Hajj & Innovation

Introduction

Islam started in the year 610 C.E. after the revelations of the Quran (Figure 1), which is the word of God, to the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) [1]. Since then, Muslims around the world have been practicing the five pillars of Islam, which are the essential acts of worship obligatory for all Muslims. In Figure 2, we can see those tenets which include Shahada, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, and finally Hajj which is the pilgrimage and the world’s largest transnational religious movement [9]. The main focus of this magazine will be to demonstrate how the principles of Islam inspired innovation during the Islamic Golden Age.

Hajj Spiritual Aspects

The fifth pillar of Islam is Hajj. It is when Muslims from around the globe journey to the holy city of Mecca to perform certain rituals at a designated time of the year (Figure 3). Many steps are required to prepare for Hajj, such as encompassing material, and informational and spiritual dimensions [10]. Years of planning and spiritual preparation are represented by the Hajj [8]. The journey of the Hajj is considered a spiritual climax for Muslims since it strengthens the faith of a Muslim by cleansing and purifying his soul. As the hadith of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) states, whoever does Hajj for the sake of Allah will come back like the day his mother gave birth to him [6].

Figure 3: People Going Around The Kaaba

History of Hajj

In the early years of Islam, to go in caravans and groups, pilgrims would join together in major cities such as Baghdad, and Cairo to travel to Mecca since it was considered very dangerous because of various reasons like illness and raids. An example of a caravan (Figure 4). According to Islamic history, the Hajj dates back thousands of years to when Abraham built the Kaaba at God's command [2]. Traditionally, the Kaaba was a simple unroofed structure. The Kaaba nowadays is widely visited and monitored by a professional team to ensure the safety of the pilgrims (Figure 5). The Bedouin people would make a pilgrimage to Mecca before Islam so that they worship their Gods in the Kaaba and trade with each other in the city. However, the Quraysh tribe, which ruled Mecca and was famous for its traders, rebuilt the Kaaba before the Islamic period in 608 C.E. with wood and masonry [2]. This mixture of cultures has helped further in developing the innovational aspects of the current Kaaba that we see in the present, as it can be linked to one of the innovation conditions, which is competition. Many trade routes have been established, and that motivated people to be more competitive when it comes to trading.

Figure 4: A Picture of An Old Caravan

Significance of White Clothing in Hajj

A Muslim is reminded of his journey to Allah (God) and the hereafter by carrying out the rituals of the Hajj. For example, the Ihram (Figure 6) is wearing 2 white sheets which remind the person of the shroud he will be wrapped in after his death [3]. The purpose of wearing those sheets is for pilgrims to focus on their journey, not wealth or social standing, which encouraged trade around textiles in Baghdad for getting silk and materials that are required to make clothes. Moreover, the Hajj white clothing is made of cotton, which was a famous component for making clothes back in the Islamic Golden Age.

Hajj Impacts on Trading

Besides, Muslims from different regions had to travel thousands of kilometers across deserts and seas to reach the holy land of Mecca. A map from the Islamic Golden Age (Figure 7) shows the great distances that people had to travel in order to reach the holy land of Mecca. That offered the opportunity for pilgrims and traders to engage in different merchandising activities throughout the route to and from Mecca. Many pilgrims brought goods, made in their homeland, to sell and gain some profit to manage their expenses during the time of Hajj. For instance, many goods were being traded through Baghdad, which are ivory, soap, honey, and diamonds [7]. Hajj impacted arts and literature because pilgrims produced many creative drawings of the holy places and rituals and written directions in several languages [4].

Figure 7: A Map That Was Made For The Islamic Golden Age

Hajj Impacts on an Individual

The Hajj made a significant impact on individuals, as it developed some sense of being accountable to God. It also gave people a reason to travel outside of their current countries and think beyond their backyard, and it also produced a feeling of unity when people support each other [5]. This alone made people realize that they needed a transportation system, and once that system gets implemented, it could be also used for trading. That could be seen as an innovative approach, as the Hajj drove people to be innovative and creative, especially when it was done back in the Islamic Golden Age. There were no advanced transportation systems at that time, and the idea of trading seemed to be difficult because of the great distances that people had to cover. As the transportation methods in the past were limited, a new method has been added which is using caravanserais (Figure 8) that were built to accommodate travelers and pilgrims.

This could be linked to one of the types of innovation, which is incremental innovation. Many versions have been updated of the caravanserai, which lead to the current transportation systems that we see today. Moreover, some people have spent years away from home, just to fulfill and complete the fifth pillar of Islam, which is Hajj, and that travel across great distances leads to knowledge being passed faster than ever. Furthermore, the creation of the caravanserais had an impact on people, as poor and rich people could travel together in the same vehicle, which leads us to another condition of innovation, which is social flexibility. This shows how the Hajj has affirmed people’s faith, and that it also brought information, knowledge, and even some biological samples from across the Islamic World.

Hajj and Society

Furthermore, the Hajj was an important factor in improving society as a whole, since it could bring people together to trade and exchange knowledge. For example, it organized huge pilgrim caravans from each city and established wells, roads, and ports for better travel. It also helped introduce people to different foods, new spices, tools, crafts, and fine arts. These factors made it clear that not only the Hajj, but each pillar of Islam helped in laying out the ground and foundation for the introduction and spread of new technology.

Hajj Involvement in Literacy

The Hajj did not only have effects on society, but it also had a lot of impacts on the literacy of the Islamic Golden Age. For example, the Islamic Golden Age was famous for its strong literacy because the Hajj made scholarship and the trade of books much easier, which shows the great involvement of the Hajj in making a cultural attitude favorable to novelty, which is one of the conditions of innovation. Also, the more educational institutes available, the more competition arises. Since the Islamic Golden Age was famous for its literacy, a lot of educational institutes were made, and they were competing to provide the best learning experience possible. The House of Wisdom (Figure 9) is a famous example of a library in the Islamic Golden Age.

Despite the fact that innovation prefers fragmented governance, the Islamic Golden Age was rich with knowledge, since the formation of an empire could cause a decline in innovativeness because of funds that go to luxuries and wars. Furthermore, the Islamic Calendar was able to work out the movement of stars, which formed a navigational tool that is essential for the Hajj.

Conclusion

In conclusion, most of the tenets of Islam, if not all of them, contributed to driving innovation during the Islamic Golden Age. The new astronomical instruments which are made to get precise calculations of the stars that we see today are the results of algebra and spherical trigonometry that were developed back in the Islamic Golden Age. The Hajj was indeed an important pillar in developing that idea too since the analysis of that pillar showed its strong involvement in making the Islamic Golden Age an innovative and creative time, even though the Islamic Golden Age was old, and it didn’t have technologies such as the innovations that we have now.

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