Once every year, Muslims retrace the steps of the Prophet Muhammad from nearly 1,400 years ago in a holy pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and all believers are required to perform it at least once in their lives, as long as their health allows it.
The holy event takes place in several locations around the city of Mecca, and lasts for five days of intense worship.
When does the Hajj start?
The Hajj takes place every year between the 8th and the 12th of Dhu al-Hijja, the final month of the Islamic calendar.
Unlike the Gregorian calendar used in the west, the Islamic calendar is based on the movements of the moon and the fact date of the Hajj shifts every year.
This year the Hajj will begin no the evening of Wednesday August 30 and end on the evening of Monday September 4 – a couple of hours before Mecca where it will begin on Thursday August 31.
The date was confirmed on Tuesday by Saudi Arabia’s Official High Court, based on official astronomer reports of a new crescent moon.
“There has been a confirmed sighting of the crescent of Dhu al-Hijjah. Tomorrow, Wednesday, will be the first day of Dhu al-Hijjah,” the Saudi Press Agency cited the kingdom’s top court.
How is the Hajj observed?
The Hajj pilgrimage involves several sacred rituals and strict rules that are carried out over the five day event.
All Muslims travelling to Mecca are required to wear white ihram garments, which are symbolic of their purity.
They are also forbidden from shaving, using scented soaps, engaging in sexual intercourse and fighting arguing throughout.
When they enter Mecca’s Grand Mosque, Muslims will start the Tawaf, during which they will circle the Ka’ba seven times, followed by a kneeling prayer.
The Ka’ba is the black silk-clad cube in the centre of the mosque, which according to Islamic tradition was built by Abraham in biblical times.
On the second day of the Hajj, many Muslims will head to Mount Arafat in the eastern part of the city where Muhammad is understood to have given his last sermon.
After sunset they will spend the rest of the day collecting pebbles, which they will ceremoniously cast at three walls called Jamarat, to symbolically ‘stone the devil’.
Throughout this time Muslims will live, eat and pray in a sprawling tent city in the neighbourhood of Mina.