Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims crowded Mount Arafat on Tuesday to pray at the height of an annual Hajj pilgrimage in the prevailing heat in Saudi Arabia.
With temperatures rising to 48°C, groups of white-robed worshippers recited Quranic verses on the hill, where the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) delivered his final sermon.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken at least once by all Muslims with the means that Saudi authorities said could be the biggest on record.
But on Tuesday, the kingdom’s statistics authority said more than 1.8 pilgrims had joined this year’s rituals, making it the largest since the COVID-19 pandemic but still short of the more than 2.5 million that authorities expected.
On Wednesday, the worshippers will gather pebbles and hurl them at three concrete walls in the symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual.
Then they will return to Makkah’s Grand Mosque — Islam’s holiest site — for a final circumambulation of the Kaaba.
Pilgrims carry umbrellas amid high temperatures outside Namira Mosque on the plain of Arafat during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, June 27, 2023. — ReutersPeople use water taps amid high temperatures outside Namira Mosque on the plain of Arafat on June 27, 2023. — Reuters
Muslim pilgrims carry umbrellas amid high temperatures outside Namira Mosque on the plain of Arafat during the annual Hajj pm June 27, 2023. — ReutersPilgrims are seem outside Namira Mosque on the plain of Arafat on June 27, 2023. — Reuters
Libyan pilgrim Abdel Latif Abdel Wahab (right) prays along with family members in Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 27, 2023. — AFP Faithful crowd Mount Arafat on June 27, 2023. — AFP
This handout satellite picture released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on June 27, 2023 shows the Holy Kaaba at Makkah´s Grand Mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. — AFPA Syrian amputee walks with crutches outside tents near Mount Arafat on June 27, 2023. — AFP
Syrian amputees rest inside their tent near Mount Arafat on June 27, 2023. — AFP This aerial view shows Makkah´s Grand Mosque and its clock tower with the Kaaba on June 27, 2023 during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. — AFP
Faithful collect pebbles at Mount Arafat during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 27, 2023. — AFP A pilgrim prays atop Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, during the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage on June 27, 2023. — AFPThis handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency on June 27, 2023 shows a pilgrim carrying his child in Mount Arafat. — AFPA Muslim pilgrim touches the pillar atop Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma, on June 27, 2023. — AFP
