In which Islamic month is the annual hajj pilgrimage performed?

The annual hajj pilgrimage is performed during Dhu al-Hijjah, the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar.

The principal hajj rites take place on specific days of Dhu al-Hijjah, especially from the eighth through the thirteenth. Arafat, the central day of the pilgrimage, falls on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah. The Islamic calendar is lunar, so Dhu al-Hijjah moves through the Gregorian calendar over a cycle of roughly 33 years.

Dhu al-Hijjah is also associated with Eid al-Adha, which begins on 10 Dhu al-Hijjah. The month is therefore important both for the fifth pillar, hajj, and for one of Islam’s major festivals.

Ramadan is the month of obligatory fasting, while Muharram is the first month of the Islamic year. Shawwal follows Ramadan and begins with Eid al-Fitr, so none of those months is the regular month of hajj.