The Collective Importance Of Hajj

This principle applies to all the rituals of Hajj. Each ritual of Hajj teaches the importance of unity and collective action from various perspectives. They are practical demonstrations of moving in unison. When these people from different countries reach the place of Hajj, they all remove their national dress and wear one common dress called ihram. To wear ihram means to wear an unstitched white sheet like a lower garment, and to place one white sheet on the upper body. In this way, millions of people wear the same kind and the same colour of dress. After performing the various rites, all the pilgrims finally gather on the vast plain of Arafat. At that moment, an aweinspiring sight appears: it seems as though all differences have disappeared, leaving only the shared bond of God’s unity. Instead of divisions of colour, race, and geography, people stand united, just as their Lord is one. When all pilgrims wearing ihram gather in the vast field of Arafat, if seen from a high place, it looks as if, despite differences in language, colour, status, and gender, all people have become completely one. At that time, different nationalities seem to merge into one big nationality. Truly, the display of collectiveness and unity at Hajj is so grand that probably no other example like it is found anywhere else in the world.