Haj pilgrims ‘stone the devil’ as Muslims celebrate Eid ul Adha

MECCA:

Pilgrims perform the final major Hajj ritual, “stoning the devil,” in western Saudi Arabia on Sunday as Muslims around the world celebrate the Eid ul Adha holiday.

Starting at dawn, the 1.8 million Muslims who will make the pilgrimage this year will throw seven stones at each of three concrete walls symbolizing the devil in the Mina Valley, located outside Mecca, Islam’s holiest city .

The ritual recalls Abraham’s stoning of the devil at the three points where Satan is said to have tried to dissuade him from obeying God’s command to sacrifice his son.

The stoning ritual has witnessed several riots over the years, most recently in 2015 when up to 2,300 worshipers were killed in the worst Hajj disaster.

The site has since been renovated to streamline the movement of the large crowd.

On Saturday night, pilgrims gathered stones and slept under the stars in the Muzdalifah plain, located halfway between Mina and Arafat, where they had spent the day praying outside in heat that reached 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 Fahrenheit).

“It was very, very hot,” said Rohy Daiseca, a 60-year-old Gambian living in the United States. “Alhamdulilah (thank God), I put a lot of water on my head and it was fine.”

Worshipers braved the grueling conditions, taking advantage of what for many is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pray at Islam’s holiest shrines.

“I am so happy that I cannot describe my feelings,” said Amal Mahrouss, a 55-year-old woman from Egypt.

“This place shows us that we are all equal, that there are no differences between Muslims around the world.”

One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj must be performed at least once by all able-bodied Muslims.

This year’s number of 1.8 million pilgrims is similar to last year, and Saudi authorities said on Saturday that 1.6 million of them came from abroad.

The stoning ritual coincides with the Feast of Sacrifice, or Eid ul Adha, which commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s (PBUH) willingness to sacrifice his son before God offered a sheep.

Believers usually slaughter a sheep and offer some of the meat to the needy.

The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has clouded this year’s Hajj and Eid ul Adha.

“We are very sad for the Palestinians and we prayed a lot for them,” said Intissar, a 25-year-old Syrian woman living in Saudi Arabia who declined to give her last name.

King Salman has invited 2,000 Palestinians to the Hajj at his own expense, half of whom are family members of victims in Gaza who have sought refuge elsewhere.

However, Saudi authorities have warned that political slogans will not be tolerated during the pilgrimage.

This did not stop many believers from expressing their solidarity with the Palestinians.

“Pray for our brothers in Palestine, in Gaza… may God give victory to the Muslims,” ​​shouted a pilgrim on Mount Arafat on Saturday.

In a message to Hajj pilgrims on Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “the iron resistance of Palestine and the patient, oppressed people of Gaza … must be fully supported in every way.”