2.5 Million Pilgrims Perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia: Officials

The Saudi General Authority for Statistics announced that the total number of pilgrims coming to Makkah from inside and outside the kingdom reached nearly 2.487 million pilgrims on Saturday morning.

The authority explained that the number does not include pilgrims inside Makkah, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

After sunset, the pilgrims will leave for nearby Muzdalifah where they will gather pebbles to perform the symbolic "stoning of the devil" marking the end of their holy pilgrimage.

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The ritual begins in earnest on Sunday as Muslims observe the first day of Eid Al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, which marks the end of the hajj.

Muslims traditionally slaughter sheep for the three-day of Eid Al-Adha, a tribute to the Prophet Abraham’s sacrifice of a lamb after God spared Ishmael, his son.

The hajj pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.

Some 70.000 Egyptian pilgrims have so far arrived in the holy city of Mecca to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Earlier, Chief executive of the official Hajj mission Amr Lotfi said that all Egyptian pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat for the peak of Hajj.

All Egyptian pilgrims were ferried to Mount Arafat by shuttle buses that are equipped with GPS trackers.

Later, all pilgrims will be moved to Muzdalifah, a town between Mina and Mount Arafat, to stay there overnight and return to Mina for the next day’s ritual of stoning the devil, Lotfi added.