Pilgrimage: Hajj Akbar or the
"Grand" pilgrimage
Q431 :Is there any special pilgrimage described as
"grand" or "hajj akbar"? If so, when does it fall?
A431 : No, there is nothing called grand pilgrimage.
There is a mistaken notion that if the day of Arafat happens to be on
Friday, then that pilgrimage is grand and it is rewarded as seven times
the reward of ordinary pilgrimage. As I say, this notion is completely
mistaken. The mistake comes from misinterpreting a phrase which occurs
at the beginning of surah 9, entitled "Tauba " (repentance). That verse
speaks of a declaration which the Prophet was ordered to make to people
on the "grand day of pilgrimage." Some people misinterpret it as "on
the day of grand pilgrimage." The grand day of pilgrimage is said by
some scholars to be the day of Arafat, while other scholars consider it
to be the following day, i.e. the day of Eid, when the pilgrims have to
do several duties.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News - Jeddah )