(Mount Arafat) A tide of worshipers descended on Mount Arafat in western Saudi Arabia on Saturday, where around 1.8 million Muslims are performing the great pilgrimage in extreme heat.
Pilgrims spent the day reciting the Quran and praying on this 70-metre-high hill near Mecca, where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his last sermon.
“This is the most important day,” said Mohamed Asser, a 46-year-old Egyptian pilgrim, saying he had a list of people who had asked him to pray for them.
“I also prayed for the Palestinians. May God help them,” he added.
According to Saudi authorities, the hajj brought together around 1.8 million Muslims, including 1.6 million from abroad. This number is similar to that of 2023, and lower than the 2.5 million recorded before COVID-19, in 2019.
“Brothers of Palestine”
The pilgrimage is taking place this year in the shadow of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hajj Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah warned that no political slogans would be tolerated, but that did not stop a pilgrim from chanting his support for the Palestinians, who have been bombarded for more than eight months in the besieged territory.
PHOTO RAFIQ MAQBOOL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
With hats banned for men during rituals, many carried parasols to counter the heat.
“Pray for our brothers in Palestine, Gaza […] May God give victory to the Muslims,” he said.
In a message to pilgrims on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “the unwavering resistance of Palestine and the patient and oppressed people of Gaza […] must be supported in every way possible.
Some 2,000 Palestinians, half of whom are family members of victims in Gaza, were invited this year by King Salman for the pilgrimage, which takes place over several days in Mecca and its surroundings.
After spending the night in tents in Mina, the pilgrims in Arafat faced the scorching summer sun in the Gulf kingdom, one of the hottest regions in the world, and temperatures that reached 46 degrees. Celsius, according to the Saudi Meteorological Center.
“A little scary”
As hats were prohibited for men during the rituals, many carried parasols, while others tried to cool off in the rare shaded areas of the site or under giant misters.
To prevent heatstroke, especially among the elderly, the Saudi authorities have called on pilgrims to protect themselves from the sun and drink regularly.
Last year, more than 10,000 cases of heat-related illnesses were recorded during the hajj, 10% of them serious, according to a Saudi official.
Arriving early in the morning on Mount Arafat, Ahmad Karim Abdelsalam, a 33-year-old Indian, found the idea of spending the whole day there “a little scary”.
“But God willing, everything will go well,” he added.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. All Muslims are expected to perform it at least once in their life if they have the means. Visas for Mecca are granted on the basis of quotas per country.
After waiting four years to realize her dream, Libyan Nouria Abdou had difficulty holding back her tears of emotion: “It’s so difficult to get here.”
Lying on the ground a little far away, Abdelrahman Siyam, a 55-year-old Iraqi, took a well-deserved rest after walking a lot, despite his prosthetic leg.
At sunset, the faithful will go to Muzdalifah, still near Mecca, where they will sleep under the stars and collect stones which will allow them to carry out the symbolic “stoning of the devil” on Sunday.
They will also celebrate Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) on Sunday, observed by Muslims around the world.
In addition to the 1.8 million pilgrims for the hajj, Saudi Arabia welcomed 13.5 million faithful for the umrah in 2023, the small pilgrimage that can be done all year round, and aims to reach 30 million by 2030.