Hajj and pilgrimage in Islam — Islam

What the specification asks for

Paper 2, Section 2, 2.2 (Islam). Assessed on AO1 (knowledge and understanding) and AO2 (analysis and evaluation), weighted equally. Incandio is aligned to this specification. It is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's indicative content — the point numbers are given so you can check every unit against your own copy.

1 · Understand it

The two white unsewn cloths a pilgrim wears are also, in most Muslim practice, what a body is buried in. Once you notice that, the whole pilgrimage reads differently: the same clothing, the same removal of status, the same standing before God with nothing brought along. It is built as a rehearsal.

What it means

Hajj is the pilgrimage to Makkah in the month of Dhul-Hijjah and is the fifth Pillar in the Sunni framing — obligatory once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able. Ihram is the state of ritual consecration and also the two plain cloths men wear in it, so that wealth and rank are invisible.

The rites the specification names: entering ihram at a designated boundary; tawaf, circling the Ka'ba seven times; the walk between Safa and Marwa retracing Hagar's search for water, with the Zamzam well; the standing at Arafat from noon to sunset, which is the essential act — a pilgrim who misses it has not performed Hajj; and the stoning of the pillars at Mina.

Umrah is the lesser pilgrimage, performed at any time of year and not obligatory. Calling it a smaller Hajj is a common inaccuracy: it is a different act rather than a reduced version of the same one. Madinah is visited by many pilgrims before or after — the Prophet's mosque, his grave, the graves of Abu Bakr and Umar, the Quba mosque — and this too is optional.

The specification asks for different attitudes to Madinah and Umrah, and that clause is where a strong answer separates itself. Visiting the Prophet's mosque is widely encouraged and highly valued, while some scholars caution strongly against practices at the grave that could shade into veneration. Shi'a Islam places additional religious weight on visiting the shrines of the Imams, notably Karbala, which Sunni practice does not share.

Why believers hold it

The reasoning is that Hajj makes a belief physical. The oneness of God implies that all people stand equal before him; ihram makes that visible by removing every marker of status at once, for two million people simultaneously. It is the rare religious claim that can be photographed.

The rites also retrace the story of Ibrahim, Hagar and Ishmael, so a pilgrim is not only worshipping but walking through the narrative that founded the site. That is why explaining a rite by the belief it enacts is worth far more than listing the sequence in order, which is the standard weak answer here.

The shroud parallel explains what the crowd cannot. Pilgrims routinely describe Hajj as transformative, and the usual explanation — the scale of the gathering — does not account for why the standing at Arafat rather than the tawaf is the essential act. The rehearsal reading does: standing all afternoon in burial clothing with nothing brought along is a deliberate anticipation of judgement.

Two objections are worth meeting. The expense would do more good given to the poor — and Islamic law already refuses Hajj to anyone who would incur debt or neglect dependants, so the objection is partly built into the obligation. And mass pilgrimage carries real risks of crowd disaster and a significant environmental cost, both of which are management problems that authorities and Muslim environmental groups address rather than objections to the obligation itself. The sharper point is that the equality of ihram lasts as long as the rites do, and the cost of getting there is itself a filter.

Where it comes from

• Islamic practice — The Five Pillars (Sunni framing); recorded in Hadith collections including Sahih al-Bukhari

  Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj.

  The five obligatory acts of Sunni Islam: declaration of faith, prayer, alms, fasting in Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Makkah.

  What it is doing here: Makes the pilgrimage obligatory rather than admirable, which is the difference in kind between Hajj and every other journey a Muslim might make.

• The Qur'an — Qur'an 49:13 (translated)

  We created you from a single pair ... and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another.

  Human diversity is intended by God, and its purpose is mutual knowledge. The verse also states that the most honoured are the most righteous, not the most powerful.

  What it is doing here: Supplies the equality claim that ihram enacts, with honour attached to righteousness rather than to the wealth the clothing conceals.

• The Qur'an — Qur'an 3:185 (with 75:1–4) (translated)

  Every soul shall taste death ... and only then will you be paid your full recompense.

  Death is certain and judgement follows it. Akhirah — the afterlife — with Barzakh, the Day of Judgement, and Jannah or Jahannam.

  What it is doing here: Gives the judgement the pilgrimage rehearses, which is what makes the shroud-like clothing and the standing at Arafat more than symbolism.

Where it bites

In practice it means saving for years and going only when debts are settled and dependants are provided for — the obligation has a financial gate written into it. Then entering ihram at the boundary, performing the rites across several days, and afterwards carrying the title Hajji and a changed standing in the community. Many pilgrims add Madinah before or after, and many perform Umrah during Ramadan, which is a different act at a different time and should be described as such.

It also shapes Muslim life for people who never go. The direction of prayer points there five times a day, the sacrifice at Eid-ul-Adha is timed to it, and the accounts brought back by returning pilgrims are a significant part of how the ummah is experienced as a real thing rather than an idea.

What people get wrong

People think: Muslims perform Hajj at Madinah.

Actually: Hajj is to Makkah, where the Ka'bah stands. Madinah is where the Prophet migrated to, established the first Muslim community, and is buried. Visiting Madinah is valued and optional; the examiners record the confusion specifically, and it relocates the whole answer.

People think: Umrah is a small Hajj that can be done at any time.

Actually: It is a different act rather than a reduced version of the same one, and it is not obligatory. The distinction matters because the specification asks about different attitudes to Umrah precisely on the ground that only Hajj is a Pillar.

People think: Eid ul-Fitr is the festival at the end of Hajj.

Actually: Eid-ul-Adha falls during Hajj and commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son; Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. The error appears constantly in answers about pilgrimage, and it attaches the wrong festival to the sacrifice that pilgrims actually perform.

What the examiner expects you to understand

• Locate Hajj at Makkah every time, since misplacing it is a recorded and expensive error.
• Explain each rite by what it enacts rather than listing the sequence in order.
• Give the standing at Arafat as the essential act, because that is the detail that shows real knowledge.
• Keep Umrah and Madinah outside Hajj, which is why the specification asks about attitudes to them separately.
• On the twelve-mark question, use salah as the counter — daily, obligatory for all, and not filtered by wealth.

2 · Grade 9 Notes

Core belief / issue

Hajj is the fifth Pillar, obligatory once in a lifetime for those who can afford it and are physically able. The specification names the rites — ihram, tawaf around the Ka'ba, Arafat, the pillars at Mina — and then names Umrah, Madinah and one other place of pilgrimage, and asks about DIFFERENT attitudes to Madinah and to Umrah. That last clause is where a strong answer separates itself: Hajj is obligatory, and the others are not.

Key terminology

Incandio's mark schemes credit the religion's own vocabulary; spelling variants are accepted, a vague paraphrase is not.

Hajj

The pilgrimage to Makkah in the month of Dhul-Hijjah; the fifth Pillar.

Ihram (also ihraam)

The state of ritual consecration, and the two white unsewn cloths men wear in it.

Tawaf (also tawaaf)

Circling the Ka'ba seven times anticlockwise.

Arafat (also Arafah)

The plain where pilgrims stand from noon to sunset; the standing there is the essential act of Hajj.

Umrah (also Umra)

The lesser pilgrimage, which may be performed at any time of year and is not obligatory.

Zamzam (also Zam Zam)

The well at Makkah, associated with Hagar's search for water for Ishmael.

What Islam teaches

• shared — Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is able, and it is performed at a fixed time in Dhul-Hijjah.
• shared — In ihram all pilgrims wear the same simple clothing, so that wealth and rank are invisible.
• shared — The standing at Arafat is the essential act; a pilgrim who misses it has not performed Hajj.
• divided — Muslims hold different attitudes to visiting Madinah and to performing Umrah — both are valued, and Muslims differ over how much religious weight they carry.
  • Sunni — Visiting the Prophet's mosque in Madinah is widely encouraged and highly valued; some scholars caution strongly against practices at the grave that could shade into veneration.
  • Shi'a — Places additional religious weight on visiting the shrines of the Imams, notably Karbala, which Sunni practice does not share.

Why it teaches this

The reasoning is that Hajj makes a belief physical. Tawhid says all people stand equal before Allah; ihram makes that visible by removing every marker of status at once. The rites also retrace the story of Ibrahim, Hagar and Ishmael, so a pilgrim is not only worshipping but walking through the narrative that founded the site. A strong answer explains a rite by the belief it enacts, rather than listing the sequence.

Sources of authority

• Islamic practice — The Five Pillars (Sunni framing); recorded in Hadith collections including Sahih al-Bukhari

  Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, Hajj.

  The five obligatory acts of Sunni Islam: declaration of faith, prayer, alms, fasting in Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Makkah.

  How to use it: The Pillars turn belief into a structure of practice, which is why Muslim answers about worship, charity and pilgrimage all connect back to one framework.

  What it does not settle: This is the SUNNI framing. Shi'a Islam speaks of the five roots of religion and ten obligatory acts. Writing 'Muslims have five pillars' without qualification is the confusion the 2022 report records.

• The Qur'an — Qur'an 49:13 (translated)

  We created you from a single pair ... and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another.

  Human diversity is intended by God, and its purpose is mutual knowledge. The verse also states that the most honoured are the most righteous, not the most powerful.

  How to use it: Difference is designed rather than tolerated, so racial harmony is God's plan being fulfilled rather than a compromise — that is a stronger claim and it scores better.

  What it does not settle: It does not by itself settle questions about the roles of men and women.

• The Qur'an — the Opening — Qur'an 1 (Surah Al-Fatihah) (translated)

  Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

  The chapter recited in every unit of salah. It names God as Creator, as merciful and as judge, and asks for guidance.

  How to use it: Because it is said in every prayer, its content is what a Muslim rehearses several times a day — which is how belief and practice hold together in Islam.

  What it does not settle: Shared by all Muslims, so it distinguishes no tradition from another.

• The Qur'an — Qur'an 3:185 (with 75:1–4) (translated)

  Every soul shall taste death ... and only then will you be paid your full recompense.

  Death is certain and judgement follows it. Akhirah — the afterlife — with Barzakh, the Day of Judgement, and Jannah or Jahannam.

  How to use it: Because reward and punishment come after death, this life is a test rather than an end in itself — which is why Muslim answers about suffering and about the purpose of life run through akhirah.

  What it does not settle: Resurrection in Islam is BODILY. Writing about reincarnation here is the confusion the 2021 report records.

Different interpretations

• Hajj read as an act of obedience, and read as a rehearsal for judgement — the white cloths resemble a shroud, and the standing at Arafat is often described as a foretaste of standing before Allah.
• Visiting Madinah read as part of the pilgrimage journey, and read as a separate and optional visit; the distinction matters because only Hajj is a Pillar.
• Umrah read as a lesser Hajj, and read as a different act altogether; it is the second, and calling it a smaller Hajj is a common inaccuracy.

Differences within Islam

Hajj itself is shared without difference. The genuine disagreement concerns other pilgrimage sites and the practices at them — which is exactly what the Issue 2 wording asks for.

• Sunni — Hajj and Umrah as described; Madinah visited and valued, with scholarly caution about practices at the grave.
• Shi'a — The same Hajj, with additional pilgrimage to the shrines of the Imams that Sunni Islam does not recognise as pilgrimage.

Application to the issue

In practice: saving for years, and going only when debts are settled and dependants provided for; entering ihram at a designated boundary; tawaf, the walk between Safa and Marwa, Arafat, Muzdalifah, the stoning at Mina and the sacrifice at Eid-ul-Adha; and afterwards the title Hajji and a changed standing in the community. Many pilgrims add Madinah before or after, and many perform Umrah in Ramadan.

Arguments supporting

• Hajj is the most powerful expression of Muslim equality. — Two million people in identical clothing, with no way to tell who is rich. (islam)
  Answered by: The equality lasts as long as the rites do, and the cost of getting there is itself a filter that excludes the poorest.
• A physical pilgrimage teaches what reading cannot. — Retracing Hagar's search between the hills is a different kind of knowing from being told about it. (shared)
  Answered by: That is a claim about the pilgrim's experience, which is not available for inspection and varies enormously.

Arguments challenging

• The expense would do more good given to the poor. — The cost of one Hajj could fund significant relief. (non-religious)
  Answered by: Islamic law already refuses Hajj to anyone who would incur debt or neglect dependants, so the objection has been partly built into the obligation.
• Mass pilgrimage carries real risks of crowd disaster and environmental cost. — Crush incidents and the carbon cost of millions of flights are documented. (shared)
  Answered by: Both are management problems that the Saudi authorities and Muslim environmental groups actively address, rather than objections to the obligation itself.

Evaluation

The hinge: Whether Hajj's importance is what it does for the individual pilgrim or what it demonstrates about the ummah. The equality argument depends on the second, and the transformation argument on the first.

Defensible conclusions

• Hajj is the most important pilgrimage because it is obligatory, which is a difference in kind and not in degree from Umrah and Madinah.
• Umrah is more important in practice for many Muslims, because it can actually be performed more than once and at a time of one's choosing.
• The visible equality of ihram is Hajj's most defensible claim, because unlike the inward effects it can be observed and it is not a matter of testimony.

Not defensible

• Saying Muslims perform Hajj at Madinah — the examiners record this error specifically.
• Describing Umrah as obligatory, or as the same act as Hajj performed at another time.

Exam use

• Outline · 4 marks — Outline two practices associated with Hajj. Two rites, each developed with what it means.
• Explain · 6 marks — Explain why Hajj is important for Muslims: the Pillar, the equality of ihram, the standing at Arafat, and the retracing of Ibrahim's story.
• Discuss · 10 marks — 'Pilgrimage is the most important act of Muslim worship.' The counter is salah — daily, obligatory for all, and not filtered by wealth.

Common mistakes

• Locating Hajj at Madinah, which the examiners name.
• Listing the rites in order with no explanation of what any of them means.
• Treating Umrah and Madinah as parts of Hajj, when the specification asks about different attitudes to them precisely because they are not.

“Muslims perform Hajj at Madinah.” — Hajj is to Makkah, where the Ka'bah stands. Madinah is where the Prophet migrated to (the Hijrah), established the first Muslim community, and is buried.

Write instead: Makkah is the birthplace of the Prophet, the site of the Ka'bah and the destination of Hajj. Madinah is the city of the Hijrah, the first Muslim community, and the Prophet's Mosque. Many pilgrims visit Madinah as well, but that visit (ziyarah) is not part of Hajj — a distinction worth one sharp sentence. (Named in the 2021 examiner report for Paper 2.)

“Eid ul-Fitr is the festival at the end of Hajj.” — Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. Eid ul-Adha is the festival of sacrifice that falls during Hajj and commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son.

Write instead: Eid ul-Fitr ends the month of fasting. Eid ul-Adha comes at the time of Hajj, is marked by the sacrifice of an animal, and remembers Ibrahim's obedience. Both are celebrated by all Muslims, including those not on Hajj. Eid ul-Adha is often described as the greater of the two. (Named in the 2023 examiner report for Paper 2.)

Grade 9 insight

The white unsewn cloths of ihram are also, in most Muslim practice, what a body is buried in. A Level 4 answer draws the consequence: Hajj is deliberately constructed as a rehearsal for death and judgement — the same clothing, the same removal of status, the same standing before Allah with nothing brought along. That is why the standing at Arafat rather than the tawaf is the essential act, and it explains the transformation pilgrims report far better than the scale of the crowd does.

Carry on through Islam

• Previous unit: 2.1 · Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha
• Next unit: 3.1 · Mosques: design and features
• Side by side: Pilgrimage across the six religions — Is pilgrimage required, and where do believers go?
• All of Islam · Incandio Religious Studies · The 4RS1 specification