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Mount Arafat:
Muslim pilgrims converged Thursday on Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat for the climax of this yr’s hajj, the smallest in trendy instances and a pointy distinction to the huge crowds of earlier years.
A decent safety cordon has been erected throughout the foot of the rocky hill outdoors Mecca, also called Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy.
Pilgrims, donning masks and observing social distancing, have been introduced in buses from neighbouring Mina, state tv confirmed, as Saudi authorities impose measures to stop a coronavirus outbreak.
They have been topic to temperature checks and attended a sermon — which state media mentioned was translated into 10 languages — earlier than they set off on the climb to the summit for hours of Koran recitals and prayers to atone for his or her sins.
The scene was strikingly completely different to final yr’s ritual when a sea of pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat, marshalled by tens of hundreds of stewards in a bid to stop any crushes.
After sundown prayers, pilgrims will make their means down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, one other holy web site the place they may sleep below the celebrities to organize for the ultimate stage of hajj, the symbolic “stoning of the devil”.
It takes place on Friday and in addition marks the start of Eid al-Adha, the pageant of sacrifice.
The hajj, one of many 5 pillars of Islam and a should for able-bodied Muslims not less than as soon as of their lifetime, is often one of many world’s largest non secular gatherings.
But solely as much as 10,000 folks already residing within the kingdom will take part on this yr’s ritual, in contrast with 2019’s gathering of some 2.5 million from all over the world.
“You are not our guests but those of God, the custodian of the two holy mosques (Saudi Arabia’s King Salman) and the nation,” Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten mentioned in a video launched by the media ministry on Wednesday.
Security Cordon
A safety cordon has been thrown across the holy websites to stop any safety breaches, an inside ministry spokesman mentioned.
Riyadh confronted robust criticism in 2015 when some 2,300 worshippers have been killed within the deadliest stampede within the gathering’s historical past.
But this yr, these dangers are significantly decreased by the a lot smaller crowd.
The pilgrims have all been examined for the virus, and overseas journalists have been barred from this yr’s hajj, often an enormous world media occasion.
As a part of the rites accomplished over 5 days within the holy metropolis of Mecca and its environment, the pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat after spending the night time in Mina.
A district of Mecca, Mina sits in a slender valley surrounded by rocky mountains, and is remodeled annually into an enormous encampment for pilgrims.
They started the hajj on Wednesday with their first “tawaf”, the circumambulation of the Kaaba, a big construction in Mecca’s Grand Mosque in direction of which Muslims all over the world pray.
The Kaaba is draped in a black fabric embroidered in gold with Koranic verses and often known as the kiswa, which is modified annually through the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims have been introduced contained in the mosque in small batches, strolling alongside paths marked on the ground, in sharp distinction to the conventional sea of humanity that swirls across the Kaaba throughout hajj.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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