[ad_1]
MOUNT ARAFAT: Enormous crowds of pilgrims began praying on Mount Arafat early Friday, the excessive level of the most important Hajj pilgrimage because the pandemic compelled drastic cuts in numbers for 2 years in a row.
The worshippers, capped at a million together with 850,000 from overseas chosen by lottery, spent the night time at camps within the valley of Mina, seven kilometres (4 miles) from Makkah’s Grand Mosque.
Within the early hours of Friday, they converged on Mount Arafat, the place the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his ultimate sermon, for a very powerful of the Hajj rituals.
Dr Al Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al Issa will ship the sermon at the moment.
They may keep all day on the website, praying and reciting the Holy Quran.
After sundown, they may head to Muzdalifah, half-way between Arafat and Mina, the place they may sleep below the celebs earlier than performing the symbolic “stoning of the satan” ceremony on Saturday.
This 12 months’s Hajj is happening towards the backdrop of a resurgence of COVID-19 within the area, with some Gulf nations tightening restrictions to maintain outbreaks in examine.
All contributors had been required to submit proof of full vaccination and unfavorable PCR exams. Upon reaching Mina on Thursday, they had been handed small luggage containing masks and sanitiser.
The Hajj, often one of many world’s largest annual non secular gatherings, is among the many 5 pillars of Islam and should be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at the least as soon as of their lives.
In 2019, some 2.5 million Muslims from world wide took half, as in earlier years.
However the coronavirus outbreak has since compelled Saudi authorities to dramatically downsize the Hajj. Simply 60,000 totally vaccinated residents and residents of the dominion participated in 2021, up from a couple of thousand in 2020.
Excessive situations
“We are able to tolerate (the warmth). We’re right here for the Hajj. The extra we tolerate, the extra our pilgrimage is accepted,” Laila, a 64-year-old Iraqi pilgrim who gave solely her first identify, informed AFP in Makkah earlier than reaching the mount.
Saudi officers have touted their preparations for the acute situations, highlighting the lots of of hospital beds allotted for warmth stroke sufferers and the “massive variety of misting followers” they’ve supplied.
A truck has additionally been allotted to distribute umbrellas, water bottles and small followers.
However, the Nationwide Centre for Meteorology, which has arrange an workplace in Mina, is sending warnings to pilgrims on their cell phones, urging them to keep away from out of doors rituals at sure occasions of the day, particularly at midday.
On Saturday, pilgrims will participate within the “stoning”, the final main ritual of this 12 months’s Hajj.
PM prays for Ummah’s unity, Pakistan’s prosperity
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday felicitated the pilgrims of Hajj-e-Akbar and prayed for the blessings of Allah Almighty upon the Muslim Ummah and Pakistan.
In a message, he appealed to the lucky pilgrims performing the Hajj-e-Akbar to supply particular prayers for humanity.
PM Sharif mentioned it was a blessed event to wish for the prosperity of mankind and its deliverance from epidemics and illnesses.
He prayed to Allah Almighty for the liberty of the occupied Palestine and Kashmir.
“Might Allah Almighty deliver Pakistan out of its debt state of affairs with the blessings of Hajj-e-Akbar and grant us financial self-reliance,” he mentioned.
He additionally urged the nation to supply particular prayers for the elevation of the ranks of the martyrs.
Source link
