ATLANTA (Pajhwok): The annual hajj pilgrimage official began on Monday as some two million people made their way out of Makkah after circling Islam’s holiest site, the Kaaba, and converging on a vast tent camp in the nearby desert for a day and night of prayer.
The fifth pillar of Islam and one of the largest religious gatherings in the world has returned to full capacity this year for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago.
The pilgrims made their way by foot or by bus to Mina, where they will camp in one of the largest tent cities in the world. They will pray throughout the day and night before traveling on Tuesday to Mount Arafat.
After Arafat, pilgrims collect pebbles from a site known as Muzdalifa to be used in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil back in Mina.
The final three days of the Hajj coincide with the festive Eid al-Adha holiday, when Muslims around the world slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor.
The Saudi Ministry of Interior says it has deployed more than 100,000 security personnel for security of the Hajj ceremony.
Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the chairman of Saudi Central Hajj Commission, said thousands of security forces have been deployed for Hajj security.
He added security checkpoints have been established on highways and security tightened in Makkah, Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina and security was being monitored from the air.
Dozens of mobile clinics and ambulances have been provided by the Saudi Red Crescent for the treatment of pilgrims.
A number of helicopters have been tasked with transporting critically ill patients to hospitals as soon as possible.
About 30,000 people from Afghanistan have gone to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj this year.
The Ministry of Hajj of Afghanistan wrote on Twitter that groups of Afghan pilgrims left for Mina in buses this morning.
ma
