MUSCAT: The Sultanate, along with the Arab and Islamic states, today marks the first day of Eid al Adha. Citizens and residents all over the Sultanate perform Eid prayers and the celebration will continue in the following days. Meanwhile, a sea of pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Monday to pray and repent, the climax of the annual Haj bringing together more than two million Muslims from around the world. Carrying brightly coloured umbrellas under the blazing sun, worshippers scaled the rocky hill southeast of the holy city of Mecca to atone for their sins.
“The feeling is indescribable,” said Umm Ahmad, 61, who made the journey from Egypt.
Nearly 2.4 million pilgrims made the trip to western Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, according to the kingdom’s statistics authority.
Some of the pilgrims — men in white seamless garments and women in loose dresses — pushed elderly relatives in wheelchairs on the second day of the Haj, one of the world’s largest annual gatherings.
Jai Saleem, a 37-year-old Pakistani, said he cried when he and his wife arrived on Mount Arafat.
“It feels great,” he said. “I have always seen this area, since my childhood, in photographs and on television.”
After sunset prayers, pilgrims will make their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, another holy site where they will sleep under the stars to prepare for the final stage of Haj, a symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual.
Buses could be seen parked around the hill as workers hurriedly picked up empty water bottles near a yellow sign that read “Arafat starts here” in both English and Arabic.
“We know that it’s a difficult task,” said Amna Khan, a 35-year-old American pilgrim. “That’s why we are all here. We’re doing this to get closer to Allah, to be absolved.” A hot wind blew across the hill, also known as Jabal al Rahma (Mount of Mercy), and the surrounding plain after a downpour late on Sunday. Many faithful could be seen sipping from bottles of water throughout the day. “I knew it would be a little hard to climb Mount Arafat,” said Nigerian pilgrim Saidou Boureima. “So I prepared for this challenge by working out. And God willing, we can see it through.” — Agencies
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