Enormous crowds of Muslim pilgrims wearing impeccable white robes solemnly circumambulated the Kaaba at Mecca’s Grand Mosque as the most important hajj pilgrimage in a number of years started Sunday.
Islam’s holiest website is predicted to host greater than 2 million worshippers from 160 international locations through the annual rites that might break attendance data, with 1.6 million foreigners already there by late Friday.
“This year, we will witness the largest hajj pilgrimage in history,” if issues go in line with plan, predicted an official with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The numbers will exceed 2.5 million pilgrims,” added the official, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of he’s not licensed to talk with the press.
The hajj started early on Sunday with the “tawaf” – the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the big cubic construction draped in black fabric with gold trimmings that hundreds of thousands of Muslims pray towards every single day.
“I am living the most beautiful days of my life,” mentioned Abdel-Azim, a 65-year-old Egyptian, as he carried out the ritual. “The dream has come true,” added the retiree, who had saved up for 20 years to pay the $6,000 payment to participate.
The hajj is likely one of the 5 pillars of Islam and have to be undertaken at the least as soon as by all Muslims with the means.
A collection of rites are accomplished over 4 days in Mecca and its environment within the west of Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday night time, pilgrims will begin transferring to Mina, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Grand Mosque, forward of the hajj’s climax at Mount Arafat, the place the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have delivered his remaining sermon.
Mina, the world’s largest tent metropolis, readied to obtain the inflow of pilgrims Sunday, with meals provides introduced in and safety forces deployed across the space.
‘Great blessing’
Outside the Grand Mosque, 1000’s prayed on colourful carpets that adorned the pavement, with male pilgrims sporting easy white robes. The space was dotted with ambulances, cell clinics and fireplace vans.
The hajj poses a substantial crowd administration problem and has seen a number of disasters over time, together with a 2015 stampede that killed as much as 2,300 individuals.
However, there have been no main incidents since and disaster was the very last thing on pilgrims’ minds.
“I cannot describe my feelings,” mentioned 25-year-old Indonesian pupil Yusuf Burhan. “This is a great blessing. I never imagined that I would perform the hajj this year.”
This 12 months’s summer season timing for the hajj, which follows the lunar calendar, may even check the endurance of worshippers through the principally out of doors ritual.
Carrying white umbrellas to defend themselves from the scorching solar, policemen within the mountainous metropolis have carried out foot patrols and arrange checkpoints to examine hajj permits.
Others splashed water on pilgrims as temperatures climbed in the direction of 45 levels Celsius (113 levels Fahrenheit).
Thousands of paramedics had been on standby contained in the Grand Mosque. Saudi authorities mentioned greater than 32,000 well being staff shall be available to deal with instances of heatstroke, dehydration and exhaustion.
The hajj, which attracts hundreds of thousands of devoted from around the globe additionally generates billions of {dollars} in income for Saudi Arabia yearly.
This 12 months’s would be the greatest since 2019, earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic, when about 2.5 million individuals took half.
Only 10,000 had been allowed in 2020, on the peak of the worldwide outbreak, rising to just about 59,000 in 2021.
Last 12 months’s cap of 1 million has been eliminated.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
