Six-day Hajj rituals begin in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Millions of pilgrims dressed in the special ihram attire arrived at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah on Sunday. They completed the first Tawaf, or circumambulation of the Kaaba, to begin the six-day rituals of Hajj, according to Saudi official news agency. 

After the Tawaf, the pilgrims made their way to Mina, a tent city about 5 kilometers east of Mecca.

In Mina, the pilgrims will use the time to prepare for the profound spiritual experience that awaits them on Mount Arafat.

On Tuesday, the pilgrimage will culminate at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his last sermon.

On the same evening, the pilgrims will set out for Muzdalifah, a place between Arafat and Mina.

There they will spend the night collecting small stones for the upcoming ritual of stoning Satan at the Jamarat pillars in Mina.

The pilgrims will then proceed to the Great Mosque to once again perform the Tawaf or circumambulation of the Kaaba.

They will return Mina and stay there until Saturday to participate in two more rituals involving the throwing of stones.

After these rituals, pilgrims will perform Tawaf al Wida or farewell circumambulation before leaving the city of Makkah. 

This year’s Hajj will be the largest number of pilgrims since 2019 before the pandemic broke out COVID -19.

In 2019, about 2.5 million people participated in the Hajj, which is a significant turnout. However, due to the global outbreak of the pandemic, only 10,000 people were allowed to participate in the pilgrimage in 2020.

 In 2021, the number of participants increased to nearly 59,000.

In recent days, 2 million pilgrims, including 200,000 from the Kingdom, reached Makkah.