ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the second official day of the annual Islamic pilgrimage, considered the pinnacle of Hajj.
Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on a rocky hill and surrounding plains for intense prayers that often mark a spiritual peak. Typically, they fervently murmur prayers and pour their hearts out in supplications, asking God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health. It is common for many pilgrims on that day to raise their hands in worship, with tears streaming down their faces.
Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to perform it.
For pilgrims, Hajj, performed over several days, can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas for shade.
A Saudi official said on Friday that more than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the country.
This year, Muslims have been pouring into Saudi Arabia for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related uncertainty in the region.
The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats used to lay mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely.”
For many, performing the Hajj can be a realization of a lifelong dream as they spend years hoping and praying to one day be able to undertake the pilgrimage or saving up money and waiting for a permit to embark on the trip.
“This happens once in a lifetime,” Mohammad Asal, an Egyptian pilgrim, said. “People here have prepared their prayers, hoping that God will respond to them, because we know that … the most important ritual of the Hajj is being in Arafat.”
Hajj brings together large numbers of Muslims of diverse races, ethnicities, languages and economic classes, creating a sense of unity for many. It’s a mass, communal experience, with Muslims performing rituals together. But it is also deeply personal as every pilgrim brings their own yearnings and experiences.
“Thank God our wishes are many,” Mohammad Obaid, a Sudanese pilgrim, said, adding he was praying for Sudan and for Muslims everywhere.
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