Masked pilgrims arrived on Thursday at Mount Arafat, a desert hill near the Holy Kaaba, to pray and repent on the most important day of the Hajj, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The global coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow over every aspect of this year’s pilgrimage, which last year drew 2.5 million Muslims from across the world to Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his final sermon nearly 1,400 years ago. The sliver of pilgrims performing the Hajj this year arrived at Mount Arafat before noon by bus on Thursday. They were traveling in small groups of 20, following strict guidelines around social distancing, had undergone tests for the Covid-19 disease and were in quarantine before the Hajj. They made their way to the Namira Mosque at Mount Arafat led by health workers and listened to a sermon by Sheikh Abdullah bin Manea. “We thank all Muslims for their positive role in responding to [Saudi Arabia’s] measures to protect them from the spread of the pandemic by imposing measures that ensure the protection of Makkah and Madinah,” Al Arabiya quoted him as saying during the sermon. After spending the day in prayer on Mount Arafat, pilgrims will head toward an area called Muzdalifa, about 5.5 miles west of Mount Arafat. In Muzdalifa, pilgrims rest and traditionally pick up pebbles that will be used for a symbolic stoning of the devil and casting away of evil. This year, however, the pebbles have been pre-packaged and sterilised. The final ritual takes place over three to four days in Mina, about 12 miles east of Makkah. The final days of Hajj coincide with Eidul Azha, or the festival of sacrifice, celebrated by Muslims worldwide. On site, 3,500 workers spread across the Grand Mosque in Makkah to sanitise it using 54,000 litres of disinfectant and 1,050 litres of air fresheners daily. The floors of the mosque are being scrubbed 10 times a day, up from three times in the past. Six hospitals are dedicated to serving pilgrims, 51 clinics and 200 ambulances are spread across different sites with the support of 62 field teams and 8,000 healthcare professionals. “The kingdom is relying on years of experience in managing the pilgrimage and has worked hard in collaboration with the WHO to ensure that the pilgrimage goes very smooth,” said Hanan Balkhy, assistant director-general of antimicrobial resistance at the World Health Organisation. Delivering the Hajj sermon in Makkah from Masjid-e-Nimra in Arafat, Sheikh Abdullah bin Sulaiman on Thursday said that in times of adversity, such as the current coronavirus pandemic, we must turn to our Lord “with humility, penitence and hope”. “My dear audience, life in this world does not remain free of difficulty, and this is why Allah, the Most Exalted, instructed us to persevere,” said Sheikh Sulaiman. He said that adversities “serve as a test for people”, and “allow those who persevere to be distinguished from those who are impatient”. Sheikh Sulaiman reminded everyone that “no matter how difficult circumstances may become in this world, those difficulties do not last forever”. “Allah’s mercy is always more expansive, and the relief He grants is always near.” Today, on the ninth of the Islamic ZilHajj month, pilgrims arrived at the plains of the Mount Arafat amid special arrangements for the “downsized” Hajj due to the COVID-19 pandemic.