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Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia for final stage of annual haj pilgrimage

Sunday August 11, 2019

A pilgrim prays on Mount of Mercy in Arafat ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday. (Waleed Ali/Reuters)

Nearly 2.5 million Muslims gathered at Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Saturday for a vigil to atone for their sins, and then descended to Muzdalifa for the final stages of the annual haj pilgrimage amid summer heat and regional tensions.


Other worshippers who had been praying in the nearby Mina area ascended in buses or on foot from before dawn. Some carried food, carpets for camping and fans to keep cool as temperatures rose toward 40 C before heavy rains and lightning erupted.

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Zaid Abdullah, a 30-year-old Yemeni who works in a supermarket in Saudi Arabia, said he was praying for his own country, where war has killed tens of thousands of people and caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and for Muslims around the globe.


Hamood Ismail and his wife Raghdaa travelled from Syria, through Turkey, while taxi driver Khaled Maatouq came from Libya. They all said they were seeking an end to the suffering in their homelands which have been torn apart by conflict.

Once-in-a-lifetime journey



Muslim pilgrims are gathered in Arafat as part of a pilgrimage called Haj. (Waleed Ali/Reuters)


Some 2.5 million pilgrims, mostly from abroad, have arrived for the five-day ritual, a once-in-a-lifetime religious duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.


After spending the day on Mount Arafat, the pilgrims moved at sunset to the plain of Muzdalifa to gather pebbles to throw at stone columns symbolizing the devil at Jamarat on Sunday, which marks the first day of Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice.




Iran tensions

Tensions are particularly high this year between Saudi Arabia, ruled by Sunni Muslims, and Shia Muslim Iran.




Saudi security officials monitors screens connected to surveillance cameras at the Grand mosque in the holy city of Mecca August 5. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)

In a haj message, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday condemned a U.S. blueprint to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and called on pilgrims to oppose it.




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