Hajj Before Islam: What Pagans Did
The Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, is considered one of the Five Pillars of Islam and obligatory for all able Muslims at least once in their lifetime. Yet the historical evidence reveals that virtually every major ritual of the Hajj existed in pre-Islamic pagan practice. Understanding what Arabs did at the Kaaba before Muhammad provides crucial context for evaluating Islam's claims to represent a pure restoration of Abrahamic monotheism.
The Pagan Pilgrimage Calendar
Pre-Islamic Arabs conducted annual pilgrimages to Mecca during sacred months when warfare was prohibited. These pilgrimages were both religious and commercial occasions, with tribes gathering for trade, poetry competitions, and worship of their respective deities housed in and around the Kaaba.
The timing aligned with the lunar calendar, similar to modern Islamic practice. The months of Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram were considered sacred, and pilgrimage rituals occurred during this period. Islam retained this calendar structure, including the practice of pilgrimage during Dhu al-Hijjah.
Tawaf: Circumambulation of the Kaaba
The central ritual of Hajj—walking seven times around the Kaaba—existed in pre-Islamic paganism. Historical sources indicate that Arab polytheists would circumambulate the Kaaba while invoking their gods, sometimes doing so completely naked as a sign of humility before the deities.
Ibn Ishaq and other early Islamic historians record that men would often perform Tawaf naked, believing they shouldn't perform the ritual in clothes worn while sinning. Women would also sometimes circumambulate naked or with minimal clothing. Muhammad initially allowed this but eventually required modest clothing during Tawaf.
The Quran acknowledges pre-Islamic Tawaf practice: "They say: 'None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian.' Those are their (vain) desires. Say: 'Produce your proof if ye are truthful.' Nay, whoever submits his whole self to Allah and is a doer of good, he will get his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve" (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:111-112). Earlier verses in this surah discuss completing the rites at Safa and Marwa, indicating awareness of pre-existing practices.
Sa'i: Running Between Safa and Marwa
The ritual of running seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwa (Sa'i) predates Islam. In pagan times, this ritual honored the gods Isaf and Na'ila, whose idols stood atop these hills. Pilgrims would run between them as part of their devotional practice.
Early Muslims were initially uncomfortable with this practice because of its pagan associations. The Quran addresses this concern: "Behold! Safa and Marwa are among the Symbols of Allah. So if those who visit the House in the Season or at other times, should compass them round, it is no sin in them" (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:158).
The phrase "it is no sin" suggests early Muslim hesitation about a practice they recognized as pagan in origin. Islamic tradition resolved this by connecting the ritual to Hagar's search for water for Ishmael, effectively Islamicizing the pagan practice through biblical narrative.
Standing at Arafat
The standing (wuquf) at Mount Arafat on the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah was a central pre-Islamic pilgrimage rite. Pagan Arabs would gather at Arafat to worship and seek forgiveness from their gods. Muhammad retained this practice but reinterpreted it as standing before Allah alone.
Interestingly, early Islamic sources indicate that the Quraysh tribe, considering themselves superior as guardians of the Kaaba, would not go to Arafat but would stop at Muzdalifah instead. They were called the "Hums" (the zealous ones). Muhammad, despite being from Quraysh, insisted on the Arafat standing, thus preserving the broader Arabian pagan tradition rather than his own tribe's variant.
Stoning the Pillars at Mina
The ritual of throwing stones at three pillars in Mina (Rami al-Jamarat) also predates Islam. Pre-Islamic Arabs would throw stones at certain locations, possibly to ward off evil spirits or demons. The practice may have involved stoning actual idols or sacred markers.
Islamic tradition reinterprets this as commemorating Abraham's rejection of Satan's temptations, but no contemporary historical evidence supports an Abrahamic origin. The practice appears to be a Christianized version of earlier pagan stone-throwing rituals common throughout Arabia.
Muhammad reportedly said: "You have inherited the standing at 'Arafat, the passing from Al-Mash'ar Al-Haram [Muzdalifah], and the throwing of the pebbles from the religion of your father Ibrahim" (Tirmidhi 893). This hadith explicitly acknowledges these practices came from pre-Islamic tradition, attributing them to Abraham to provide Islamic legitimacy.
Animal Sacrifice
Animal sacrifice was central to pre-Islamic pilgrimage. Arab pagans would sacrifice animals to their gods at the Kaaba and other sacred sites. The blood would be smeared on the Kaaba walls, and meat would be left as offerings.
Muhammad retained animal sacrifice but modified the practice. The Quran states: "To every people did We appoint rites (of sacrifice), that they might celebrate the name of Allah over the sustenance He gave them from animals (fit for food)" (Surah Al-Hajj 22:34). However, the Quran also addresses the pagan practice of blood offerings: "It is not their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him" (Surah Al-Hajj 22:37).
This verse reveals that pre-Islamic Arabs believed the physical meat and blood reached their gods—a practice Islam reformed while maintaining the sacrificial system itself.
Veneration of the Black Stone
As discussed in a previous article, kissing and touching the Black Stone was a pre-Islamic practice. The stone was considered sacred long before Muhammad, and its veneration continued in Islamic practice with modified theological justification.
Ihram: The Pilgrim's Garment
The practice of wearing simple white garments (Ihram) during pilgrimage also has pre-Islamic precedent. Arab pagans would wear special garments during pilgrimage, though practices varied by tribe. The Islamic standardization of Ihram modified but did not invent the concept of pilgrimage attire.
Islamic Reinterpretation vs. Pagan Origin
The pattern is consistent across Hajj rituals: practices rooted in pre-Islamic paganism were retained by Islam but reinterpreted through Abrahamic narratives. This raises several critical questions:
- If these practices originated in polytheistic worship, can changing their stated meaning transform them into monotheistic worship?
- Why would a prophet claiming to restore pure Abrahamic monotheism retain the specific ritual practices of Arabian paganism?
- If Abraham established these practices, why is there no historical or biblical evidence of their existence before pre-Islamic Arabia?
- What distinguishes Islam's retention of pagan practices from the syncretism that biblical prophets condemned?
The Economic Factor
One often-overlooked aspect is the economic dimension. The Meccan elite, including Muhammad's own tribe, profited enormously from pilgrimage traffic. Completely eliminating pilgrimage would have destroyed Mecca's economy and likely increased resistance to Islam.
By retaining pilgrimage rituals while changing their theological framework, Islam could claim religious purity while maintaining economic structures. This pragmatic consideration may partly explain the continuity between pagan and Islamic pilgrimage practices.
Biblical Contrast: Worship According to God's Design
The biblical pattern stands in stark contrast to adopting existing pagan practices. When God established worship for Israel, He provided detailed, specific instructions that were distinct from surrounding nations.
The Tabernacle and later Temple were built according to divine specifications (Exodus 25-40; 1 Kings 6), not by adopting existing Canaanite temple structures. The sacrificial system, while superficially similar to pagan practices, followed precise divine regulations distinct from surrounding nations (Leviticus 1-7).
Importantly, God explicitly forbade adopting Canaanite worship practices: "You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods" (Deuteronomy 12:31). The issue wasn't just who was worshipped, but how worship was conducted.
When King Saul offered sacrifice presumptuously, stepping outside divinely prescribed bounds, he lost his kingdom (1 Samuel 13:8-14). When Aaron made the golden calf, even claiming it represented the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, God's wrath burned against Israel (Exodus 32). The form of worship matters, not just its theological explanation.
The New Testament continues this theme. Jesus cleared the Temple not because people were worshipping the wrong God, but because they had corrupted how worship was conducted (Matthew 21:12-13). Paul warned against mixing Christian practice with pagan rituals: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons" (1 Corinthians 10:21).
The biblical standard is clear: worship must originate from divine revelation, not human tradition or cultural accommodation. Adopting pagan practices, even with changed theological explanations, constitutes the syncretism that prophets consistently condemned.
The Jerusalem Pattern vs. The Mecca Pattern
The contrast between Jerusalem and Mecca is instructive. Jerusalem's significance derives entirely from God's choice and revelation—David purchased the threshing floor, Solomon built according to divine specifications, and prophets consistently pointed to this city as God's chosen dwelling place (2 Chronicles 6:6, Psalm 132:13-14).
Mecca's significance, by contrast, appears to derive from pre-existing pagan importance that Islam reinterpreted. There is no contemporary historical evidence of Mecca's religious significance before the late 6th century CE, and no biblical mention of Abraham or Ishmael in Arabia.
Furthermore, Jesus declared that the time had come when worship would transcend geographical locations: "The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father... true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:21, 23). The Christian faith moved away from location-based worship, while Islam created a new sacred geography centered on pre-existing pagan sites.
Questions to Consider
- If every major Hajj ritual existed in pre-Islamic pagan practice, what distinguishes Islamic pilgrimage from the paganism it claims to reject?
- Why would God command Abraham to establish rituals identical to later Arabian paganism, leaving no historical or biblical trace until the 7th century CE?
- Does the Quranic phrase "it is no sin" regarding Sa'i (Surah 2:158) suggest early Muslims recognized they were performing pagan rituals?
- If biblical prophets condemned Israelites for adopting Canaanite worship practices even while claiming to worship Yahweh, how should we evaluate Islam's retention of pagan Arabian practices?
- Can practices originating in polytheism become acceptable monotheistic worship simply by changing their stated purpose?
- What does it suggest that Muhammad's hadith explicitly states these practices were "inherited" from pre-Islamic tradition (Tirmidhi 893)?
- If Islam truly represents restored Abrahamic faith, why do its core rituals reflect 7th-century Arabian paganism rather than biblical patterns?
- Does the economic benefit of retaining pilgrimage suggest pragmatic rather than revelatory motives for continuing pagan practices?
- How does Jesus' teaching about worship "in spirit and truth" transcending physical locations apply to Hajj requirements?