj is a semi-mandatory tradition of the Islamic faith. This means that all those Muslims who are in adequate physical and financial health should participate in the pilgrimage at least once during their lifetime. However, the Hadj consists of more than just a visitation of Mecca. The journey as a whole is divided into a lesser Hadj and a greater Hadj. The lesser, also known as Umrah, consists of a tawaf, which is comprised of walking counter-clockwise around the Kaaba three times at a very fast pace, then four times, closer together, more slowly. The second step of Umrah, the sa`i, starts by walking seven times back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah.This acts as a re-enactment of Hagar's frantic search for water, before the Zamzam Well was revealed to her by an angel sent by Allah.
The greater Hajj starts on the eighth day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah. They leave Mecca for the nearby town of Mina, where they spend the day. The next morning, the pilgrims, or Hajjis, leave Mina for...