Posted: Tue, 27 Jun 2023, 07:31
Muslim pilgrims from Mecca surrounded the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, and then converged on a sprawling tent camp in the nearby desert, officially inaugurating the annual Haj pilgrimage on Monday, re-completing for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.
So far, more than 1. 8 million pilgrims from around the world have already amassed in and around Mecca for the Haj, and the number has been increasing as more pilgrims from inside Saudi Arabia register for them, a spokesman for the Saudi Haj Ministry said. . Ayedh al-Ghweinim. Authorities have said they expect to reach pre-Covid levels of more than 2 million this year.
Egyptian businessman Yehya Al-Ghanam said he had no words to describe his emotions upon arriving in Mina, one of the world’s largest tent camps outside Mecca, where pilgrims will stay for much of the Haj.
“Tears will flow from my eyes of joy and happiness,” he said. “I don’t sleep. I haven’t slept for 15 days, only an hour a day,” struck by the feelings surrounding his pilgrimage.
Pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims must perform the five-day Haj at least once in a lifetime if they can do so physically and financially.
For pilgrims, it is a deeply moving religious holiday that absolves sins, brings them closer to God and unites more than 1. 8 billion Muslims worldwide. Some spend years saving money and waiting for permission to make the trip.
The rituals of the Haj largely commemorate the Quran accounts of Ibrahim, his son Ismail and Ismail Hajar’s mother.
Pilgrims have been making the ritual excursion around the Kaaba since they arrived in Mecca in days. Like the last ones executed on Monday, the pilgrims headed on foot or by bus to Mina.
In Mina, infantrymen doused pilgrims with water to cool them in the warmth of the desert plain, where there is little respite from the scorching sun. The faithful settle into their tents, rest in rows of huts and pray together to prepare for the rituals to come.
On Tuesday, pilgrims will head to Mount Arafat, a desert hill where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his last sermon. They will then gather pebbles at a place known as Muzdalifa to use in the symbolic stoning of the pillars representing Satan in Mina. The last 3 days of the Haj coincide with the holiday of Eid al-Adha, when Muslims around the world slaughter cattle and distribute meat to the poor.
In 2019, more than 2. 4 million pilgrims participated in the Haj. In 2020, amid global coronavirus lockdowns, Saudi Arabia limited the pilgrimage to a few thousand local citizens and residents. Last year, just under 900,000 people attended, as Saudi Arabia allowed limited numbers of pilgrims from abroad.
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