What is the Hajj pilgrimage and what is Eid al-Adha? Why are they significant for Muslims?

Once a year, large numbers of Muslim pilgrims converging on Saudi Arabia unite in religious rituals and acts of worship as they perform the Hajj, one of the pillars of Islam. They fulfill a religious obligation, immersing themselves in what can be a spiritual experience of a lifetime for them and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins.

Here’s a look at the pilgrimage and its significance to Muslims.

The Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and involves a series of religious rituals. It’s required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to make it. Some Muslims make the journey more than once.

It is also one of the Five Pillars of Islam, in addition to the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

The Hajj occurs once a year during the lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar year. This year, the Hajj will start on June 4.

When the Hajj falls during the summer months, the intense heat can be especially challenging. Amid extreme high temperatures last year, more than 1,300 people died during the Hajj, Saudi authorities announced then. The country’s health minister said at the time that the vast majority of the fatalities were unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances under the sun.

For pilgrims, performing the Hajj fulfills a religious obligation and is also a deeply spiritual experience. It’s seen as a chance to seek God’s forgiveness for past sins, to grow closer to God and to walk in the footsteps of prophets.

Communally, the Hajj unites Muslims of diverse races, ethnicities, languages and economic classes from around the world in performing religious rituals and acts of worshipping God at the same time and place. This leaves many feeling a sense of unity, connection, humility and equality. Pilgrims also show up with their own personal appeals, wishes and experiences.

Many pilgrims bring with them prayer requests from family and friends that they would like to be said on their behalf.

Some spend years hoping and praying to one day perform the Hajj or saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the trip.

Ahead of the journey, preparations may include packing various essentials for the physically demanding trip, seeking tips from those who’ve performed the pilgrimage before, attending lectures or consulting other educational material on how to properly perform a series of Hajj rituals as well as spiritually readying oneself.

Pilgrims make the intention to perform the Hajj and they enter a state of “ihram.” Being in ihram includes abiding by certain rules and prohibitions. For instance, men are not to wear regular sewn or stitched clothes that encircle the body, such as shirts, during ihram. Instead, there are simple ihram cloth garments for men; scholars say the purpose is to discard luxuries and vanity, shed worldly status symbols and immerse the pilgrim in humility and devotion to God.

A spiritual highlight of the Hajj for many is standing on the plain of Arafat, where pilgrims praise God, plead for forgiveness and make supplications. Many raise their hands in worship with tears streaming down their faces.

Other rituals include performing “tawaf,” circumambulating, or circling the Kaaba in Mecca counterclockwise seven times. The Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure, is the focal point toward which Muslims face during their daily prayers from anywhere in the world.

Among other rituals, pilgrims also retrace the path of Hagar, or Hajar, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim, Abraham to Jews and Christians, who Muslims believe ran between two hills seven times searching for water for her son.

Eid al-Adha, or the “Feast of Sacrifice,” is the Islamic holiday that begins on the 10th day of the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, during the Hajj.

A joyous occasion celebrated by Muslims around the world, Eid al-Adha marks Ibrahim’s test of faith and his willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of submission to God. During the festive holiday, Muslims slaughter sheep or cattle and distribute some meat to poor people.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

FILE - Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun as they arrive to cast stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil during the annual hajj, in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

FILE - Muslim pilgrims pray after casting stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil during the annual hajj, as it rains in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

FILE - A pilgrim offer prayers after she cast stones at a pillar in the symbolic stoning of the devil, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

FILE - Muslim pilgrims use umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun as they gather outside Nimrah Mosque to offer the noon prayers in Arafat, on the second day of the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

FILE - FILE - Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File, File)

FILE - Muslim pilgrims gather at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15, 2024.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.

The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.

The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”

Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”

Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”

The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.

Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.

Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.

The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.

“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”

For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.

And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”

Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.

In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.

At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.

The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery walk past the portrait of President Donald Trump, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Visitors stop to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)