Pilgrims meet in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj Religion news

Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a religious commitment that involves the rituals and worship that every Muslim must fulfill if they have financial means and physically capable of this.

More than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Hajj this year, According to a government spokesman on Wednesday. A spokesman for the Ministry of Hajj, Gasan Al -Nawimi, presented an approximate number for foreigners in the Hajj this year, although he did not specify the number of local pilgrims who were participating. Last year, there were 1,611,310 pilgrims from outside the country.

On Wednesday, the worshipers flowed in Arafat, where some made a walk on foot and carry their luggage at temperatures of up to 40 ° C (104 Fahrenheit).

According to the traditional sayings of the Prophet, Arafat’s day is the most holy day of the year, when God approaches the believers and forgives his sins.

Jabal Arafat, Tel Rocky, southeast of Mecca, is of tremendous importance in Islam. Arafat was mentioned in the Qur’an, where it is said that the Prophet Muhammad has given a sermon to him the latter on the final pilgrimage.

Pilgrims remain in Arafat, in prayer and thinking, after midnight, even after sunset.

After sunset, they will go to Muzdalifah, in the middle of the road between Arafat and the sprawling city of Mina, where they will collect the gravel so that they can perform the symbolic “stoning of the devil”.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has spent millions of dollars on the measures of control of crowds and safety, but the huge size of the participants still represents challenges. In recent years, one of the greatest difficulties has been high temperatures.

Earlier this week, Minister of Health Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al -Jalajil stated, “10,000 trees have been planted to provide more shadow, and there is an increase in hospital bed capacity, and the number of paramedics has doubled three times.”

The authorities urged the pilgrims to stay inside their tents between 10 am (07:00 GMT) and 4 pm (13:00 GMT) on Thursday when the desert sun is in the harshest. To combat heat, put fans who sprinkle fog and provide cold air at the foot of the mountain.