Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'. Islamically however it refers to the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkah with the intention of performing certain religious rites in accordance with the method prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad (saws).
Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allaah in the time of the Prophet lbraaheem [Abraham] (AS) and he was the one who was entrusted by Allaah to build the Ka'ba - the House of Allaah - along with his son Ismaa'eel [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allaah described the Ka'ba and its building as follows:
وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ
"And remember when We showed Ibraaheem the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]: Associate not anything [in worshipi with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in prayer etc.]."[Al-Hajj 22]
After building the Ka'ba, Ibraaheem (AS) would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every year, and after his death, this practice was continued by his son. However, gradually with the passage of time, both the form and the goal of the Hajj rites were changed. As idolatry spread throughout Arabia, the Ka'ba lost its purity and idols were placed inside it. Its walls became covered with poems and paintings, including one of Jesus and his mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols came to be placed around the Ka'ba.
Hajj and its rites were first ordained by Allaah in the time of the Prophet lbraaheem [Abraham] (AS) and he was the one who was entrusted by Allaah to build the Ka'ba - the House of Allaah - along with his son Ismaa'eel [Ishmael] at Makkah. Allaah described the Ka'ba and its building as follows:
وَإِذْ بَوَّأْنَا لِإِبْرَاهِيمَ مَكَانَ الْبَيْتِ أَن لَّا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا وَطَهِّرْ بَيْتِيَ لِلطَّائِفِينَ وَالْقَائِمِينَ وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ
"And remember when We showed Ibraaheem the site of the [Sacred] House [saying]: Associate not anything [in worshipi with Me and purify My House for those who circumambulate it [i.e. perform tawaaf] and those who stand up for prayer and those who bow down and make prostration [in prayer etc.]."[Al-Hajj 22]
After building the Ka'ba, Ibraaheem (AS) would come to Makkah to perform Hajj every year, and after his death, this practice was continued by his son. However, gradually with the passage of time, both the form and the goal of the Hajj rites were changed. As idolatry spread throughout Arabia, the Ka'ba lost its purity and idols were placed inside it. Its walls became covered with poems and paintings, including one of Jesus and his mother Maryam and eventually over 360 idols came to be placed around the Ka'ba.