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MOUNT ARAFAT: Huge crowds of Muslim pilgrims started praying on Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat early Friday, the high point of the biggest Hajj pilgrimage since the pandemic forced drastic cuts in numbers for two years in a row.
The worshippers, capped at one million including 850,000 from abroad chosen by lottery, spent the night at camps in the valley of Mina, seven kilometres (four miles) from Makkah’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site.
In the early hours of Friday, they converged on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his final sermon, for the most important of the Hajj rituals.
They will stay all day at the site, praying and reciting the Holy Quran.
After sunset they will head to Muzdalifah, half-way between Arafat and Mina, where they will sleep under the stars before performing the symbolic “stoning of the devil” ceremony on Saturday.
This year’s Hajj is taking place against the backdrop of a resurgence of Covid-19 in the region, with some Gulf countries tightening restrictions to keep outbreaks in check.
All participants were required to submit proof of full vaccination and negative PCR tests. Upon reaching Mina on Thursday, they were handed small bags containing masks and sanitiser.
The Hajj, usually one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings, is among the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives.
Muslim pilgrims flock to Makkah for first post-pandemic Hajj
In 2019, some 2.5 million Muslims from around the world took part, as in previous years.
But the coronavirus outbreak has since forced Saudi authorities to dramatically downsize the Hajj. Just 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the kingdom participated in 2021, up from a few thousand in 2020.
