Thousands of Muslims trek to Saudi Arabia for prime level of hajj
- More than 2 million people are expected to attend this year, with numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels
Muslims from around the world trekked to Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia today to mark the high point of the hajj pilgrimage at the spot where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his final speech some 1,453 years ago.
More than two million people are expected to converge on the mount this year, walking together through scorching heat to ask God for mercy, blessings, prosperity and good health.
The pilgrimage officially began on Friday when pilgrims moved from Mecca’s Grand Mosque to Mina, a desert plain just outside the city.
Many carried umbrellas with them as protection from the sun, with temperatures in Saudi Arabia soaring past 40C (104F) in the summer months.
‘For sure it is something great,’ Hussein Mohammed, an Egyptian pilgrim, said as he stood on the rocky slopes at dawn. ‘It is the best day for Muslims during the year, and the best feeling that anyone can experience. It is the best place for anyone hoping to be (here) on this day and at this moment.’
After Saturday’s worship in Mount Arafat, pilgrims will travel a few miles to a site known as Muzdalifa to collect pebbles that they will use in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil back in Mina. Many walk, while others use buses.
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
Muslim pilgrims offer noon prayers outside Nimrah Mosque in Arafat, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, June 15
Muslim pilgrims pray at dawn on Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 15
More than 1.5 million Muslims will pray on Mount Arafat in soaring temperatures on June 15 as part of a three day ritual
Muslim pilgrims pray at dawn on Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage earlier today
Millions observe the five-day Hajj pilgrimage each year, travelling to where the Prophet Muhammed is believed to have given his final speech
Ali Osman, a Spaniard pilgrim, was overwhelmed, as he stepped down the Mount of Mercy. He said he felt that he gained spiritual and physical strength at the sacred site.
‘The place, thank God, (gives) very good energy,’ he said. ‘I came here, thank God. It is my first time. I hope to come again in the future.’
The pilgrimage is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. All Muslims are required to make the five-day Hajj at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to make the demanding pilgrimage.
The rituals largely commemorate the Quran’s accounts of Prophet Ibrahim, his son Prophet Ismail and Ismail’s mother Hajar – or Abraham and Ismael as they are named in the Bible.
It’s believed that Prophet Muhammad delivered his final speech, known as the Farewell Sermon, at the sacred Mount Arafat 1,435 years ago. In the sermon, the prophet called for equality and unity among Muslims.
This year’s Hajj came against the backdrop of the raging war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, which pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional war between Israel and its allies on one side and Iran-backed militant groups on the other.
Palestinians in the coastal enclave of Gaza were not able to travel to Mecca for Hajj this year because of the closure of the Rafah crossing in May, when Israel extended its ground offensive to the strip’s southern city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.
Staving off potential protests or chants about the war during the Hajj, Saudi authorities said they won’t tolerate politicizing the pilgrimage.
Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, told reporters Friday evening that the Saudi government ‘will not allow any attempt to turn the sacred sites (in Mecca) into an arena for mob chanting.’
The time of year when the Hajj takes place varies, given that it is set for five days in the second week of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic lunar calendar.
Most of the Hajj rituals are held outdoors with little if any shade. The Health Ministry has cautioned that temperatures at the holy sites could reach 48 C (118 F) and urged pilgrims to use umbrellas and drink more water to stay hydrated.
Most of the pilgrims at Mount Arafat carried umbrellas, while others sat in the shadow of a few trees and buildings around the Mount of Mercy.
And, as at Mina and the Grand Mosque, cooling stations on the roads leading to the mount and in its surrounding areas sprayed pilgrims with water to help fight the heat, which had already climbed to 47 C (116.6 F) at Mount Arafat, according to Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology.
After Saturday’s worship, pilgrims will travel to Muzdalifa. Pilgrims then return to Mina for three days, coinciding with the festive Eid al-Adha holiday, when financially able Muslims around the world slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to poor people.
Afterward, they return to Mecca for a final circumambulation, known as Farewell Tawaf.
Once the Hajj is over, men are expected to shave their heads, and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal.
Most of the pilgrims then leave Mecca for the city of Medina, some 210 miles (340km) away, to pray in Prophet Muhammed’s tomb, the Sacred Chamber.
Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, surrounded by tents used by pilgrims during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 15
Muslim pilgrims gather at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat on Saturday
Pilgrims walk through a busy street in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage. The health ministry warned temperatures could push 48C and urged people to drink water
Muslim pilgrims gather at top of the rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, on Saturday
The ritual is one of the five pillars of Islam and Muslims are expected to take part at least once in their lifetime
The tomb is part of the prophet’s mosque, which is one of the three holiest sites in Islam, along with the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Hajj is a notorious choke-point for crowds. In 2015, several thousands of pilgrims were crushed to death in a crowd surge. Saudi authorities never offered a final death toll.
In recent years, Saudi authorities have made significant efforts to improve access and avoid deadly accidents.
Tens of thousands of security personnel were deployed across the city, especially around the holy sites, to control the crowds, and the government built a high-speed rail link to ferry people between holy sites in the city, which has been jammed with traffic during the Hajj season. Pilgrims enter through special electronic gates.
Saudi authorities have also expanded and renovated the Grand Mosque where cranes are seen around some of its seven minarets as construction was underway in the holy site.
