Pilgrims from around the world are gathering in Saudi Arabia to perform the basic rites of the Hajj to the holy sites of Islam in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in the west of the kingdom. Al Arabiya TV channel reported this on Sunday.
According to Mohammed al-Qarni, spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, from 8 pm Sunday until 10 am on Monday, 1,050,000 people (60% of foreign pilgrims) will arrive by buses to the Mina valley, a suburb of Mecca, home to the largest mosque in the world - the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque). To perform the hajj, 180,000 citizens of the kingdom will also arrive in Mina.
Although the pilgrims began their tawaf, walking around the Kaaba (Islam's main holy place, symbolizing God's home on earth) seven times counterclockwise in the Masjid al-Haram, on Sunday, the annual pilgrimage begins on the 8th day of Dhul-Hijjah (June 26). On Monday, after the ritual of giving water tarwiyah, the worshipers will head to Mount Arafat and spend the night there. On the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah (Arafah Day), the pilgrims will perform the main ritual of the Hajj, standing on Mount Arafat. The Muslims will spend the day praying, and after sunset they will head for the valley of Muzdalifah, 9 km from Mount Arafat. The 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah falls on Eid al-Adha, the largest Muslim holiday (Kurban Bayram in Turkic languages). Before sunrise, worshipers will travel from the Muzdalifah valley back to Mina, where the ritual of stoning the devil will take place.
Abel Fattah Mashat, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for Hajj and Umrah, previously said that the kingdom had set a quota for the number of pilgrims as in 2019 (before the coronavirus pandemic). However, he did not provide more precise information. About 2.4 million people performed the Hajj in 2019. On Sunday, Mashat said authorities in the kingdom had issued about 1.8 million electronic visas for pilgrims. The total number is expected to reach about 2 million this year.
In 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia canceled the Hajj for believers from abroad. Only 10 thousand Muslims living in the kingdom were able to make the pilgrimage to the holy places. Restrictions remained during the year 2021, but in 2022 the Saudi authorities have increased the allowed number of pilgrims to one million people. In addition, in 2021 the requirement that a woman must be accompanied by a man was abolished, and the age limit of 65 was lifted.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Konevi/Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS