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Summary
Millions of Hajj pilgrims have started to arrive at plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil amid echoes of Labaik Allahuma Labaik on Thursday.Mufti-e-Azam Saudi Arabia Al Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah al Sheikh will give Hajj speech in Masjid Nimra. Hajj pilgrims will offer Zuhr prayer and Asr prayers jointly with one Azan and two Takbeers. The pilgrims will stand in contemplative vigil and pray and recite the Qur'an, near a hill from which Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) gave his last sermon, this hill is called Jabal Al Rahmah (The Hill of Forgivness, Mount Arafat). This is known as wuquf, considered the highlight of the Hajj. Pilgrims must spend the afternoon within a defined area on the plain of Arafat until after sunset.As soon as the sun sets, the pilgrims will leave Arafat for Muzdalifah, an area between Arafat and Mina, where they gather pebbles for the next day's ritual of the stoning of the Devil (Shaitan). The pilgrims will spend the night sleeping on the ground at Muzdalifah and offer Maghrib and Isha prayers jointly and will return to Mina after Fajr prayer. At Mina the pilgrims perform Ramy al-Jamarat, throwing stones to signify their defiance of the Devil. On the first occasion when Ramy al-Jamarat is performed, pilgrims stone the largest pillar known as Jamrat'al'Aqabah. Pilgrims climb ramps to the multi-levelled Jamarat Bridge, from which they can throw their pebbles at the jamarat. On the second occasion, the other pillars are stoned. The stoning consists of throwing seven pebbles. Because of the crowds, in 2004 the pillars were replaced by long walls, with catch basins below to collect the pebbles. After the Stoning of the Devil, the pilgrims perform animal sacrifices, to symbolize God having mercy on Ibraham and replacing his son with a ram, which Abraham then sacrificed. On this or the following day the pilgrims re-visit the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca for another tawaf, to walk around the Kaaba. This is called the Tawaf az-Ziyarah or Tawaf al-Ifadah, which symbolizes being in a hurry to respond to God and show love for Him, an obligatory part of the Hajj. The night of the 10th is spent back at Mina.
