The Fifth Pillar: Recent Episodes
Cambridge Muslim College
A podcast series from Cambridge Muslim College on the fifth pillar of Islam: the religious pilgrimage to Mecca – Hajj.
Our testimony acknowledging the divinity of Allah was during the first of gatherings. In this episode, Rasul Miller and Sumaiyya Ayub explore the physical space of the earthly ka’ba and the heavenly, angelic realms, to understand the ka’ba in time and space.
Qiyama, the day of recknoning, is the final gathering. In this episode, Marcia Hermansen and Jörg Imran Schröter talk about the Hajj as ‘pen-ultimate’ gathering.
Part of the Hajj involves the practical necessities of travelling and living with millions of other persons. In this episode, Besnik Sinani, Haris Farqui and Amira Rizk explore how people ‘lived together’ during hajj and what can we learn about the nature of gathering in Islam through this experience.
"One of the key elements of the Hajj is the interplay of time between past (Adam and Abraham, Hajar, Muhammad) and present. The Sa’iy is one of the most poignant communal enactments of this time and space bending that takes place in Hajj. In this episode, Hadia Mubarak, Hamida Moalim and Djermana Kuric talk about what the walk between the two hills reveal about the nature of time and space during the Hajj.
The circumambulation of the Ka’ba is one of the most famous rituals of the Hajj. Why do Muslims perform the walk in counter-clockwise circles around the ka’ba and what significance does this have? In this episode, Francesco Chiabotti, Shazuan Sidek and Khadijah-Ali Campbell talk about the significance of spheres and circles in Islamic cosmology and how this can expand our understanding of gathering during the Hajj.
The ‘entering into the sacred’ or the donning of the ‘ihram’, removes worldly distinctions from pilgrims. Each person leaves part of their individuality behind, and becomes a body in the crowd. In this episode Mariam Sheibani and Shahid Hanif refelect on the symbolism of the ihram and what it tells us about the individual and communal aspects of the Hajj.
The gathering of the Hajj begins with the movement towards the Holy City of Mecca, as throngs of people travel, mostly in groups, to undertake the pilgrimage rites. In this episode we hear from Yahya Nurgat and Zakiyah Gangat on movement and the caravan, and what we gain or lose over time.
Hajj is unique among the pillars as the one which is entirely part of a gathering. In this episode we hear Adeyinka Mendes reflect on the individual and communal elements of this pillar and the spiritual consequences of this intentionally communal practice and what this meant for him during his hajj experience.