Digital
Desk: As the extended hajj pilgrimage for this year comes to an end, Muslim
pilgrims from all over the world assemble to perform the "stoning of the
devil" ceremony, which marks the beginning of the Eid al-Adha celebration
on Saturday. Pictures taken at the holy site of Mecca show small groups of
worshipers moving across the valley of Mina, close to Mecca, in western Saudi
Arabia, before the break of dawn to throw stones at three concrete walls
erected to symbolise Satan.
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On
July 9, 2022, thousands of Muslim pilgrims travel across the Mina Valley near
Mecca in western Saudi Arabia to participate in the "stoning of the devil"
ceremony, which officially kicks off the Eid al-Adha celebration.
Muslim
pilgrims carry out the practise of "stoning the demon." The ceremony
imitates Abraham's stoning of the devil in the three locations where it is
supposed that Satan attempted to convince Abraham not to sacrifice his son
Ishmael as God had commanded. Due to the large number of people converging in a
small area, the stoning ceremony has in the past caused deadly stampedes.
Even though the number of attendees was limited to one million with complete immunisation this year, there was a resurrection of devotees. Authorities reported that about 900,000 people attended on Friday, with nearly 780,000 coming from outside the country. Hosting the pilgrimage is a matter of prestige for Saudi monarchs, who are the guardians of Islam's holiest places, and a significant source of political legitimacy.
After
the stoning ceremony, pilgrims return to Mecca's Grand Mosque to complete a
final "tawaf," or circling of the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building
that serves as Islam's central shrine. The hajj will subsequently come to a
close with the start of Eid al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice. Muslims
purchase sheep for slaughter all throughout the world to remember Ibrahim's
willingness to offer his son as obedience to Allah.
The culmination of the yearly
pilgrimage took place on Friday with massive groups of robed Muslim pilgrims
praying atop Mount Arafat. On the rocky hill where the Prophet Mohammed is
thought to have delivered his last sermon, congregations of believers, many of
whom were holding umbrellas against the blazing heat, chanted passages from the
Koran. They travelled the short distance to Muzdalifah after dusk and slept out
under the stars before carrying out the ritual of stoning.
However, the enormous numbers have rekindled Covid fears, particularly as many pilgrims continued to travel without masks
