It’s published
According to a spokesman for the Saudi Arabian government, more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims are in Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, a religious obligation that includes rituals and acts of worship, and that must be fulfilled at least once in a lifetime if all Muslims have money and can physically do it.
Hajj Ministry spokesman Ghassan Al-Nuwaimi provided an approximate number to foreigners on this year’s pilgrimage. He did not say how many national pilgrims were participating. Last year there were 1,611,310 pilgrims from abroad.
When attendees regularly push over 2 million, there are around 160,000 pilgrims fewer than last year, a far cry from the pre-pandemic boom. In 2012, there was a record-breaking pilgrimage in 2012, with over 3.16 million Muslims taking part.
On Wednesday, pilgrims drifted into Arafat, some travelling on foot, carrying luggage at temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
People sat on the ground to rest and eat before heading to camp.
Mount Arafat, a rocky hill southeast of Mecca, has great significance in Islam. Arafat is mentioned in the Quran and is said to have given his final sermon on his last pilgrimage, the Prophet Muhammad – peace is in him.
According to the traditional proverbs of the Prophet, the day of Arafat is the most sacred day of the year when God approaches faithful men and forgives their sins.
The pilgrims remain in Arafat of prayer and reflection from midnight until after sunset. After a sunburn on Thursday, pilgrims headed to the desert plains of Muzdalifah to collect pebbles for use in the ritual.
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures, but the group of participants makes it difficult to achieve safety. One of the biggest challenges at Hajj in recent years is the heat.
Earlier in the week, Health Minister Fahad bin Abdulrahman al-Jalagher revealed that 10,000 trees have been planted to provide more shade as a government initiative to protect people from fever-related medical emergency.
He also added that bed capacity in hospitals has increased dramatically, tripling the number of paramedics and medical professionals.
Additional sources •AP
