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30 March 2024

Thousands of pilgrims stone Satan

Muslim pilgrims head to pray on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat near Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The annual Islamic pilgrimage draws 2.5 million visitors each year, making it the largest yearly gathering of people in the world. (AP)

Published
By AFP

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims massed in a valley near the Saudi holy city of Mina on Sunday for the stoning of Satan, the last and most dangerous rite of the annual Haj.

Hundreds of people have been trampled to death in stampedes which have blighted several previous pilgrimages to Islam's holiest sites when the faithful rush to hurl stones at huge pillars symbolising the devil.

To complete the ritual, a pilgrim must throw 21 pebbles at each of three 25-metre (82-foot) pillars.

Saudi authorities have installed a multi-level walkway through the site in a bid to avoid the trampling that caused the deaths of 364 people in 2006, 251 in 2004 and 1,426 in 1990.

So far this year, no major incidents have been reported among the more than 2.5 million pilgrims.

"Things are going well and according to plans," interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki told AFP.

A large security force monitored worshippers headed for the stoning after slaughtering sheep in a ritual for the Feast of the Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha) to recall Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on God's order. Most pilgrims did not sacrifice an animal themselves, but instead bought vouchers from the Saudi authorities which then forward meat in the form of aid to poor Muslims in other countries.

After the stoning ceremony, the pilgrims go to Mecca's Great Mosque for a "farewell visit" to the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure into which is set the Black Stone, Islam's most sacred relic.

The Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by all those who are able to make the journey.
 

Mount Arafat

More than two million Muslims began massing Saturday on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat and its surrounding plain, marking the peak day of the largest annual pilgrimage.

Pilgrims who had spent the night in Mina, some 10 kilometres (six miles) northwest of Arafat surged through the roads leading to the mountain after midnight.

"I am responding to your call, God," they chanted in unison.

Many went on buses, while others set off on foot from Mina, a tent-village that comes to life only during the five-day pilgrimage.

Others took the Mashair Railway, also known as the Mecca Metro, to go to Mount Arafat and its surrounding plains, where Prophet Mohammed (Peace be Upon Him) is believed to have delivered his final sermon.

The Chinese-built railway is operating for the first time this year at its full capacity of 72,000 people per hour to ease congestion and prevent stampedes in which hundreds have been killed in past years.

The dual-track light railway connects the three holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat -- areas that see massive influx of pilgrims during the Haj.

By sunrise Saturday, the Jabal al-Rahma, or the Mount of Mercy -- the highest point in Arafat, became mostly covered in white as pilgrims, dressed in white garments, climbed to the top to take up positions on the hills' slippery rocks and spend the day in prayers and reflection.

The gathering in the plain of Arafat symbolises the climax of the hajj which ends on Sunday with Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.

More than 1.83 million pilgrims have arrived in the kingdom from abroad, marking a 1.5% increase compared with last year's figures, said Mecca governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal.

Several hundred thousand Saudis and foreign residents in the kingdom were also granted permits to join them, he added.

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