MOUNT ARAFAT: Muslim pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Monday for the climax of the annual haj which brings in combination greater than two million people from world wide.
Carrying brightly colored umbrellas under the blazing solar, a sea of worshippers scaled the rocky hill southeast of the holy city of Mecca for a day of prayers and repentance.
Arms raised, pilgrims repeated "There is no God but Allah" and "Allahu Akbar" (God is largest).
"The feeling is indescribable," mentioned Umm Ahmad, 61, who made the travel from Egypt.
Some of the pilgrims -- males in white seamless garments and ladies in loose clothes — driven aged relatives in wheelchairs on the second one day of the haj, one of the most world's biggest annual gatherings.
Muslims imagine Prophet Mohammed delivered his ultimate sermon on Mount Arafat, where Muslim pilgrims collect once a year from around the globe to catch up on their sins.
"It feels great," mentioned 37-year-old Pakistani Jai Saleem.
"I have always seen this area, since my childhood, in photographs and on television," he mentioned, including that he cried when he and his wife arrived on Mount Arafat.
Workers had been hurriedly selecting up empty water bottles close to a yellow sign that learn "Arafat starts here" in each English and Arabic.
"We know that it's a difficult task," mentioned Amna Khan, a 35-year-old American Muslim pilgrim.
"That's why we are all here. We're doing this to get closer to Allah, to be absolved."
A scorching wind blew around the hill, sometimes called Jabal al-Rahma (Mount of Mercy), and the encircling simple after a downpour past due Sunday. Many trustworthy might be noticed sipping from bottles of water.
"I knew it would be a little hard to climb Mount Arafat," mentioned Nigerian pilgrim Saidou Boureima.
"So I prepared for this challenge by working out. And God willing, we can see it through."
After sunset, the pilgrims will go away for nearby Muzdalifah where they are going to collect pebbles to perform the symbolic "stoning of the devil".
The haj is without doubt one of the five pillars of Islam which each and every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are wholesome enough and feature the method to take action.
The haj has every now and then been some extent of controversy, following an incident in 1987 by which Saudi police overwhelmed an Iranian protest right through the pilgrimage against the United States and Israel.
The clashes killed 402 people, including 175 Iranians, in keeping with Saudi government.
Iran boycotted the haj in 2016, following a dangerous stampede the 12 months sooner than which left some 2,300 dead, loads of them Iranian.
Tehran despatched its pilgrims to Mecca in 2017, and the haj this 12 months contains 86,000 Iranians, in keeping with Mecca governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal.
Prince Khaled has also mentioned this 12 months's haj contains 300 pilgrims from Qatar, a neighbouring emirate hit via a big Saudi-led boycott.
Saudi Arabia -- the world's biggest exporter of oil -- and its allies accuse Qatar of cosying up to each Sunni Islamist extremists and Shiite Iran, Riyadh's major rival.
They have lower all ties with Qatar -- which denies the costs -- and banned all flights to and from Doha.
Qatar on Sunday mentioned that its citizens had been not able to take part within the haj on account of the diplomatic dispute.
Muslims on Tuesday follow the first day of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, which marks the tip of the haj.
Muslims historically slaughter sheep for the three-day Eid al-Adha, a tribute to the prophet Abraham's sacrifice of a lamb after God spared Ishmael, his son.
They will eat some of the meat and give the rest to poor people not able to shop for food.
Carrying brightly colored umbrellas under the blazing solar, a sea of worshippers scaled the rocky hill southeast of the holy city of Mecca for a day of prayers and repentance.
Arms raised, pilgrims repeated "There is no God but Allah" and "Allahu Akbar" (God is largest).
"The feeling is indescribable," mentioned Umm Ahmad, 61, who made the travel from Egypt.
Some of the pilgrims -- males in white seamless garments and ladies in loose clothes — driven aged relatives in wheelchairs on the second one day of the haj, one of the most world's biggest annual gatherings.
Muslims imagine Prophet Mohammed delivered his ultimate sermon on Mount Arafat, where Muslim pilgrims collect once a year from around the globe to catch up on their sins.
"It feels great," mentioned 37-year-old Pakistani Jai Saleem.
"I have always seen this area, since my childhood, in photographs and on television," he mentioned, including that he cried when he and his wife arrived on Mount Arafat.
Workers had been hurriedly selecting up empty water bottles close to a yellow sign that learn "Arafat starts here" in each English and Arabic.
"We know that it's a difficult task," mentioned Amna Khan, a 35-year-old American Muslim pilgrim.
"That's why we are all here. We're doing this to get closer to Allah, to be absolved."
A scorching wind blew around the hill, sometimes called Jabal al-Rahma (Mount of Mercy), and the encircling simple after a downpour past due Sunday. Many trustworthy might be noticed sipping from bottles of water.
"I knew it would be a little hard to climb Mount Arafat," mentioned Nigerian pilgrim Saidou Boureima.
"So I prepared for this challenge by working out. And God willing, we can see it through."
After sunset, the pilgrims will go away for nearby Muzdalifah where they are going to collect pebbles to perform the symbolic "stoning of the devil".
The haj is without doubt one of the five pillars of Islam which each and every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are wholesome enough and feature the method to take action.
The haj has every now and then been some extent of controversy, following an incident in 1987 by which Saudi police overwhelmed an Iranian protest right through the pilgrimage against the United States and Israel.
The clashes killed 402 people, including 175 Iranians, in keeping with Saudi government.
Iran boycotted the haj in 2016, following a dangerous stampede the 12 months sooner than which left some 2,300 dead, loads of them Iranian.
Tehran despatched its pilgrims to Mecca in 2017, and the haj this 12 months contains 86,000 Iranians, in keeping with Mecca governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal.
Prince Khaled has also mentioned this 12 months's haj contains 300 pilgrims from Qatar, a neighbouring emirate hit via a big Saudi-led boycott.
Saudi Arabia -- the world's biggest exporter of oil -- and its allies accuse Qatar of cosying up to each Sunni Islamist extremists and Shiite Iran, Riyadh's major rival.
They have lower all ties with Qatar -- which denies the costs -- and banned all flights to and from Doha.
Qatar on Sunday mentioned that its citizens had been not able to take part within the haj on account of the diplomatic dispute.
Muslims on Tuesday follow the first day of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, which marks the tip of the haj.
Muslims historically slaughter sheep for the three-day Eid al-Adha, a tribute to the prophet Abraham's sacrifice of a lamb after God spared Ishmael, his son.
They will eat some of the meat and give the rest to poor people not able to shop for food.
Muslim pilgrims scale Mount Arafat for peak of haj
![Muslim pilgrims scale Mount Arafat for peak of haj]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
August 21, 2018
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