Hajj: Why 2 Million People Go | English Listening Ep 814
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Hi there, and welcome to this podcast. This week, I'm continuing my theme of current events to help you learn up-to-date English through listening. So, in this week's podcast…

Some reflections on the amazing event that is the Hajj, which happened recently. The Hajj is hugely important to Muslims, followers of Islam. I'll talk about this and I'll talk a bit about the brilliance in organisation that is necessary to host

this annual event. As ever, this podcast will give you some really good, useful vocabulary. Listen to it several times to help it stick in your mind.

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As I've shared with you before, I don't have or belong to a particular religion, but I was brought up in the Christian church, so I respect other religions. And one remarkable thing that happened recently in June, and which happens every year, the hard

H-A-J-J. This is an event for people of the Muslim faith, which is a very important spiritual one. The journey and the experience is a pilgrimage. That's P-I-L-G-R-I-M-A-G-E, pilgrimage. And this word is used in a number of religions. An epiphany,

Pilgrim is a person on a pilgrimage and a pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place or holy site. And the act of Hajj is one of the five mandatory pillars of Islam, meaning that if you follow Islam, this is something that you have to do absolutely.

least once in your life if you are able. So the act of Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to the house of Allah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. You'll often see this spelt M-E-C-C-A and pronounced Mecca in English and the naming is somewhat significant. In the 1980s, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz decreed that the spelling

M-A-K-K-A-H, must be used on all official documents as a sign of respect to Islam. And it differentiates, as in English we use the word Mecca, M-E-C-C-A, to denote

all kinds of things which are a centre of attraction where people gather. So, adopting the spelling M-A-K-K-A-H is part of a bigger move for English language speakers of abandoning the anglicised spellings.

the English way of spelling things. We're leaving that behind out of respect and moving towards spelling and pronouncing the names of places as people in that country would pronounce them. And in fact, many of the Arabic words, four important aspects of the Islamic faith, have different spellings in English. For the Quran or Holy Book,

You will see this spelt K-O-R-A-N as well as Q-R-A-N. There are also many ways to spell the name of the prophet Muhammad. And you see this reflected in people's names too. Pretty much everyone in the UK knows someone called Muhammad, I think.

Anyway, the Hajj. Every year, around two million Muslims visit the sacred Kaaba to perform Hajj or pilgrimage. So the Hajj is a five-day event which takes place in Dull.

the last month of the Islamic calendar. During this time, it is strictly forbidden to engage in anything sinful. That's S-I-N-F-U-L. And this means no arguments, no violence, no sexual activity, and forbids even the cutting of hair or fingernails. Muslims must adopt a sense of calmness.

throughout their pilgrimage. The Kaaba, which is K-A-A-B-A or K-A-B-A in English. This is the stone building at the centre of Islam's holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. This is the Grand Mosque al-Masjid

That's M-O-S-Q-U-E. And the Kaaba is the building that you see in photographs of the Hajj pilgrimage. The building that the pilgrims circle around. This word Masjid, M-A-S-J-I-D,

A-S-J-I-D means mosque. And the building, the Masjid al-Haram, is fairly amazing too. There has been a mosque on this holy site since around the year 644. And much of the present building dates back to 1571. That's in our Western way of counting years, of course. Masjid al-Haram is able to host one million visitors.

one million worshippers at a time. And it covers a huge area, 357,000 metres square. That's huge. But imagine that, a million worshippers all at one time. And for many of us, we do have to imagine it as non-Muslim visitors cannot enter Makkah and certainly cannot enter

Masjid al-Haram. But this mosque is open 24 hours a day to followers of Islam who have completed the pilgrimage, who've completed the Hajj, and Muslims may enter and worship at any point during their pilgrimage. Masjid al-Haram has nine minarets.

A minaret, M-I-N-A-R-E-T, is the holy tower from which the call to prayer comes five times a day. Each of these nine minarets at the Masjid al-Haram is 89 meters above the ground. That's 292 feet. There are also 210 gates of Masjid al-Haram, allowing the entrance of pilgrims

from all sides. Imagine that, 210 ways in. And aside from being an important spiritual journey for Muslims, the Hajj is something that is a remarkable feat of organisation. A feat, F-E-A-T in English, means an achievement.

something that's difficult to do. So two million people converge on Mecca for the five days of the Hajj. And this means quite some level of organisation so that the pilgrimage can be achieved in an atmosphere of calm, safety and spiritual unity, U-N-I-T-Y. This means meticulous planning with regard to transportation, moving people around, safe management of crowds,

services of all kinds, and help and assistance in different languages. This means thousands of dedicated volunteers, healthcare professionals and security staff working hard over the five days. The Saudi Arabian Ministry for Health set up more than 250 mobile clinics

and medical units to ensure people's safety. And a remarkable 37,000 medical procedures were carried out during the five days of the Hajj without any major health incidents.

So what they set up really worked. This is really an achievement with such a vast gathering of people. And this operation was not just at the Masjid al-Haram. Pilgrims make their way to other holy sites during their visit, such as Mount Arafat. This is the place where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon, S-E-R-M-O-N.

or holy teaching. So the day of Arafat, the most sacred in the Islamic calendar, was observed in the desert in temperatures of 41 degrees centigrade. That's hot. Here pilgrims dressed in simple white gowns gathered to stand in prayer and reflection. And again, to facilitate this spiritual coming together, the Saudi Arabian authorities attended to the practicalities.

shade zones, lots of water available, free umbrellas and lots of healthcare professionals on hand, especially to help anyone overcome with the heat. Spiritual guidance was also on offer from booths

staffed by people able to speak many, many languages. And as the day of Arafat ended, pilgrims made their way to the next stage of the journey, to Musdalifah, to collect pebbles for the symbolic stoning of the devil. For many Muslims, this pilgrimage will stay long in their minds and reinforce their faith.

So the Hajj is remarkable, the biggest event in the Muslim world in terms of the concentration of people. And Muslims are, of course, spread out all across the world, from China to different parts of Asia, the entire West, including the Americas and Europe, of course, as well as Africa and

and the Middle East. And this pilgrimage culminates in more than a million people meeting in a very compact space. People coming from all different parts of the world.

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The complexity isn't just in the number of people, but also in the many different nationalities, people who come from different political systems, as well as the different languages, and making sure they're all able to move in one direction, following the systematic rituals of the Hajj, as it's been done since ancient times,

and focus on spiritual matters, it's a remarkable feat of organisation. Anyway, if you are a Muslim, let me know how this podcast was and importantly, if I've got anything wrong or misrepresented anything.

And if like me, you are non-Muslim, I hope this podcast has helped you learn some interesting facts about Islam, as well as giving you some important English vocabulary to work on. Let us know. We love to hear from you, as ever. Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.