Pilgrims throng Mina as Hajj begins
Hundreds of thousands of Hajj pilgrims have begun streaming into tent city at Mina from Makkah.
MINA (Dunya News) - Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world on Wednesday began moving from the holy city of Makkah to nearby Mina for the start of the Hajj, the world s largest annual gathering.
All the pilgrims will stay in Mina on Wednesday where they will spend the night in their tents where they will pray and rest.
The pilgrims will offer Zohar‚ Asar‚ Maghreb and Isha prayers in Mina today and will leave for Arafat tomorrow after Fajar prayers to perform the main ritual of Hajj Waqoof-e-Arafat.
The Imam will deliver Hajj Khutbah from Masjid-e-Nimra highlighting the importance of Hajj and challenges faced by the Muslim Ummah. From afternoon to sunset, they stand, in prayer and reflection, facing Makkah. In the evening after Arafat, pilgrims leave for Muzdalifah.
At Muzdalifah, which is located between Arafat and Mina, the pilgrims sleep in the open (i.e., without tents). They spend the night in prayer and gathering stones for the next day s ritual "stoning of the devil." The pilgrims will return to Mina before sun rise.
On the third day, in Mina, pilgrims will perform the stoning of the devil (ramy) where they throw their stone pebbles at the largest of three Jamarat pillars. The Jamarat pillars represent the temptations of Satan. After the stoning they will sacrifice animals. The will return to Makkah the same day and will perform Tawaf al-Ifadah.
After Tawaf al-Ifadah the pilgrim will then shaves their heads or cut off a portion of hair. Following this act, all of the restrictions of Ihram are lifted, meaning that they can wear everyday clothing.
The pilgrims will then return to Mina for two days. On each of the two days, pilgrims, again, stone the Jamarat pillars, each with seven stones. These two days are spent in contemplative prayer.
On the fifth day, pilgrims return to Makkah where a Farewell Tawaf is performed and the Hajj will be completed.
