English Listening Practice Muslims & Mecca
Did you know that over 2 million people gather in one city for just five days, every single year? Welcome to Adept English, the podcast where you learn real-world English through fascinating stories. Today, we're exploring the Hajj, one of the most significant events in the Islamic world.
Now I'm not Muslim myself, but I've always been struck by the sheer scale of this pilgrimage. It's not just a spiritual journey, it's an organisational marvel. And for you, as an English learner, this episode is packed with key vocabulary words like pilgrimage, feat, and sacred that'll help you sound more natural in conversations.
“Respect for the sacred is the first requirement for wisdom.”
▪️ Jordan Peterson
By the way, if you've been following our current events series, you'll know we focus on immersive learning. No dry textbooks here, just real English, spoken at a pace you can follow (even if you're at a ESL B1 level or higher).
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More About This Lesson
Have you ever imagined what it's like to organize an event for two million people—all at once? [I mean, just planning a dinner party stresses me out!] Well, this week's podcast dives into the Hajj, one of the world's most incredible gatherings, where faith, logistics, and language collide. Why should you care? Because hidden in this story are golden nuggets of English vocabulary, cultural insights, and a masterclass in real-world listening practice. Oh, and did I mention the 210 gates? Yeah, this mosque has more entrances than a shopping mall!
“The Hajj is a journey that purifies the soul and unites millions in faith.”
▪️ Malala Yousafzai
Listening to this English lesson will help:
- You learn vocabulary like "pilgrimage" and "feat" in real-world contexts.
- You hear clear pronunciation of culturally significant terms (e.g., "Hajj," "Kaaba").
- You understand how to describe complex events with organized transitions.
- You practice listening to nuanced explanations of global traditions.
- You pick up formal phrases like "mandatory pillars" and "spiritual unity."
- You gain confidence in discussing religious and cultural topics in English.
- You learn to spell and pronounce Arabic-derived words correctly.
- You absorb descriptive language for large-scale events ("converge," "meticulous").
Now, you might be wondering—why is this relevant for your English learning? First, the Hajj is packed with specialized vocabulary (like 'pilgrimage', 'minaret', or 'feat of organization') that'll boost your ability to discuss global events. Second, hearing about diverse cultures sharpens your listening comprehension—especially when topics stretch beyond textbooks. And finally, understanding rituals like the Hajj helps you engage in deeper conversations with people from different backgrounds. So hit replay, grab those new words, and let's turn this into a language win!
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Hajj and why is it important in Islam?
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia and is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims who are physically and financially able to undertake it at least once in their lifetime. The Hajj represents a spiritual journey of unity, reflection, and devotion to Allah, following rituals that date back to the time of Prophet Muhammad.How many people participate in the Hajj each year, and how is it organized?
Around two million Muslims from across the world participate in the Hajj each year. The event requires meticulous planning by Saudi authorities, including crowd management, healthcare services, transportation, and multilingual support. Thousands of volunteers, medical staff, and security personnel ensure the pilgrimage runs smoothly, with provisions like shade zones, water stations, and mobile clinics to assist pilgrims in extreme heat.What are some key rituals performed during the Hajj?
Pilgrims perform several rituals, including circling the Kaaba at Masjid al-Haram, standing in prayer on Mount Arafat (the most sacred day of Hajj), collecting pebbles at Muzdalifah for the symbolic "stoning of the devil," and dressing in simple white garments (Ihram) to signify equality before Allah. These rituals follow traditions established in Islamic teachings.Why is Makkah spelled differently in English, and what is the significance?
The spelling "Makkah" (M-A-K-K-A-H) is now preferred over "Mecca" (M-E-C-C-A) as a mark of respect for Islam and to align with Arabic pronunciation. The change reflects a broader effort to use native spellings for place names rather than anglicized versions. Additionally, "Mecca" in English can refer to any major attraction, while "Makkah" specifically denotes the holy city.How can learning about the Hajj improve my British English fluency?
Studying topics like the Hajj exposes you to specialized vocabulary (e.g., pilgrimage, minaret, sermon) and cultural context, enhancing both language skills and global awareness. Listening to podcasts like Adept English helps you absorb pronunciation, intonation, and natural phrasing while engaging with meaningful content. Repeating the lesson reinforces retention and fluency.
Most Unusual Words:
- Hajj: The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy journey for Muslims.
- Pilgrimage: A religious journey to a sacred place, important in many faiths.
- Mandatory: Required by rule; something you must do.
- Kaaba: The sacred stone building at the center of Islam's holiest mosque.
- Minaret: A tall tower on a mosque from which calls to prayer are made.
- Feat: A difficult or impressive achievement.
- Unity: The state of being together or in harmony.
- Sermon: A religious talk or lesson, often given by a leader.
- Converge: To come together from different directions.
- Culminates: Reaches the highest or final point of an event.
Most Frequently Used Words:
| Word | Count |
|---|---|
| English | 12 |
| People | 9 |
| Masjid | 8 |
| Which | 7 |
| Different | 7 |
| Their | 7 |
| Spiritual | 6 |
| Million | 6 |
| Means | 6 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
Transcript: Hajj-Why 2 Million People Go-English Listening
Reflections on the Hajj: Learning English Through Current Events
Hi there and welcome to this podcast. This week I'm continuing my theme of current events to help you learn up-to-date English through listening. So in this week's podcast some reflections on the amazing event that is the Hajj which happened recently. The Hajj is hugely important to Muslims, followers of Islam. I'll talk about this and I'll talk a bit about the brilliance in organisation that is necessary to host this annual event. As ever this podcast will give you some really good useful vocabulary. Listen to it several times to help it stick in your mind.
Hello, I'm Hilary, and you're listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.
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Understanding the Hajj: A Spiritual Pilgrimage
Anyway this week's topic - the Hajj. As I've shared with you before, I don't have or belong to a particular religion but I was brought up in the Christian church so I respect other religions. And one remarkable thing that happened recently in June and which happens every year, the Hajj, H-A-J-J. This is an event for people of the Muslim faith which is a very important spiritual one.
The journey and the experience is a pilgrimage. That's P-I-L-G-R-I-M-A-G-E, 'pilgrimage'. And this word is used in a number of religions. And a 'pilgrim' is a person on a 'pilgrimage' and a 'pilgrimage' is a journey to a holy place or holy site. And the act of Hajj is one of the five mandatory pillars of Islam. Meaning that if you follow Islam this is something that you have to do at least once in your life, if you are able.
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The Saudi technology behind the Hajj. Learn fascinating facts about the Hajj's organization and spiritual significance.
Spelling and Pronunciation of Islamic Terms in English
So the act of Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to the House of Allah in Maccah, Saudi Arabia. You'll often see this spelt M-E-C-C-A and pronounced 'Mecca' in English and the naming is somewhat significant. In the 1980s King Fahd bin Abdulaziz decreed that the spelling M-A-K-K-A-H must be used on all official documents as a sign of respect to Islam. And it differentiates as in English we use the word 'mecca' M-E-C-C-A to denote all kinds of things which are a centre of attraction where people gather. So adopting the spelling M-A-K-K-A-H is part of a bigger move for English language speakers of abandoning the anglicised spellings, the English way of spelling things.
We're leaving that behind out of respect. And moving towards spelling and pronouncing the names of places as people in that country would pronounce them. And in fact many of the Arabic words, for important aspects of the Islamic faith have different spellings in English. For the Qur'an or holy book you will see this spelt K-O-R-A-N as well as Q-U-R-A-N. There are also many ways to spell the name of the Prophet Muhammad. And you see this reflected in people's names too. Pretty much everyone in the UK knows someone called Muhammad I think.
The Annual Hajj Pilgrimage
Anyway the Hajj - every year around two million Muslims visit the sacred Kaaba to perform Hajj or pilgrimage.So the Hajj is a five-day event which takes place in Dhul, the last month of the Islamic calendar. During this time it is strictly forbidden to engage in anything sinful. That's S-I-N-F-U-L. And this means no arguments, no violence, no sexual activity and forbids even the cutting of hair or fingernails. Muslims must adopt a sense of calm throughout their pilgrimage.
The Kaaba and Masjid al-Haram
The Kaaba which is K-A-A-B-A or K-A' B-A in English. This is the stone building at the centre of Islam's holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Maccah. This is the Grand Mosque, that's M-O-S-Q-U-E. And the Kaaba is the building that you see in photographs of the Hajj pilgrimage, the building that the pilgrims circle around. This word 'Masjid', M-A-S-J-I-D, means 'mosque'. And the building, the Masjid al-Haram, is fairly amazing too. There has been a mosque on this holy site since around the year 644 and much of the present building dates back to 1571. That's in our western way of counting years of course. Masjid al-Haram is able to host one million visitors, one million worshippers at a time. And it covers a huge area, 357,000 metres square.
That's huge. But imagine that, a million worshippers all at one time. And for many of us we do have to imagine it, as non-Muslim visitors cannot enter Maccah and certainly cannot enter Masjid al-Haram. But this mosque is open 24 hours a day to followers of Islam who have completed the pilgrimage, who've completed the Hajj. And Muslims may enter and worship at any point during their pilgrimage. Masjid al-Haram has nine minarets. A 'minaret', M-I-N-A-R-E-T, is the holy tower from which the call to prayer comes five times a day. Each of these nine minarets at the Masjid al-Haram is 89 metres above the ground. That's 292 feet.
Logistical Feats of the Hajj
There are also 210 gates of Masjid al-Haram, allowing the entrance of pilgrims from all sides. Imagine that, 210 ways in! And aside from being an important spiritual journey for Muslims, the Hajj is something that is a remarkable feat of organisation. A 'feat', F-E-A-T, in English means an achievement, something that's difficult to do. So two million people converge on Maccah for the five days of the Hajj. And this means quite some level of organisation so that the pilgrimage can be achieved in an atmosphere of calm, safety and spiritual unity. U-N-I-T-Y. This means meticulous planning with regard to transportation, moving people around, safe management of crowds, services of all kinds and help and assistance in different languages.
This means thousands of dedicated volunteers, healthcare professionals and security staff working hard over the five days. The Saudi Arabian Ministry for Health set up more than 250 mobile clinics and medical units to ensure people's safety. And a remarkable 37,000 medical procedures were carried out during the five days of the Hajj without any major health incidents.
The Day of Arafat: Rituals and Arrangements
So what they set up really worked. This is really an achievement with such a vast gathering of people. And this operation was not just at the Masjid al-Haram. Pilgrims make their way to other holy sites during their visit, such as Mount Arafat. This is the place where the prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon, S-E-R-M-O-N, or holy teaching. So the Day of Arafat, the most sacred in the Islamic calendar, was observed in the desert in temperatures of 41 degrees centigrade.
That's hot. Here pilgrims dressed in simple white gowns gathered to stand in prayer and reflection. And again, to facilitate this spiritual coming together, the Saudi Arabian authorities attended to the practicalities - shade zones, lots of water available, free umbrellas, and lots of health care professionals on hand, especially to help anyone overcome with the heat.
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Spiritual Guidance and Continuing the Pilgrimage
Spiritual guidance was also on offer from booths staffed by people able to speak many, many languages. And as the Day of Arafat ended, pilgrims made their way to the next stage of the journey, to Muzdalifah, to collect pebbles for the symbolic 'stoning of the devil'.
The Significance of the Hajj
For many Muslims, this pilgrimage will stay long in their minds and reinforce their faith. So the Hajj is remarkable, the biggest event in the Muslim world in terms of the concentration of people. And Muslims are of course spread out all across the world, from China to different parts of Asia, the entire West, including the Americas and Europe, of course, as well as Africa and the Middle East.
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And this pilgrimage culminates in more than a million people meeting in a very compact space, people coming from all different parts of the world. The complexity isn't just in the number of people, but also in the many different nationalities, people who come from different political systems, as well as the different languages, and making sure they're all able to move in one direction, following the systematic rituals of the Hajj, as it's been done since ancient times and focus on spiritual matters, it's a remarkable feat of organisation.
Goodbye
Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it. And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com
Anyway, if you are a Muslim, let me know how this podcast was, and importantly, if I've got anything wrong, or misrepresented anything. And if like me, you are non-Muslim, I hope this podcast has helped you learn some interesting facts about Islam, as well as giving you some important English vocabulary to work on. Let us know - we love to hear from you, as ever.
Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.
Links
- The Stages of Hajj
- How Hajj is Organized
- Hajj 2025
- Mecca or Makkah?
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