Muslim pilgrims collect across the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, on the Grand Mosque within the holy metropolis of Mecca on June 16, 2024, as they carry out the farewell circumambulation or “tawaf”, circling seven occasions across the massive black dice, which is the focus on the ultimate day of the hajj. | AFP
Pilgrims on Sunday carried out the final main ritual of the hajj, the “stoning of the satan”, in western Saudi Arabia as Muslims the world over celebrated the Eid al-Adha vacation.
As one of many world’s largest annual spiritual gatherings wound down, Amman introduced that at the very least 14 Jordanian pilgrims had succumbed to an “excessive warmth wave”, highlighting the acute bodily toll of the annual rites which in recent times have fallen in the course of the oven-like Saudi summer season.
Starting at daybreak, the 1.8 million Muslims enterprise the pilgrimage this 12 months threw seven stones at every of three concrete partitions symbolising the satan within the Mina valley, positioned exterior Islam’s holiest metropolis of Mecca.
The ritual commemorates Abraham’s stoning of the satan on the three spots the place it’s mentioned Devil tried to dissuade him from obeying God’s order to sacrifice his son.
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A number of stampedes have occurred in Mina through the years, most lately in 2015 when as much as 2,300 worshippers had been killed within the worst hajj catastrophe.
The positioning has been revamped since then to streamline the motion of the massive crowds.
Roads resulting in the concrete partitions had been however packed on Sunday, with some pilgrims struggling below the morning solar.
A minimum of two pilgrims had been seen mendacity on the aspect of the street, sheltered by buildings and automobiles.
“It’s very troublesome, we will’t discover transport. I can’t stand up anymore,” mentioned Ahmed Alsayed Omran, a 70-year-old Egyptian retiree sitting on the sidewalk.
Temperatures soared nicely above 40 levels Celsius (104 levels Fahrenheit) every day and on Saturday hit 46 levels Celsius (114.8 levels Fahrenheit) on Mount Arafat, the place pilgrims carried out hours of outside prayers.
Jordan’s overseas ministry mentioned on Sunday that along with the 14 Jordanian pilgrims who died “after struggling solar stroke because of the excessive warmth wave”, 17 others had been “lacking”.
Iran reported the deaths of 5 pilgrims however didn’t specify the trigger.
Saudi Arabia has not supplied any info on fatalities.
Throughout final 12 months’s hajj at the very least 240 folks — many from Indonesia — died, based on figures introduced by varied international locations which additionally didn’t specify causes of demise.
There have been additionally greater than 10,000 circumstances of heat-related sicknesses, 10 p.c of which had been warmth stroke, a well being ministry spokesman instructed AFP.
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‘Very, very popular’
Worshippers did their greatest to take the taxing circumstances in stride, seizing what for a lot of was a once-in-a-lifetime probability to wish at Islam’s holiest shrines.
“It’s bodily gruelling, but it surely’s very spiritually charged. For me, I used to be type of in awe always,” mentioned 49-year-old Canadian Neron Khan.
For a part of the pilgrimage, “I used to be in some type of warmth exhaustion scenario,” she added.
“However I needed to hold going as a result of we had been surrounded by all people. And also you simply needed to push via.”
One therapy centre close to Mount Arafat recorded 225 circumstances of warmth stress and fatigue up to now, the official Saudi Press Company reported.
“It was very, very popular,” Rohy Daiseca, a 60-year-old Gambian residing in the US, instructed AFP on Saturday evening as pilgrims collected stones to throw.
“Alhamdulillah (reward be to God), I put a whole lot of water on my head and it was OK.”
Amal Mahrouss, a 55-year-old lady from Egypt, mentioned she was comfortable past phrases and the hajj confirmed “that we’re all equal, that there are not any variations between Muslims world wide.”
One of many 5 pillars of Islam, the hajj have to be carried out at the very least as soon as by all Muslims with the means.
This 12 months’s determine of 1.8 million pilgrims is much like final 12 months’s, and Saudi authorities mentioned on Saturday that 1.6 million of them got here from overseas.
These included 17,500 Syrians, based on Badreddine Mansour, director of a Saudi company specialising in pilgrimages.
For Syrians residing in government-controlled areas, hajj has lengthy been out of attain however the reintegration of President Bashar al-Assad’s authorities into the Arab fold final 12 months has enabled direct flights to the pilgrimage.
For Ghada Rifai, 60, a retired instructor from Damascus, this meant “a dream come true.”
Feast of the sacrifice
Sunday’s stoning ritual coincided with the Muslim vacation of Eid al-Adha, or the feast of the sacrifice, which honours Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son earlier than God supplied a sheep as a substitute.
Worshippers usually slaughter a sheep and provide a part of the meat to the needy.
The festivities had been clouded by the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas within the Gaza Strip.
“We don’t really feel the Eid vacation as a result of our brothers in Gaza are oppressed below the (Israeli) occupation,” mentioned Najem Nawwar, a 43-year-old Egyptian pilgrim.
King Salman invited 2,000 Palestinians to the hajj at his personal expense, together with family of Gazans who’ve sought refuge elsewhere.
However Saudi authorities warned no political slogans can be tolerated.
That didn’t cease many worshippers from voicing solidarity with Palestinians.
“We pray for them… and for the liberation of Palestine, in order that we’ve two holidays as a substitute of 1,” mentioned Wadih Ali Khalifah, a 32-year-old Saudi pilgrim.
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