Hajj is the pilgrimage to the House in Makkah, once in a lifetime for those who are able. The Quran ties it to Abraham and Ishmael, who raised the House. The Torah commands a pilgrimage to the place God chooses, and the Samaritan Torah has the same command.
What it is in Islam
The Quran traces the House and its pilgrimage to Abraham and makes the Hajj a duty for those who are able.
“Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds. In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.”
“Do not associate anything with Me and purify My House for those who perform Tawaf and those who stand [in prayer] and those who bow and prostrate. … And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass -”
Allah speaks to Abraham about the House.
“And [mention] when We made the House a place of return for the people and [a place of] security. … And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael”
“O people, Allah has made Hajj obligatory for you; so perform Hajj.”
Narrated by Abu Huraira. English as shown on sunnah.com.
“The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, ‘Whoever performs Hajj for Allah’s pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew.’”
Narrated by Abu Huraira. English as shown on sunnah.com.
In the earlier scriptures
Passages are the King James Version unless marked otherwise. Each carries a tag: a close parallel, a shared principle, or an interpretation (Muslim or traditional), which is a reading we offer as a reading and not as a proven fact.
“Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:”
A pilgrimage commanded in the Torah: to travel to the place God chooses.
“Three times a year all your males shall appear before Shema your God in the place which he has chosen: in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles, and they shall not appear before Shema empty-handed.”
Translation by Florentin and Tal (Open Book Publishers, 2024). The translation writes the divine name as “Shema”, the Samaritan way of saying “the Name”.
The Samaritan Torah has the same command. It reads “in the place which he has chosen”.
“Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; … when he shall come and pray toward this house;”
Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the House: a visitor from a far country comes to pray toward it.
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.”
A psalm of pilgrims “from strength to strength” going up to appear before God, passing through “the valley of Baca”.
The Islamic position: The Quran names the place of the first House “Bakkah” (3:96, Arabic bakkah; Sahih International renders it “Makkah”), and Muslims identify “the valley of Baca” in Psalm 84:5-7 with Bakkah, the place of pilgrimage. On this reading, a psalm of pilgrims passing through Baca describes the same pilgrimage that the Quran commands.
Note: Most Jewish and Christian commentators read Baca as a dry valley on the road to Jerusalem (from the Hebrew baka, weeping or balsam trees), not as a named place in Arabia.
“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.”
A yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem is the family custom, kept by the family of Jesus.
Where this page stands: the earlier scriptures show a pilgrimage to a House that God chose, with people coming from far countries. They do not name Makkah, and we do not claim they do. The one link to the Quran’s House, Psalm 84, is marked as an interpretation.
Where the scriptures differ
One passage in the Gospel of John is read by many Christians as ending the need for any one holy place. We show it, then the Quran’s verses on the House.
“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. … Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.”
Many Christians read this as ending any single holy place of pilgrimage. Islam holds that Allah made a House for the people and commanded its pilgrimage.
“In it are clear signs [such as] the standing place of Abraham. And whoever enters it shall be safe. And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way. But whoever disbelieves - then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.”
“And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass -”
Sources
Quran (Sahih International, via api.alquran.cloud; links go to quran.com)
Hadith (English from sunnah.com)
Hebrew Bible and New Testament (King James Version, text via bible-api.com; links go to BibleGateway)
Samaritan Pentateuch