2 million begin pilgrimage to Mecca shrine
MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia — With their palms facing the sky in supplication, and many with tears in their eyes, about 2 million people from around the world gathered Thursday in an effort to start anew, erase past sins and beg God for forgiveness and guidance on the peak day of the hajj pilgrimage.
From dawn until dusk, the massive crowd of people will be gathered here in Mount Arafat to spend the day in supplication and contemplation. It is here, on this mountain surrounded by desert, where the prophet Muhammad delivered his final sermon more than 1,400 years ago.
“We hope that Allah will forgive our sins, and we hope to have a new start with our God,” said Khaled Ahmed, a 47-year-old pilgrim from Egypt.
In his sermon, the prophet called on his followers to repay their debts, beware of Satan, perform five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan and give to charity. He also called on those with the means to perform the hajj once in a lifetime. He also reminded worshipers of the rights that women have, and said that no ethnic group or race has superiority over another except in piety and good action.
During the hajj, pilgrims are expected to shed symbols of materialism, though the trip itself can be quite expensive for most. Male pilgrims are required to wear seamless, white terrycloth garments for the entirety of the hajj. Women wear loose clothing, cover their hair and forgo makeup and nail polish to achieve a state of humility and spiritual purity.
The large crowds gathered from more than 160 countries around the world, dressed in nearly identical white garments, are meant to symbolize unity among Muslims, humility and equality before God. The rich and poor among men are to dress the same while performing the rites of hajj.
The hajj is required of all Muslims once in a lifetime. The physically demanding journey tests pilgrims’ patience as they withstand long waits and thick crowds on their path to achieving spiritual purification and repentance.
Muslims believe the rites trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail — Abraham and Ishmael in the Bible.
The rites of the hajj, however, begin in Mecca, the site of Islam’s holiest place of worship. There, pilgrims circulate the cube-shaped Kaaba and kneel in prayer facing it. The Kaaba represents the metaphorical house of God and the oneness of God in Islam.