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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Masked pilgrims arrived Thursday on Mount Arafat, a desert hill near Islam’s holiest place, to pray and repent on the maximum day of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
The global coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed each and every facet of this year’s pilgrimage, which last year attracted 2.5 million Muslims from around the world to Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon about 1,400 years ago.
Only a very limited number of pilgrims have been allowed to participate in hajj in the midst of restrictions aimed at restricting the possible spread of coronavirus. The Saudi government has not published a definitive figure on the number of Hajj pilgrims this year, but said between 1,000 and 10,000 will participate. All of this year’s pilgrims are Saudi citizens or citizens.
In recent years, a sea of pilgrims dressed in white sponge clothing began to gather on Mount Arafat, or Hill of Mercy as it is called, before and remained there until dusk, spending the day in deep contemplation and worship. It is not unusual to see pilgrims with tears running down their faces, with their hands raised in worship on the slopes of the rocky hill where the Prophet Muhammad called for equality and unity among Muslims.
The organization of pilgrims performing hajj this year arrived at Mount Arafat before noon via a bus on Thursday. They, in small teams of 20, following strict social estrangement rules, were examined for COVID-19 disease and quarantined before The Hajj.
Kehinde Qasim Yusuf, an Australian biomedical engineer who teaches at a university in Medina, was one of the few determined to participate in hajj after applying online. He usually travels to Australia the summer to see his children, but due to travel restrictions, he stayed in the kingdom and made the decision to make the most of his time applying for hajj.
“Honestly, I just implemented and remained optimistic. I feel very fortunate that they decided because there is no guarantee,” Yusuf said when I arrived in the Arafat region.
Like other pilgrims who spoke with The Associated Press, Yusuf said that the pilgrimage had been “planned and organized” through the Saudi government, which covered all the expenses of travel, accommodation, food and physical care of pilgrims on the subject. Hajj.
Although he does not face large crowds and traffic along the hajj roads, Yusuf said this year’s hajj is not without his own challenges: being away and separate from those he enjoys.
“This year’s hajj is also accompanied by sacrifices, either in the intellectual aspect,” he said.
Unlike years past, pilgrims are not allowed to stand side by side with other Muslims around the world, all equivalent in Islam before God, seeking mercy, blessings, intelligent health, generosity and healing. Pilgrims wear wristbands provided through the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health that are connected to their phones and monitor their movements to ensure a physical distance.
Foreign media was not allowed to monitor the amcca hajj as standard in recent years. Instead, Saudi state television broadcast live parts of the hajj, adding the arrival on Thursday of pilgrims to the Namira mosque in Arafat, where a sermon will be delivered.
After spending the day praying on Mount Arafat, pilgrims will head to a so-called Muzdalifa, about nine kilometres west of Mount Arafat.
In Muzdalifa, pilgrims rest and collect pebbles that will be used for the symbolic stoning of Satan and to expel evil. This year, however, the pebbles were packaged and sterilized.
The definitive ritual takes place for 3 to 4 days in Mina, a domain about 20 kilometers east of Mecca. The last days of the hajj coincide with Eid al-Adha, or the sacrificial dinner, celebrated through Muslims from all over the world.