The first of these traditions is the circumambulation of the Ka'ba. Starting at a certain corner, the worshipper completes seven rounds while reciting prayers, calling for mercy and forgiveness and professing total submission to God. Hundreds of thousands of people flow in circles around the Ka'ba each day and night during the whole year, for this practice is not limited to the period of the pilgrimage. During the night the crowds thin out and the worshipper can pray in close vicinity to the Ka'ba. Moslems sit under the endless arches of the mosque reading the Koran, but starting with dawn, the mosque fills up with worshippers flocking in for morning prayers, the first of the required daily five prayers. Then everybody faces the walls of the Ka'ba and prays towards it. The Ka'ba functions as the focal point toward which Moslems all over the world stand in prayer to profess their subjugation to God.

Yesterday, on the ninth of Dhu'l-Hijja, the Ka'ba was virtually deserted. It was the principal day of the pilgrimage, when all pilgrims assemble in the Valley of Arafat, 14 miles east of Mecca, between noon and sunset. The road to Arafat is inevitably blocked by heavy traffic and many pilgrims prefer to go on foot. The Saudi Arabian government enlists extra help to manage the traffic for this hectic day, and each year the road is widened in an attempt to ease the jamming.

Approaching Arafat, one sees a white sea of tents stretching across the wide valley. The Saudi Arabian government establishes these camps to provide shelter for the pilgrims on that day. Each camp is assigned a leader in charge of a group of pilgrims, responsible for their transportation, feeding and housing.

In this valley, according to the Koran, Adam first met Eve after their separate descent from Eden. In the midst of this valley is the Mount of Mercy, where Mohammed delivered a sermon to his companions during their return from the "farewell-pilgrimage." There he transmitted to them the final revelation of the Koran that had been delivered to him thoughout a period of 23 years: "This day I [God] perfected your religion for you, and completed My favor unto you, and decreed Islam as your faith." The message of Islam was delivered totally; less than a year later Mohammed died.

The whole wisdom of the pilgrimage unfolds as one walks along the valley of Arafat on this day. The pilgrim encounters millions of Moslems from all over the world. Though they are of different nationalities, races and colors, they all are united by the common bond of Islam. Asians, Africans, Arabs, Europeans and Americans all assemble there for a common purpose, joined by historical tradition. On this day the pilgrim awakens to the realization that he is part of a tremendous whole that goes beyond worldly distinctions and time restrictions. He feels the immense power of Islam as it weaves its universal and humane principles in all people of the world. A bond of brotherhood ensues forming the nucleus for future world peace. Freed from the blinding limitations of secular nationalism, the Moslem can begin to identify himself with a universal message that calls for brotherly cohesiveness and peaceful co-existence.

At sunset a mass exodus from Arafat begins. The pilgrims head for Muzdalifa, in the direction of Mecca. There they spend the night in the open, under the star-lit sky. The stillness of the night closes upon each, inducing a feeling of direct communion between the worshipper and the Creator. They offer prayers and recite supplications as they keep vigil during this blessed night. As the night expires, the pilgrims resume their journey back to Mecca.

With the break of dawn yesterday, the tenth of Dhu'l-Hijja, Moslems all over the world rise to celebrate the Bairam Feast. All head for the mosques to perform the feast's congregational morning prayers. The financially able have lambs slaughtered in memory of God's merciful exchange of a lamb for Abraham's intended sacrifice of his son. The meat is then distributed to the poor, the needy relations, and neighbors, leaving one-third for the family. Children eagerly put on their new clothes and collect a bonus allowance to spend during the feast holiday. Families exchange visits and greetings all day long.

In Mecca the pilgrims end their state of "ihram" by a symbolic shortening of the hair. They resume their commitment to the present and the particular once more. They revert to their own dress. Many travel to Medina, the second most revered city in Islam, where Mohammed established the first Islamic state and where he is buried in a corner of the "Nabawi" Mosque.

The home-coming of the pilgrims is vociferously celebrated. Some families light up the streets and houses with colored bulbs and offer sherbet and sweet drinks to visitors. Friends and relatives and neighbors call on the pilgrims to congratulate them on their trip to the Blessed Land and give them the well-deserved title of "haaj" (male pilgrim) and "haaja" (female pilgrim). Henceforth this title precedes their names, lending them a religious distinction and an honored social status.

Whenever the time for prayer occurs, the haaj and haaja stand facing the direction of Mecca and feel transported beyond time and space to those days when they stood in the Haram Mosque close to the Ka'ba, part of a multitude of worshippers bowing in acquiesence to the call of God.

Sanaa Makhlouf is a first year graduate student from Egypt studying Islamic history.