Hajj pilgrims 'stone the devil' as Muslims mark Eid Al Adha
A pilgrim casts stones at pillars in the symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina on Sunday. Courtesy SPA X
Pilgrims performed on Sunday the last major ritual of the Hajj, the "stoning of the devil," in western Saudi Arabia, as Muslims the world over celebrated the Eid Al Adha holiday.
Beginning at dawn, the 1.8 million Muslims undertaking the pilgrimage this year threw seven stones at each of three concrete walls symbolising the devil in the Mina valley, located outside the Holy City of Makkah, the holiest city in Islam.
The ritual commemorates Hazrat Ibraham's (PBUH) stoning of the devil at the three spots where it is said Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God's order to sacrifice his son.
Despite the suffocating heat, many pilgrims expressed joy at being able to complete their pilgrimage. "Thank God, (the process) was joyful and good,” said Abdel-Moaty Abu Ghoneima, an Egyptian pilgrim. "No one wants more than this.”
Many pilgrims will spend up to three days in Mina, each casting seven pebbles at three pillars in a ritual to symbolise the casting away of evil and sin. While in Mina, they will visit Makkah to perform their "tawaf,” or circumambulation, which is circling the Holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque counterclockwise seven times.
Then another circumambulation, the Farewell Tawaf, will mark the end of Hajj as pilgrims prepare to leave the holy city. The rites coincide with the four-day Eid Al Adha, which means "Feast of Sacrifice,” when Muslims with financial means commentate Ibrahim’s test of faith through slaughtering livestock and animals and distributing the meat to the poor.
Most countries marked Eid Al Adha on Sunday, others, like Pakistan, Indonesia, will celebrate it on Monday.
Once the Hajj is over, men are expected to shave their heads and remove the shroud-like white garments worn during the pilgrimage, and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal and rebirth.
Roads leading to the concrete walls were nevertheless packed early on Sunday, with some pilgrims visibly struggling under the morning sun. Some sat on the side of the road to rest and drink water, while others stretched out on the ground, apparently exhausted. On Saturday, temperatures reached 46˚C in Arafat, where pilgrims performed hours of outdoor prayers.
One treatment centre in the area recorded 225 cases of heat stress and fatigue, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
"It was very, very hot," Rohy Daiseca, a 60-year-old Gambian living in the United States, told AFP on Saturday night as pilgrims collected stones to throw. "Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), I put a lot of water on my head and it was OK."
‘WE ARE ALL EQUAL’
Worshippers have tried to take the gruelling conditions in stride, seizing what for many is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pray at Islam's holiest shrines.
"I am so happy that I can't describe my feelings," said Amal Mahrouss, a 55-year-old woman from Egypt. "This place shows us that we are all equal, that there are no differences between Muslims around the world."
FEAST OF THE SACRIFICE
The stoning ritual coincides with Eid Al Adha, or the feast of the sacrifice, which honours Hazrat Ibraham's (PBUH) willingness to sacrifice his son before God offered a sheep instead. Worshippers typically slaughter a sheep and offer part of the meat to the needy. This year's Hajj and Eid Al Adha holiday have been clouded by the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"We don't feel the Eid holiday because our brothers in Gaza are oppressed under the (Israeli) occupation," said Najem Nawwar, a 43-year-old Egyptian pilgrim.
King Salman invited 2,000 Palestinians to the Hajj at his own expense including relatives of Gazans who have sought refuge elsewhere.
"We pray for them... and for the liberation of Palestine, so that we have two holidays instead of one," said Wadih Ali Khalifah, a 32-year-old Saudi pilgrim.
In a message to Hajj pilgrims on Saturday, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said "the ironclad resistance of Palestine and the patient, oppressed people of Gaza... must be fully supported in every way."
Agence France-Presse / Associated Press
