Hajji

Hajji (Pashto: حاجی‎, Persian: حاجی‎, Arabic: الحجّي‎ al-ḥajjī or الحاج al-ḥājj, Bosnian: Hadžija, Kurdish: Hecî, Turkish: Hacı, Hausa: Alhaji, pilgrim; sometimes spelled Hadji or Haji) or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name (for instance, Saif Gani becomes Hajji Saif Gani). It is derived from the Arabic al-Ḥājj, which is the active participle of the verb ḥajja 'to make the pilgrimage to Mecca'. The alternative form ḥajjī is derived from the name of the Hajj with the adjectival suffix -ī, and this was the form adopted by non-Arabic languages. In some areas, the title has been handed down the generations, and has become a family name. Such usage can be seen, for example, in the Bosniak surname Hadžiosmanović, which means 'son of Hajji Osman'.