On Sunday, as Muslims worldwide celebrate the holiday of Eid al-Azha, pilgrims in western Saudi Arabia carry out the final major ceremony of the hajj, known as the “stoning of the devil”.
The 1.8 million Muslims who are making the trip this year will start at dawn and hurl seven stones at each of the three concrete walls in the Mina valley, which is outside of Makkah al-Mukarramah, the holiest city in Islam, as a symbol of the devil.
The ritual commemorates Abraham’s stoning of the devil at the three spots where it is said Satan tried to dissuade him from obeying God’s order to sacrifice his son.
The stoning ritual has been witness to multiple stampedes over the years, most recently in 2015 when up to 2,300 worshippers were killed in the worst hajj disaster.
The site has been revamped since then to streamline the movement of the large crowds.
On Saturday night, pilgrims collected stones and slept under the stars in the plain of Muzdalifah, located halfway between Mina and Arafat, where they had spent the day praying outside in heat that reached 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
“It was very, very hot,” said Rohy Daiseca, a 60-year-old Gambian living in the United States. “Alhamdulilah (thank God), I put a lot of water on my head and it was OK.”
Worshippers have tried to take the gruelling conditions in stride, seizing what for many is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pray at Islam’s holiest shrines.
“I am so happy that I can’t describe my feelings,” said Amal Mahrouss, a 55-year-old woman from Egypt.
“This place shows us that we are all equal, that there are no differences between Muslims around the world.”
One of the five pillars of Islam, the hajj must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means.
This year’s figure of 1.8 million pilgrims is similar to last year’s, and Saudi authorities said on Saturday that 1.6 million of them came from abroad.
