More than two million Muslims began the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Sunday in blistering heat. It is the first with so many worshipers in the kingdom since the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the heart of the Great Mosque of Mecca, the faithful from 160 countries, began early the ritual of “tawaf”, or the convolutions around the Kaaba, a large cubic structure draped in a black fabric embroidered with gold, to which Muslims around the world turn for prayer.
“The number of pilgrims will exceed 2.5 million”
A Saudi official said Sunday he expects a record crowd. “This year we will witness the greatest pilgrimage in history,” if things go as planned. According to this official of the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, who requested anonymity, “the number of pilgrims will exceed 2.5 million”.
“These are the happiest days of my life,” said Said Abdel Azim, a 65-year-old Egyptian pensioner who, like most men, wears the ihram, two layers of white cloth wrapping the body. This trip, for which he says he saved for twenty years, is “a dream come true”, he says
One of the five pillars of Islam, the hajj must be performed at least once in the life of a practicing Muslim who can afford it.
One of the five pillars of Islam
It consists of a series of religious rites performed over several days in the holy city and its surroundings.
On Sunday evening, pilgrims are due to travel to Mina, about five kilometers from the Grand Mosque, where they will spend the night, before the main rite at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his last sermon.
Mina, a city of white tents, is preparing to welcome pilgrims on Sunday, with the delivery of food and the deployment of security forces around the area.