Pilgrims pray at Mount Arafat as hajj at its apex
MOUNT ARAFAT, SAUDI ARABIA » Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world raised their hands to heaven and offered prayers of repentance on the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Friday, an intense day of worship considered to be the climax of the annual hajj.
Multitudes stood shoulder to shoulder, feet to feet, for the emotional day of supplication in the desert valley where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon, calling for equality and unity among Muslims.
The experience sent many pilgrims to tears. Muslims believe prayer on this day at Mount Arafat, about 12 miles east of the holy city of Mecca, is their best chance at salvation and spiritual renewal.
The pilgrims set out for
Arafat before dawn, chanting as they trekked. They remained until nightfall in deep contemplation and worship.
“I feel I am so close to God,” said Zakaria Mohammad, an Egyptian pilgrim praying as the sky brightened over the hilltop. “He gave me such joy. This is my feeling now — joy, great joy.”
Men wore unstitched sheets of white cloth resembling a shroud, while women wore conservative dress and headscarves, their faces exposed.
The hajj is a once-in-alifetime duty for all Muslims physically and financially able to make the journey, which takes the faithful along a path traversed by the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago.
“God brought me here,” said Khadije Isaac, who traveled to Mount Arafat from Nigeria, her voice clipped with emotion. “I cannot describe the happiness that I have.”
Strict pandemic limits had upended the event for the past two years, effectively canceling one of the world's biggest and most diverse gatherings and devastating many pious Muslims who had waited a lifetime to make the journey. This year's pilgrimage marks the largest since the virus struck, although the attendance by 1 million worshippers remains less than half of the pre-pandemic influx.
All pilgrims selected to perform the hajj this year are under age 65 and have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Pilgrims spend five days carrying out a set of rituals associated with the Prophet Muhammad and the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael in the Bible, before him. The rituals began on Thursday with the circling of the Kaaba.