Title: Regarding the Religious Rituals in Mekkah Question: I would like to know all the religious rituals, and traditions that go on especially in Mecca. Also religious rituals and traditions during the Hajj . The extremes they go through? Discuss the traditions of the rituals and how they began in Mecca. And How Mecca adapted to the changes since it was already a place of pilgrimage? Zach Boatwright Answer: The only Islamic rituals specific to Mekkah are the Hajj and the Umrah - and their various individual components. Some details regarding Hajj and Umrah and their various components can be seen in two related articles posted on 'Understanding Islam' [1] . Both the referred religious traditions - Hajj and Umrah - were a part of the Abrahamic traditions, followed by the Arabs with religious vigor, even before the advent of the Prophet (pbuh). The Prophet (pbuh) himself performed Hajj , according to this tradition, even before his prophethood. In the case of these traditions, the Qur'anic directives are, generally, limited to the correction of a few deviations, which had crept in them over the years. In view of the foregoing, it should be easily comprehensible why the Arabs did not have too much of a difficulty in adapting to any changes made by the Qur'an. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad March 11, 2002 [1] Reference is to the articles titled: "Living Hajj " and "Lets Plan for Hajj this Year" , both written by Dr. Rizwan Haider.