2023-06-28 09:18:34
On Wednesday morning, the pilgrims began throwing the Jamarat of the Great Aqaba in Mina near the city of Makkah Al-Mukarramah, on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, at the end of the most important stations of the Hajj rituals this year, which witnessed the participation of 1.8 million people.
From the early hours of the morning, groups of worshipers made their way through the Mina Valley to throw seven pebbles at a figurine that embodies the temptation of Satan.
These rituals take place in a huge multi-storey building constructed by the Saudi authorities to reduce the possibility of stampede incidents.
After completion, the pilgrim dissolves his ihram by shaving or cutting his head, and then puts on his normal clothes.
Hajj pilgrims performing the Eid al-Adha prayer
The pilgrimage season is being held this year in very hot weather, reaching 48 degrees Celsius on Tuesday in Arafat. While the Meteorological Authority expected it to reach 47 degrees Celsius in Mina on Wednesday, where pilgrims will come.
And around dawn in Mecca, the Grand Mosque was crowded with thousands of pilgrims who came to perform the circumambulation of Ifaadah. And there was no foothold in the area of pursuit between Al-Safa and Al-Marwa.
An Arab pilgrim, 48, who preferred not to be named, said, “We decided to perform the circumambulation tonight to avoid the heat and crowds tomorrow.”
Tunisian Farah, 26, said while pouring water over her friend’s head, “I will not think regarding Hajj once more until winter comes.”
Pilgrims spend the night in Muzdalifah before heading to Mina to throw the Jamarat of the Great Aqaba
And she continued from under her red umbrella, “I achieved the dream of my life, but my body is melting.”
And on Tuesday evening, along the road between Mina and Muzdalifah, volunteers stopped spraying water on the faces of the pilgrims, who appeared to be very tired from the high heat.
Over the decades, many accidents have occurred, killing hundreds, due to stampedes during stoning or in confined spaces in general.
However, no major accidents have been recorded since 2015, when a stampede during the stoning rituals in Mina caused the death of regarding 2,300 pilgrims, in the worst disaster ever in the Hajj season.
The pilgrims go later to Makkah Al-Mukarramah to perform the Ifaadah circumambulation, which is one of the pillars of the Hajj, and then return to Mina, where they spend the night during the days of Tashreeq, during which they throw the three Jamarat. Pilgrims can leave following Jamrat al-Aqaba al-Kubra if they have an excuse.
Hajjah next to the Holy Kaaba on June 28, 2023
After the stoning, the pilgrims return to the Grand Mosque in Mecca to perform the “farewell circumambulation” around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque.
On Tuesday, the Saudi authorities announced the participation of more than 1.8 million pilgrims, 1.66 million of whom are from outside the Kingdom.
Hajj is usually one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world, and it is among the Five Pillars of Islam and every Muslim who is able to perform it must do it at least once.
“too hot”
In 2019, 2.5 million Muslims from all over the world performed Hajj, but this number decreased to a few thousand in 2020, to 60,000 in 2021 and 926,000 in 2022.
After three years of pilgrimage seasons in limited numbers, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flooded the streets of Mecca, restaurants and souvenir shops crowded with customers, while finding a vacant room in the holy capital was a distant dream.
Hajj pilgrims stoning Jamarat al-Aqaba
And on Wednesday, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said in a tweet on Twitter that Hajj inspires “the meanings of solidarity, brotherhood and unity,” wishing God to “bring good and prosperity to our country, Muslims and the world.”
Al-Ekhbariya TV reported that the Saudi monarch sponsored the expenses of the sacrifice for “4,951 pilgrims from 92 countries from different continents of the world.”
The sacrifice, which is slaughtered by the pilgrims, costs at least 720 riyals ($200), an amount that many simple pilgrims cannot afford.
And Tuesday, the pilgrims spent their day praying and praying on Mount Arafat, at the climax of the Hajj rituals, which is known as the “greatest pillar.”
Pilgrims performing the Eid al-Fajr prayer on June 28, 2023
Groups of worshipers carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun and recited verses from the Koran at the level of Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon. After sunset, they headed to Muzdalifah, where they ate in the open air before the “stoning of the devil” began.
The pilgrims perform the rituals under the scorching sun and in stifling atmosphere, which often causes sunstrokes and cases of fatigue, in addition to stopping the heart muscle.
Some of the rituals of Hajj bear hardship, as men cannot wear hats from the moment of entering ihram and the intention of Hajj.
Kamel Sultan, 50, from Dagestan, acknowledged the difficulty of the weather, especially the “extreme heat.”
However, he said, “the spiritual atmosphere overshadows the difficult weather conditions.”
This week, many in the Grand Mosque were seen sheltering themselves with umbrellas, prayer mats and cardboard, while women covered their heads with headscarves.
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