Sheikh Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, the imam (prayer leader) of Makkah’s Grand Mosque, prayed for the people of Palestine during the Hajj sermon.
Around 1.5 million pilgrims from across the globe performed Waqoof-e-Arafah, the Rukn-e-Azam of Hajj, at Mount Arafat today. The Day of Arafat is the most sacred day of the year, when Almighty Allah draws near to the faithful and forgives their sins.
Delivering the Hajj sermon, the Imam-e-Kaaba emphasised the importance of neighbourly care, compassion for orphans, widows, and the underprivileged, as well as kindness toward parents.
He urged Muslims to continue praying and giving zakat (alms) to support the needy. The Imam called upon Muslims to cultivate piety, gratitude, and a consistent worship of Allah.
He further emphasised the importance of the fundamental pillars of Islam.
Sheikh Humaid reminded Muslims to honour their promises, speak the truth, and uphold modesty, describing these as integral components of faith. He also emphasised that good and evil are not equal, and that responding to wrongs with good can transform enemies into close companions.
The Imam also expressed gratitude to the Saudi government for its efforts in facilitating the pilgrimage and caring for the pilgrims.
After sunset, pilgrims will head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles so they can perform the symbolic stoning of the devil on Friday.
Muslim worshippers prayed on Mount Arafat in the high point of the hajj pilgrimage today as authorities urged them to avoid the hottest hours of the day after tragedy struck last year.
Thousands pilgrims recited holy Quranic verses from dawn on the 70-metre (230 feet) rocky rise near Makkah, where the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon) him given his last sermon.
But numbers thinned by midday following official warnings for pilgrims to stay inside between 10 am and 4 pm, a year after 1,301 people died in temperatures that hit 51.8 degrees Celsius.
“I came here early to (avoid) the sun and later I will pray inside my tent,” said 54-year-old Adel Ismail, from Syria.
Saudi authorities have taken several steps to reduce the risk from heat at the hajj, which has drawn 1.5 million pilgrims to one of the world’s hottest regions. Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), thousands more medics are on standby and more than 400 cooling units have been deployed, the hajj minister told AFP last week.
On Thursday, icepacks were handed to people walking towards Mount Arafat, with some placing the small bags on their heads.
With temperatures reaching 42 °C, officials ushered people away if they spent too long in one place near the bouldered hill, which had fans spraying mist and cool air at its foot.
‘I don’t think about the sun’
After sunset the pilgrims will head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles for Friday’s symbolic “stoning of the devil”.
Despite the heat, they were generally delighted to be performing the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam that must be completed at least once by all Muslims with the means.
“I don’t think about the sun or the temperature or anything like that,” Ahmed, a 44-year-old from Egypt, told AFP. “Because standing in Arafat is a great thing and a beautiful day, and as you can see, all the pilgrims” are doing it.
Ali, 33, from Pakistan, said he felt “blessed” to take part.
“This is something that I used to see every year on the TV screen during hajj and I always thought: ‘I wish I could be here’,” he said.
Through tears of joy, Iman Abdel Khaleq said she had wanted to perform the hajj for 10 years and was overwhelmed with emotion as she arrived at Arafat.
“It’s a big dream for me that I had almost given up hope of realising,” the Egyptian woman in her fifties told AFP from the foot of the mount.
High-tech hajj
Along with the anti-heat measures and thousands of extra personnel, Saudi Arabia is also using an arsenal of high-tech tools to help better manage crowds. More than 15,000 cameras run through artificial intelligence software are monitoring the holy sites and walkways during an event that has a history of deadly stampedes.
This year, officials have also clamped down hard on unregistered pilgrims looking to sneak into Mecca, using raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts. Late Thursday, a hajj ministry source told AFP the measures had suceeded in preventing overcrowding at the holy sites so far.
Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed to individuals by a lottery.
But even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs prompt many to attempt the hajj without a permit, even though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.
Saudi Arabia earns billions of dollars a year from the hajj, and the lesser pilgrimage known as umrah, undertaken at other times of the year.