Over 2.5m Muslims perform hajj

Pilgrims perform noon prayers outside the Namera Mosque (background) on the plain of Arafat on the outskirts of the holy city of Makkah yesterday. Vast crowds of pilgrims flocked to Arafat to take part in the main rituals of the annual hajj.Photo: AFP

Vast crowds of Muslim pilgrims flocked to Mount Arafat yesterday to perform the main hajj rites.
Men, women, and children from 189 countries streamed from dawn to the site in western Saudi Arabia, some setting up small colourful tents in which they slept and prayed.
Beggars and street vendors also dotted the roads searching for generous souls among the 2.5 million believers expected to converge on the plain for the most important rituals of the five-day hajj.
According to Mecca Governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, around 1.7 million people had travelled from abroad for the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims descended on the plain from early morning focused on the religious significance of the day.
"We came from Mecca. We walked from the Grand Mosque to Mina and then we took the buses to Arafat. All for the love of the prophet," said one Egyptian man sitting on a straw mat with members of his family.
"The more tired we get, the more God will reward us," he said.
Focus of the rituals is the "Mount of Mercy" where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his final hajj sermon before his death.
Many pilgrims made themselves comfortable between the huge rocks, tears streaming down their faces as they prayed.
A preacher urged pilgrims not to climb the slippery stone staircase leading up the hill, bellowing over loudspeakers "Neither the prophet, nor his followers have ever climbed the hill. Please do not climb it."
Pilgrims have in previous years slipped and fallen while attempting the ascent, and others have been killed in stampedes.
After sunset, the pilgrims headed to Muzdalifah, between Mina and Arafat, where they collected stones to throw at the devil, one of the last rituals which takes place today and marks the first day of Eid-ul-Azha, the feast of sacrifice.
The symbolic "stoning of the devil" is followed by the ritual sacrifice of an animal, usually a lamb.
During the remaining three days of the hajj, the pilgrims continue the stoning ritual before performing the circumambulation of the Kaaba shrine in Mecca and heading home.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that every capable Muslim must perform at least once.
More than 1,00,000 members of the security and civil defence forces have been deployed to ensure the safety of the pilgrims, while some 3,000 CCTV cameras have been installed across hajj sites.