Millions of Muslims gather every year in Saudi Arabia city of Makkah to perform the life-time journey of Hajj

This holy journey includes a series of specific rituals carried out by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) nearly 1,400 years ago.

Hajj 2019 will commence on Friday, 9th of August 2019 and will continue till Wednesday, 14th of August 2019; in the evening time.

This is the tentative date as the actual date is contingent on the sighting of the moon of Dhul Hijjah.

“The Astronomical New Moon (conjunction) is on August 1, 2019 (Thursday) at 3:13 UT. Though the moon cannot be seen on that day in most of the world, it can be seen with difficulty in Americas and easily in Hawaii and Polynesian Islands.

On August 2, 2019 (Friday), this moon can be seen in the whole world,” Moonsighting.com reported.

According to the Islamic Calendar, hajj begins on the 8th day of Dhul-Hijjah and ends on the thirteenth day of the same Islamic Holy month.

The overarching aim of the Hajj is to strengthen one’s faith and purify him or her of sins. Allah (SWT) mentions the benefits of Hajj as:

“That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on known days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So eat of them and feed the miserable and poor.” (Quran 22:28)

Hajj consists of several rituals, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj at least once in a lifetime.