The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a religious obligation involving rituals and acts of worship that each Muslim must fulfill if they have the financial means and are physically capable of doing so.
On Wednesday, more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj of this year. Hajj ministry spokesman Ghassan al-Nuwaimi provided an approximate number for foreigners during this year’s pilgrimage, although he did not specify how many national pilgrims participated. Last year, there were 1,611,310 pilgrims outside the country.
Wednesday, the faithful spread in Arafat, some undertaking the trip on foot and transporting their luggage to temperatures that push 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
According to the traditional words of the Prophet, the day of Arafat is the most sacred day of the year, when God approaches the faithful and forgives their sins.
Mount Arafat, a rocky hill in the south-east of Mecca, has an immense meaning in Islam. Arafat is mentioned in the Koran and it is there that the Prophet Muhammad would have given his last sermon during his last Hajj.
Pilgrims remain in Arafat, in prayer and reflection, after midnight until after sunset.
After sunset, they will head towards Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling city of Mina’s tent, where they will bring together stones so that they can perform the symbolic “lapidation”.
Saudi Arabia has spent millions of dollars on crowd and security control measures, but the volume of participants continues to pose challenges. In recent years, one of the greatest difficulties has been high temperatures.
Earlier this week, the Minister of Health, Fahad Bin Abdulrahman, Al-Jalajel, said: “10,000 trees have been planted to provide more shadow, there is an increased capacity of the hospital bed and the number of paramedics has tripled.”
The authorities urged pilgrims to stay inside their tents between 10 a.m. (07:00 GMT) and 4 p.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT) on Thursday when the desert sun is the hardest. To combat heat, fans spraying the mist and providing fresh air were placed at the foot of Mount.
