Hajj Season ( Jun - Jul 2023 )
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LittleBx
Requesting a stamp for the Hajj pilgrimage performed by Muslims in the 12th month of the lunar calendar. This is a major pillar of our faith and a very special time celebrated by all Muslims across the globe.
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Yann2
LittleBx, I thought we could add some basic information here, as many visitors might not know much about Hajj, how significant it is, etc. So, here it goes.
A reference to the significance of the Hajj Pilgrimage:
"The Hajj (/hɑːdʒ/; Arabic: حَجّ Ḥajj) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime
by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home.In Islamic terminology, Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the "House of God", in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah (oath to God), Salat (prayer), Zakat (almsgiving) and Sawm (fasting of Ramadan). The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah).The word Hajj means "
to attend a journey
", which connotes both the outward act of a journey and the inward act of intentions."source is Wikipedia
Rationale for my support
I feel these are deeply felt beliefs, worthy of respect even from followers of other religious traditions, or non-gnostic people as well.
I can relate the Hajj to the Catholic pilgrimage traditions dating to the early Middle Ages - to the Holy Land, Jerusalem; to Rome as see of the Catholic church; or the popular Camino de Santiago routes that have been in use for over 800 years and counting.
I have done a piece of the Camino, have read guidebooks that included spiritual considerations and daily thoughts for the journey.
It is a unique experience, and I hope to return someday and do more walking in the Camino routes in Spain and Portugal.
For anyone interested in these, I would suggest the film 'The Way' which portrays brilliantly the experience on the paths of northern Spain, in the Camino Francés route. You can see an
HD trailer here
Thank you for reading
...and please consider supporting this request for a
Hajj Commemorative free stamp
.Yann2
Nice suggestion and lovely images, LittleBx. The first one specially, it looks production ready for a Slowly stamp issue.
I have been doing research and proposals for new location stamps for many African countries which did not have any Location stamps yet, and enjoyed learning about them.
The fact that people in West African territories like today's Mauritania and Niger would trek huge distances to perform the Hajj made me think on how difficult that would have been in their time - Middle ages in calendar time, a long travel and risk all the way - and back.
Thank you! Success! 🙂👍🌟✨
Yann2
LittleBx, I made a sample mock up stamp with one of your images, the one I mentioned I feel is Slowly stamp ready.
Hope you like it ? 🙂👍
edit : added a cropped and cleaned up version, no country name.
LittleBx
Yann2: Thank you Yann2, indeed, hajj was considered the journey of a lifetime for that reason, and the pilgrims coming from across the region faced harsh weather, illness, hunger, (no gps), and bandits, amongst other things... Unfortunately some weren't able to survive the long and arduous trip, and thankfully it is much easier for us these days, although the overwhelming crowds and high costs are some of the more modern problems people deal with.
I really like the first image too, hopefully the slowly team agrees and decides to pick up the cause!
Yann2
LittleBx: You are welcome, my pleasure.
I used the Canada Post's PicturePostage.ca site to create this and other quick sample stamps. I like it a lot so we can have a good idea of what an image could look like in a stamp.
I worked a bit more, cleaned up and edited until I got the best version - which I added to the post above.
We had mentioned that it would be ideal if Slowly team could create a similar tool for us users - allowing mockups of stamps to be included in proposals easily.
I have a blog post that explains how the CP site works, and for now I think it's quite a resource. Hope this idea takes on. Do you have the
source page for that first image?
If it was not restricted, or licensed for public use, they could consider it directly as I think it's a brilliant representation of the pilgrimage.
LittleBx
Yann2: That's awesome! Thanks a bunch for taking such an interest in my humble stamp request. And also for recommending the Canada post website. I think it's a great idea to be able to submit a mock up with our stamp suggestions. Is there a way to upvote your blog post or make a petition for slowly to include this feature?
Here's a link for the image used (though i think it's only licensed for personal use)
Yann2
LittleBx: You are very welcome.
The Blog doesn't support comments, it's a limitation on the platform I use, Write.Freely. But your comment back to me here, or on the subreddit we use, is great - thank you.
Indeed it would be great if Slowly provided us a tool, or if someone independently developed one. I am thinking of writing a post on Reddit for that - and then I can send my Slowly contact a link and ask for consideration.
Thank you for providing the image source - I went digging and found many. many places have it. But, it seems to be a
freeware file for personal use
, and Slowly might license it
for use if they wanted.