“Rami,” which is short for “stoning of pillars” or “stoning Al- Jamarat,” is an Islamic ritual that takes place during Hajj in the month of Zilhajj. During the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, people throw stones at the pillars to show that they are throwing stones at the devil. Rami is also important in Umrah. Umrah can be done by booking best Cheap umrah services.
Story Behind Stoning Of Pillars
The ritual is one of the things that must be done during Hajj, and it is also one of the five most important rituals that must be done during Hajj. During Rami, Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles or small stones at the three pillars called Jamarat that stand for Satan (the devil). They came from Mina, which is just east of Mecca, last night. Rami is a reenactment of the ritual that Hazrat Abraham AS did when he went on Hajj. At that time, he threw stones at three pillars or walls that stood for the temptation to disobey God and to take Hazrat Ismael AS as his own son.
As Hajj was first done by Hazrat Abraham AS, most of the rituals are a reenactment of the actions that Abraham AS, the prophet of Almighty, did. Hajj began on the eighth of Zilhajj and ends on the tenth of the same month, which is Eid ul- Adha. On the day of Eid, pilgrims sacrifice Halaal animals as a way to celebrate the happy day. Pilgrims hit the three pillars of Jamarat on the same day to finish the holy journey, called Hajj. It’s important to note that you don’t have to hit all three pillars with difficulty or unease. But pilgrims must use seven of the pebbles or stones they gathered the night before to stone one of the three pillars, especially the larger one. After the pilgrims have finished throwing rocks at the Jamarat, they have to cut or shave their hair. Then, on each of the next two days, the pilgrims are supposed to throw seven pebbles from east to west at each of the three pillars. If a pilgrim stays an extra day in Mina, he or she has to hit each wall seven more times. The stones that are used in the Rami are collected the day before they are thrown and kept on the plain of Muzadallifah in Mina.
The stoning of Jamarat is important both in terms of history and religion. Muslim historians talk about the importance and meaning of throwing stones many times and in many different places. One Muslim historian, Al-Azraqi, said the following about this practise of stoning the devil:
“When Abraham left Mina and was taken down to Al-Aqaba, Satan met him at the Defile Stone Heap. Jibrayil (Gabriel) said to him: Pelt him! So Abraham threw seven stones at him, which made him go away. Then he showed up at the middle pile of stones. Gabriel said to him: Pelt him! So, he hit him with seven stones, which made him go away. Then he saw him again at the small pile of stones. Gabriel said to him: Pelt him! So, for the third time, he hit him with seven stones like the ones used in a sling. so the devil left him alone.”
Using this event as a guide, you can explain the three pillars. The first and largest pillar shows how the devil tried to get Abraham AS to kill his own son Hazrat Ismael AS so that he could please God. The second pillar shows how Hazrat Abraham’s wife Hajra was tempted by the devil to stop him, and the third pillar shows how Hazrat Ismael was tempted by the devil to avoid being sacrificed. Each time, Satan was told to change his ways, and the throwing of stones at him, as ordered by the Almighty, shows that.
The stoning is a reenactment or symbolic representation of Abraham’s Hajj, when the angel Gabriel told him to throw stones at three pillars, as described above, to show how tempting it was to disobey Allah Almighty. The act of stoning basically confirms the rejection of one’s own self and self-esteem and the act of putting aside one’s low desires and motivations. This well-known ritual, called Rami, is connected to the time when Hazrat Ismael AS was killed. In fact, the whole message of Eid-ul-Adha is about making sacrifices and giving up one’s own wishes and desires to make other people happy. The “stoning of Jamarat” ritual shows how Abraham’s son Ismael was killed to please Allah Almighty. When Allah Almighty asked Hazrat Abraham AS to give his most valuable thing to Allah, Abraham asked his son about the dream he had. Ismael was a good son and a good student of God, just like he was supposed to be. He told his father to do what the one we all worship tells us to do. For Hazrat Abraham, as a father, the decision was not easy at all.
However, his love for God was stronger than his love for his own child, so he chose to give up his most valuable possession, his son, in order to please Allah Almighty. While Abraham AS was on his way to sacrifice his son Ismael AS, the devil tried three times to get Abraham to change his mind and not do what God had told him to do. Every time the devil showed up in front of Hazrat Abraham AS, Abraham AS got rid of him by throwing seven stones at him. Now, pilgrims do the same thing the prophet of God did to honour him and appreciate what he did for his Lord. So, the pilgrims follow this ritual of Rami to show that they don’t like Satan.
The story of the pillars being stoned is meant to make us feel bad about ourselves and care about others. During the pilgrimage, Muslims throw pebbles at the pillars that look like the devil to show that they are God’s creation and that they will only do what their Lord tells them to do. Also, that they didn’t believe in the devil or his ideas.
