Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca ahead of the start of the Hajj later this week, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the country by Tuesday, the vast majority by air, from across the world. More are expected, and hundreds of thousands of Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Friday.
Quick Read
- More than 1.5 million foreign Muslims have arrived in Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, with Saudi officials expecting the total number to exceed last year’s 1.8 million pilgrims.
- The majority of foreign pilgrims arrived by air from across the world, with more expected to join in the coming days.
- Hundreds of thousands of Saudis and residents of Saudi Arabia will also participate when the pilgrimage officially begins on Friday.
- The number of pilgrims this year is expected to approach pre-pandemic levels, with over 2.4 million Muslims performing Hajj in 2019.
- Saudi authorities control the flow of pilgrims through quotas, allowing one pilgrim per every thousand Muslim citizens from each country.
- The pilgrimage includes 4,200 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, though Gazan Palestinians were unable to attend due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
- Pilgrims have begun the ritual circuit around the Kaaba, enduring high temperatures reaching up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
- The Hajj pilgrimage includes a series of rituals over several days, culminating in the symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina.
- As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims who are physically and financially able to perform it at least once in their lifetime.
The Associated Press has the story:
More than 1.5 million foreign Muslims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimage
Newslooks- MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) —
Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca ahead of the start of the Hajj later this week, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale.
Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in the country by Tuesday, the vast majority by air, from across the world. More are expected, and hundreds of thousands of Saudis and others living in Saudi Arabia will also join them when the pilgrimage officially begins on Friday.
Saudi officials have said they expect the number of pilgrims this year to exceed 2023, when more than 1.8 million people performed Hajj, approaching pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, more than 2.4 million Muslims made the pilgrimage. Saudi authorities control the flow of pilgrims through quotas, allowing each country one pilgrim for every thousand Muslim citizens.
The pilgrims included 4,200 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who arrived in Mecca earlier this month, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not able to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year, because of the 8-month war between Israel and Hamas.
“We are praying for Palestine to be free and (for Palestinians) to liberate their land and to be like other nations, to live in peace and not always to have war,” said Ibrahim al-Hadhari, an Algerian pilgrim, as he was standing in the Grand Mosque court waiting for evening prayers.
On Tuesday, pilgrims thronged the Grand Mosque in Mecca, performing a ritual circuit walking seven times around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure inside the mosque that is considered Islam’s holiest site. They wore ihrams, two unstitched sheets of white cloth that resemble a shroud.
Many were seen sweated heavily from the burring sun, Others were carrying umbrellas against the sun as temperatures reached 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) and 45 degree Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) during the day on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
“I was relieved when I arrived at the Al-Masjid Al-Haram and saw the Kaaba,” said Rabeia al-Raghi, a Moroccan woman who came to Mecca for Hajj along with her husband and their daughter. “I am very happy.”
Mohammad Abdel-Baset, an Iraqi pilgrim, said he was overjoyed to perform Hajj.
“We congratulate the great crowd and thank God for gathering us from all regions, globally and not from the Arab world only, from all the global Muslim regions (who) came to the Grand Mosque,” said Abdel-Baset, a lawyer from Baghdad.
At night, the vast marble court around the Kaaba was packed with the faithful, walking nearly shoulder to shoulder and often jostling with barricades set up by security forces to direct the giant flows of people in and around the Grand Mosque.
Pilgrims do the circumambulation, known as “Tawaf” in Arabic, upon arriving in Mecca. The large crowds circling the Kaaba will last into the Hajj’s first day.
On Friday, pilgrims will move to the Mountain of Arafat for a daylong vigil, then to Muzdalifah, a rocky plain area a few miles away. In Muzdalifa, pilgrims collect pebbles to be used in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil back in Mina.
One of the world’s largest religious gatherings, the Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. All Muslims are required to undertake it at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so.
Those in the Hajj view the pilgrimage as an opportunity to strengthen their faith, wipe out old sins and start new.
