Muslims at Hajj gather on Mount Arafat to atone for sins

Two million Muslims from across the globe are in Saudi Arabia for annual Hajj pilgrimage

ARAFAT: Amid the intense summer heat and rising regional tensions, two million Muslims gathered at Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat on Saturday for a vigil to atone for their sins and seek forgiveness as part of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Pilgrims clad in white robes signifying a state of purity spent the night in a sprawling encampment around the hill where Islam holds that God tested Prophet Ibrahim's (AS) faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son, Prophet Ismail (AS).

Muslim pilgrims pray at Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma (Mount of Mercy) PHOTO: AFP

It is also where Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gave his last sermon 1,400 years ago, calling for equality and unity among Muslims.

The covering cloth of the Kaaba, known as Kiswah, which is changed on 9th Zilhaj every year on the day of Arafat, was changed on Friday (August 10).

Saudi labourers changing the cloth of the Kabaa. PHOTO: AFP

PHOTO: AFP

Other worshippers who had been praying in the nearby Mina area ascended in buses or on foot from before dawn. Some carried food, carpets for camping and fans to keep cool as temperatures rose toward 40 degrees Celsius.

Pilgrims walking to Mount Arafat. PHOTO: AFP

Delivering the Hajj sermon from Masjid-e-Nimra at Maidan-e-Arafat on Saturday, Imam Sheikh Mohammad bin Hassan Al Shaikh stated that Allah showers His countless blessings on those who are “gentle, kind and compassionate”.

“Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has described the entire Muslim Ummah as a human body, signifying that pain in one organ affects the entire body.”

He said that Muslims should eliminate hatred among themselves to strengthen brotherhood and cooperation.

“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah, all together, and do not become divided,” he quoted from the Holy Quran.

Pilgrims praying at Mount Arafat. PHOTO: AFP

Zaid Abdullah, a 30-year-old Yemeni, who works in a supermarket in Saudi Arabia, said he was praying for his own country - where war has killed tens of thousands of people and caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis - and for Muslims around the globe.

“We can tolerate the heat because our sins are greater than that,” he said as he approached the granite hill also known as the Mount of Mercy. “We ask God to alleviate the heat of the hereafter. As for the heat of this life, we can bear it.”

Taxi driver Khaled Maatouq said he was seeking an end to fighting in his native Libya: “I pray that God unites us.”

PHOTO: AFP

For others, the annual pilgrimage is a form of relief. Egyptian merchant Ramadan al-Jeedi said he was grateful to accompany his mother after his father died last year.

“It’s the greatest feeling, to feel that God the Almighty chose us to be in this place,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has said more than two million pilgrims, mostly from abroad, have arrived for the five-day ritual, a once-in-a-lifetime religious duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford the journey.

Hajj pilgrims are travelling to Mecca from all over the world https://t.co/0pfaiKsYak #Hajj2019 pic.twitter.com/n1twVdyQBi

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 9, 2019

Among them are 200 survivors and relatives of victims of the attacks on two New Zealand mosques in March.

The pilgrims will spend the day on Mount Arafat. By sunset, they will move to the rocky plain of Muzdalifa to gather pebbles to throw at stone columns symbolising the devil at Jamarat on Sunday, which marks the first day of Eidul Azha, or the feast of sacrifice.

With additional input from Arab News and Radio Pakistan.